Joe Mazzulla Blasts ‘Entitlement’ Narrative He Thinks Surrounds Celtics

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla doesn’t have much of an issue if his team comes out flat or doesn’t produce up to its standard on any given night.

Mazzulla sees it just as things running their course on the court.

So, he was unbothered when the Celtics trailed the New Orleans Pelicans for much of the first half Monday night and went into halftime down, 60-50, before rallying in the fourth quarter to take a 118-112 win at TD Garden.

But what Mazzulla is bothered by is the perception as the coach of one of the most talented teams in the league — the Celtics own an NBA-best 36-11 record and hold a four-game lead atop the Eastern Conference — that they are expected to play perfectly all the time.

“The first half there’s like this since of entitlement like we’re just supposed to play amazing basketball every quarter, every game and that’s just not how it works,” Mazzulla told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston. “I said to the guys at halftime, ‘We gave up 24 points (in the second quarter). It was 25-24. We won the quarter after giving up 36 (in the first quarter).’ This expectation that it’s supposed to go a certain way all the time it can be extremely unhealthy and we have to just continue to play regardless of whether we’re down five, up eight. It doesn’t matter.”

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Mazzulla was asked to clarify if he thought the Celtics play entitled or if he believes it’s an outsider’s point of view that Boston should run away with wins.

“I don’t think it’s the team personally. I think it’s just this general narrative of like it’s just supposed to go our way all the time,” Mazzulla said. “I think it just happens. Being down 10 in the NBA is really not foreign, too.”

Mazzulla added: “The idea of having to battle for a win, earn a win, is like, ‘Celtics have to earn a win tonight?’ It’s like, ‘Yeah, you’re playing in the NBA. That’s a good team.’ We can’t lose sight of the fact that we have to earn a win every night. It’s going to be just as hard tomorrow. Doesn’t matter if their record is 5-20 or they’re undefeated. You see it all around the league.”

The entitlement talk from Mazzulla didn’t stop there. He was even facetious as he clearly wants to change the perspective of those who aren’t in the Celtics locker room.

“I just hope it happens 10, 12 more times so we can get rid of the entitlement that we’re always supposed to be winning,” Mazzulla said. “I hope we have to blow leads. I hope all that happens. I really do. That’s what I think. I think at times we’re just supposed to be winning all the time, and it’s just not the case. We have to stay the course. Sometimes, you can be losing because you’re playing good basketball. It’s just the result isn’t being achieve. … We just have to continue to play. It’s really important.”