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Even with Embiid looking better on an injured knee (he had 30 points Friday), the 76ers have averaged 94.5 points and have shot 39% in the series. Maxey, who has had fewer transition opportunities to use his trademark speed and has struggled against larger defenders, is 10-of-30 shooting in the past two games. Harden hasn't been able to generate the space and separation against Brown and the supporting coverages, and is a woeful 5-of-28 shooting over that same time frame. Over the past two games, Harden and backcourt mate Tyrese Maxey have been severely limited by the Celtics' defensive changes. And that's what a great coach, a great team and great players do.' 'I think handled it great, very professional,' Celtics defensive ace Marcus Smart told ESPN. That, however, is not Harden's game and his indecisiveness has shown. I guarantee it.'īoston has looked to cut off passing lanes for Harden when he comes off screens while still staying between him and the basket, encouraging him to take midrange jumpers.

One thing I know about Joe, he knew that when he signed on. And Joe's never experienced that, but that's just the way it is. He's going to be the guy, just like me and just like all of us coaches, that you look at when anything goes wrong. He's taking a team that went to the Finals last year. 'Joe has far more pressure than I did my first year in the playoffs,' said Rivers, referring to his 2001-02 Orlando Magic team that was a 7-seed.

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His moves in the coaching chess game in this high-stakes matchup against a major rival - putting Jaylen Brown on Harden and increasing ball pressure, using creative double teams on Joel Embiid since his return from injury, plus changes in pick-and-roll coverage - have worked. Here's another thing: Rivers did outmaneuver Mazzulla in Game 1 when he used James Harden in a throwback role, putting the ball in his hands and creating isolation opportunities as the central part of the game plan, savaging the Celtics' defensive strategy against him on the way to 45 points and a Sixers upset win.Īnd now another: Mazzulla, facing one of the biggest challenges of his coaching career to this point, returned serve. Some people will call that immaturity, other people will call that confidence, and I think it's the latter,' Williams said.

'He's going to give it back if it's given.

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'So this is the thing, he's an ultimate competitor and he wants to compete in everything he does,' Celtics forward Grant Williams told ESPN after Boston secured its second straight win in the series on Friday to take a 2-1 lead going into Sunday's Game 4 (3:30 p.m. Mazzulla - the youngest coach in the NBA at 34 - was fiery in response to the notion that he'd been outcoached by Philadelphia's future Hall of Fame coach Doc Rivers in Game 1.

'What, no one wants to ask about the adjustments we made from Game 1 to Game 2?' Mazzulla snapped as he walked off the podium following the Celtics' 34-point win. He was involved in a way head coaches and veteran assistants usually aren't with players.Īnd so the players and staff members who know him well weren't surprised when he fired back at critics. It also meant that, away from the gym, he was in the card games and the board games and, perhaps most intensely, the ping pong games. His job in Boston was mostly player development, which meant hours of one-on-one work after practices and before games that created bonds. How the ultra-competitive Joe Mazzulla is challenging the doubters - and what it means for the Celticsīoston Celtics players couldn't help but give each other knowing smiles this week when first-year coach Joe Mazzulla had his drop-the-mic moment.įor three years, Mazzulla was one of those assistant coaches who built deep relationships with players.

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