Joe Mazzulla had a subtle response to Kendrick Perkins’ bird brain comment
“I’m a bird brain, you know I can’t do that.”
Earlier this month, after the Celtics lost to the Nuggets by two at home, Kendrick Perkins had some harsh words for coach Joe Mazzulla.
“They have two Joe Mazzullas,” Perkins said. “They have the one that got the philosophy of ‘we’re going to get up more 3s than you.’ When they hit them, he looks great.”
“Then you have the other Joe Mazzulla, who just stands over there,” Perkins added. “And you wonder, if you take his brain out and you put it in a bird, the bird is going to start flying backward. You got that Joe Mazzulla.”
Mazzulla responded on Tuesday with a subtle swipe at the comment during his pregame press conference.
When asked to give some analysis about the Celtics’ injury report, Mazzulla told reporters: “I’m a bird brain, you know I can’t do that.”
Mazzulla has heard criticism of the Celtics’ shot selection before.
The Celtics entered Tuesday’s matchup against Indiana averaging 42.7 three-point attempts per game, which is the most in the league. They’re 7th in 3-point percentage, at 37.8. They also have the NBA’s best record at 35-10.
Taking a lot of threes is a part of Mazzulla’s philosophy. He told Dan Shaugnessy of The Boston Globe that he’s more comfortable being himself and leaning into his beliefs during his second season. Last year, he took over after Ime Udoka was suspended indefinitely and didn’t have much time to prepare.
“Last year I never got to be myself because I didn’t know what I was going to be as a head coach,” Mazzulla told Shaugnessy. “We never had a chance to establish organizational core values. Shared principles. Because of the situation, we never had an opportunity to say, ‘Hey, this is who we are.’”
“Now I know I’m really good at what I do and I trust that,” Mazzulla said. “I’m part of a great organization and I know we’ve got a great chance to win. And I’m very comfortable because I know we have great players.
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