Joe Mazzulla Out-Coached In Celtics’ Game 1 Loss, And He Knows It

It’s felt like a lot of aspects have broken in favor of the Boston Celtics despite the Green being a mere seven games into their run in the NBA playoffs.

The Celtics avoided the Miami Heat in the first round after a surprising Atlanta Hawks play-in victory, quickly were rewarded home-court advantage after Miami eliminated the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, and now have a semifinal series against the Philadelphia 76ers with MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid hindered by a knee injury.

One advantage the Celtics seemingly have not had is with first-year coach Joe Mazzulla, however. And it comes after Mazzulla was out-coached by Doc Rivers in Boston’s Game 1 loss to Philadelphia on Monday night.

Even he knows it.

“I have to be better at play-calling, getting us into our spacing quicker,” Mazzulla told reporters after the 119-115 defeat, referencing the team’s turnovers down the stretch, per NBC Sports Boston. “So it’s a little bit on me, and it’s a little bit of just we just have to have the freedom to shoot the ball, knock down open shots.”

While talking with NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin about his message to the team, Mazzulla added: “I didn’t put them in position to win the game. So be better, and we will be better.”

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There were a few instances that stuck out, especially given Boston’s lack of focus.

The most pivotal, though, propelled the Sixers on a 12-4 run over the final 3:16 with Boston turning the ball over twice in the final 32 seconds. The second of such turnovers was after Mazzulla drew up a final play to get the ball into Marcus Smart (read: not Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown) with eight seconds left. Smart turned the ball over as he drove into the lane and tried to get a pass to Tatum in the packed paint. It essentially ended the game. Malcolm Brogdon’s turnover with 32 ticks left came as the Celtics weren’t able to solve the Philadelphia’s defense, which kept Boston guessing as to whether it was man or zone.

That result-altering advantage clearly went to 76ers head coach Doc Rivers with Mazzulla admitting the zone turned the Celtics into a stagnant offense.

Another regrettable decision was Boston’s double-teaming of James Harden. Harden looked like his prime self (45 points on 17-for-30 and seven 3-pointers), but the Celtics willingness to double created early opportunities for Tyrese Maxey (26 points on 10-for-24) and De’Anthony Melton (17 points on 5-for-6 from long range), among others. Hindsight being 20/20, as Mazzulla himself acknowledged, those contributions were crucial in the game remaining in reach despite the fact Boston was red-hot from the floor.

Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon, specifically, referenced the decision after the loss. Brogdon felt the Celtics doubled too much. NBC Sports Boston’s Brian Scalabrine seemingly felt the same way after the game, noting how the Celtics have Derrick White, Smart, Brown, Tatum and Brogdon, who all have the ability to guard Harden 1-on-1.

Mazzulla certainly was not the only source of blame for Monday’s loss. The Celtics weren’t able to get stops all night and Tatum and Brown were nowhere to be found with the game on the line in crunch time. But if he’s out-coached by Rivers in the series, imagine what could happen against Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, specifically, should Miami reached the Eastern Conference finals. He’ll have to turn it around other the Celtics could be dealt a premature playoff exit.