Getty Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
On Sunday, May 14, the Boston Celtics destroyed the Philadelphia 76ers to book their place in the Eastern Conference Finals, setting up a rematch with the Miami Heat.
When speaking to the media following Boston’s big win, Jaylen Brown warned his Celtics teammates that the Heat won’t be worried about how their last conference finals battle ended and will be coming into the series ready to play.
Progressing against Miami, they propose different challenges as well,” Brown said. “We’ve just got to be versatile. We’ve got to have intensity and be aggressive, and that’s got to be the tone setter for the whole series…“Nothing about last year matters…I don’t think Miami is thinking about last year. They’re coming out ready to play basketball…We just gotta come out with a great fresh mind and execute what’s in front of us. I think that’s the key. I’m looking forward to it, I think it will be a great challenge, and it should be fun.”
Jaylen Brown has been one of the Celtics’ best offensive weapons during their current playoff run, producing a statline of 24.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game while shooting the rock at a 57.1% clip from two-point range and converting 47.1% of his three-point attempts.
Doc Rivers Praises Joe Mazzulla After Playoff Battle
Throughout the Celtics’ second-round series against the Sixers, head coach Joe Mazzulla received widespread criticism for his decision-making during the earlier games. However, Doc Rivers believes that Mazzulla is more than capable of coaching at this level – something he discussed with Heavy on Sports Steve Bulpett following the game.
If Doc Rivers is talking, he usually does so to @SteveBHoop.
Even after the Game 7 loss, Doc offered his thoughts on the @celtics‘ Joe Mazzulla: “Joe was dumb two weeks ago.”
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“Joe was dumb two weeks ago,” Rivers sarcastically said. “I told you that. Now he’s in the conference finals. Look, Joe’s doing a terrific job. When we were making shots and playing well, that wasn’t on Joe. It was never Joe. It’s always that you’ve got to execute, and you’ve got to play well, and it’s a make-miss league. I don’t think there was an issue on either side. One team beat the other team. That’s what happens.”
The Celtics ended the regular season with a 57-25 record, earning them the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Furthermore, Mazzulla has since guided the Celtics to an 8-5 record in the postseason.
Joel Embiid Discusses the Celtics Roster
When addressing the media following the Sixers’ elimination from the playoffs, Joel Embiid provided a humble yet thoughtful assessment of the Celtics roster and how they played throughout a closely-contested series.
“We all fought,” Embiid said. “I thought, for the most part, we played hard and we all cared about winning, but that’s the best team in the league. They’re so talented and they got a lot of guys that can play great basketball, and, like I said, losing to them [in] seven games, I thought, for the most part, we played hard and we just came up short,” Joel Embiid said of the Celtics.”