It didn’t look like things could get much worse for the Boston Celtics after two defeats at home against Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, but they reached another level (in negative) in their visit to South Florida in Game 3.
Miami dominated Boston from start to finish, winning 128-102 and taking a 3-0 series lead. Those of Spoelstra, far superior, connected 56.8% from the field and 54.3% from three to add another victory. The Celtics trailed by 15 at halftime and by 30 at the end of the third quarter. They took out their starters before the last round. In short, it was a disaster.
During the post-game press conference, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, he took the blame for his team’s performance. He also raised a few eyebrows at one of his lines about whether his voice was still heard in the locker room.
There’s just one problem though: the initial framing of your comments wasn’t accurate.
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What did Joe Mazzulla say about losing the locker room?
After the Boston loss, Jared Weiss de The Athletic he tweeted an exchange of words that quickly went viral. Joe Mazzulla admitted to losing the locker room, according to Weiss.
Joe Mazzulla was asked if he has lost the locker room:
“Yeah, it’s why I need to be better to figure out what this team needs.”
Why has that happened?
“I’m not sure.”
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) May 22, 2023
However, the recording of Mazzulla’s post-match press conference tells a different story. Here is the full exchange:
- Reporter: Joe, I don’t want to say you lost the team, but is there a disconnect between you and the players right now? Is there something not quite working that could have been done in February or January? You’re not telling them to lose by 28 points, but you’re telling them to try. So is there a disconnect?
- hammer: Yeah, that’s where I have to be better at figuring out what this team needs to make sure they’re focused, physical and playing together by the time we get on the court.
- Reporter: What do you think caused that disconnect?
- hammer:Um… I’m not sure
Obviously, the word that came out isn’t the answer Celtics fans wanted to hear, but Mazzulla clearly didn’t say he lost his locker room. He was responding to a question about a possible disconnect and how to fix it.
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Joe Mazzulla’s words after the third game
— On what happened in the third game: “I just didn’t have them ready to play.”
— On the level of team effort: “Yeah, it’s up to me to be better so they play harder.”
— On whether the Celtics have lost their defensive identity: “Yeah, I think some of that defensive identity has been lost, and we’ve got to get it back. And that’s where part of it is up to me to make sure we get it back… I think it’s based on execution. We’re not connected. So Usually, at our best, we’re focused. We’re together. We’re physically on defense. And we don’t have that right now.”
— On the Celtics stars taking responsibility for the loss: “No, it starts with me. I have to be better… I think they’re doing everything they can to be in a position to win. We just have to be better.”
— On how the Celtics can recover for the next game: “Yes, the most important thing is how we can get our defensive identity back, how we can get a clear understanding of how to attack and keep it as simple as possible so that we are connected and we can be physical. We play with the right mindset and we play together.”
The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the NBA or its organizations.
2023-05-22 07:37:37
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