Celts
The Celtics scored three extra points in the final seconds of their win over the Bulls after Mazzulla’s timeout on Friday.
Joe Mazzulla is in his third season as coach of the Celtics. Luke Hales/Getty Images
Once again Joe Mazzulla got the chance to run up the score on the Bulls in the Emirates NBA Cup. The Celtics coach took advantage.
After Bulls guard Coby White missed a pull-up 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left, Mazzulla rushed onto the court to call a timeout, even though the Celtics were up six at the time points for. The timeout allowed Boston to move the ball up the court, with Mazzulla setting up a play for Sam Hauser to get a 3-pointer before the buzzer sounded.
Hauser made the play, catching Jayson Tatum’s inbounds pass and firing a 3-pointer that went in at the buzzer to give the Celtics a 138-129 win. In the vast majority of other games, Hauser’s 3-pointer would be considered unnecessary. But with the Celtics having to advance to the knockout stages on points difference, Mazzulla relished the opportunity to score more points.
“I like it because this tournament and the points difference eliminates the unwritten rules that you should or shouldn’t follow,” says Mazzulla told reporters about NBA Cup rules. “Where you wouldn’t do that in a normal situation. But in this version, you get to draw up a play and try to get better in that situation. So the boys did well and we tried to widen the points difference as much as possible.”
Hauser’s three-pointer could potentially be the difference between the Celtics advancing and being eliminated from the NBA Cup prior to the knockout stages. The Hawks won Group C with Friday’s win over the Celtics, meaning Boston will have to advance to the knockout stages via the wild card spot.
The wildcard spot is determined by the points difference. After Friday’s games, the Celtics’ plus-23 point differential is the second-best among the second-place teams in the three groups in the Eastern Conference. Boston is done with group play, meaning Orlando must beat New York and Milwaukee to beat Detroit by at least six points, or Detroit to beat Milwaukee by at least seven points on Tuesday to advance.
Last season, the Celtics advanced to the knockout phase of the NBA Cup due to points difference. In the final of their group play, Mazzulla practically pulled out all the stops to improve Boston’s points differential as it took on Chicago. It intentionally fouled Andre Drummond, a notoriously poor free-throw shooter, to improve the points differential.
The tactic worked for the Celtics last year, but Bulls coach Billy Donovan didn’t seem too happy with Mazzulla at the time. A year later, Donovan explained why he responded to Mazzulla’s tactics the way he did at the time, while also understanding where the Celtics coach was coming from.
“Andre was put in a bad situation,” Donovan told reporters before Friday’s game. ‘That’s all. I understood (what) Joe said and maybe after he had some time to think about it (he understood my point).
Donovan emphasized that he also harbors no animosity toward Mazzulla.
“The conversation with Joe was great and I have a lot of respect for Joe and like Joe,” Donovan said. “I wouldn’t say we’re close. But I do have a lot of respect for him. I appreciated the conversation we had after the game was over.
“With all that difference in points, I think it was something new that was for everyone. At that point they were clearly following the point difference. I understood that.”
While running up the score may be considered unsportsmanlike, Mazzulla believes his players don’t mind getting more opportunities to score points.
“It’s different,” Mazzulla said. “I think they like it. It adds some life to the regular season game. I know Sam likes it if he can have a shot.”
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