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Basketball games can be decided by the smallest of margins. A shot here, a shot there, or an inch to the left or right could be the difference between winning or losing. For head coach Joe Mazzulla, everything matters.
With the Celtics comfortably ahead 124-106 after an emphatic steal and slam from Jaylen Brown, Suns head coach Frank Vogel called a timeout and waved the white flag down 18 points with just under three minutes to go in the game.
But for Mazzulla, that wasn’t enough. With the teams heading to the bench, Royce O’Neale pulled up from thirty feet on the dead ball. Instinctively, Mazzulla went up for the contest.
“I saw a guy trying to make a shot and he hadn’t made one and I didn’t want him to feel good about himself going to the bench,” Mazzulla deadpanned after the game. “That’s the bench rule: guys don’t shoot shots in front of our bench to go back to their bench to feel good about themselves. If I’m going to ask guys to contest, staff’s going to do the same.”
O’Neale had been 0-for-7 up to that point and Mazzulla wanted to keep it that way, whether it counted or not.
Assistant coach Sam Cassell played in Boston with a guy that felt the same way: Kevin Garnett. KG was the first player that I can remember blocking shots after the whistle so that opponents couldn’t get into rhythm.
“I think it’s important. I think it’s a small detail of the game. It’s a little gamesmanship. You can’t have guys go to the bench feeling good about themselves,” Mazzulla added.
Mazzulla’s obsession and competitive edge doesn’t surprise his players. It’s infectious. At the end of the play, you can see Derrick White getting a piece of the ball at the rim.
“That’s who Joe is. When he did it, I wasn’t caught off guard. I expect him or one of the coaches to do that,” Jayson Tatum said. “You gotta love Joe for Joe.”
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