Joe Mazzulla made a dark joke about ‘the ultimate compliment’
"It sounds like a morgue in here," Mazzulla said. "And that’s how it should be because of where we’re trying to get to."
Although the Celtics narrowly escaped with a one-point victory over the last-place Pelicans, the conversation during Joe Mazzulla’s press conference Sunday night was mostly about the struggles the Celtics have been going through recently.
Here’s a quick sampling of the questions:
Why don’t the Celtics look like they did last year?
What’s up with the slow starts?
Is the poor shooting just bad luck, or a sign of bigger struggles?
What did you see on the play when your starting point guard almost cost the team the game by committing a five-second violation in the closing seconds?
So, the room’s atmosphere wasn’t exactly cheerful following the win. It was easy to forget that Boston had won the game at all.
Mazzulla cracked a dark joke to describe what the room felt like.
“It sounds like a morgue in here,” Mazzulla said. “And that’s how it should be because of where we’re trying to get to, and it’s the ultimate compliment and we just continue to work through it.”
That’s how it is in Boston when the Celtics are good. Expectations are as high as the championship banners that hang in the rafters above the TD Garden parquet floor.
The Rhode Island native Mazzulla said he wouldn’t have it any other way. He embraces the scrutiny that his team faces despite winning roughly 72 percent of its games this season.
“I would say the ultimate compliment is that we’re 28-11 and these are the types of conversations we are having,” Mazzulla said. “So, it’s a beautiful place to be in. I’m serious. I think it’s great. It’s a great standard and a great expectation to have and we have to deliver. We all know that and it’s a process towards it.”
Mazzulla admitted that owning the NBA’s third-best record is not the desired outcome for the defending champions who are 7-6 over their last 13 games.
They’ve become increasingly streaky from beyond the arc and inconsistent with their defensive effort. They’ve lost to the Bulls, Kings, and Sixers, all of whom are 9th place or worse in their respective conferences during that stretch.
They were fortunate not to lose to the Pelicans after C.J. McCollum missed a bank shot at the buzzer.
“Look, it’s been a challenging month,” Mazzulla said. “And so when you’re in a challenging month, you need situations like this to be able to work through it. I think I told the guys it’s a great space to be in … The standard is high, the expectation is high, and we’re in a challenging spot and it’s a great place to be in.”
The Celtics simply have not been playing well as of late. They’ve blown leads, played down to their competition, and been punished on the glass at times.
Injuries have played a role in the struggles, Mazzulla said. Boston’s starters; Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday, have played about a third as many minutes together this season as they did at the same point last season.
“It’s not an excuse, we have to be better,” Mazzulla said. “But, you’re essentially in a training camp form with this particular group and so when you look at the numbers of the expected offense versus where they’re at now, you’ve had almost triple the possessions of the time, rhythm, trust.’
“Trust goes into it when you have talented guys with habits, so I would say that it’s that,” he added. “We have to continue to work towards that. Hopefully, we remain healthy to where we can continue those reps, that trust, and the accountability that we have to hold each other to get to where we are and sprinkle in a make.”
Mazzulla said the success that Cleveland (33-5) and Oklahoma City (32-6) are having is “historic.” With just over half the season left, both teams are on pace to win around 69 games. Only four teams in NBA history have won that many games in a single season, and three of the four won championships.
It’s not clear whether Cleveland or OKC will be able to maintain that pace, but they have already changed the reference point through which the Celtics are viewed, Mazzulla said.
“They’re great, great teams having historical years and we’re on our own path that we have to be able to work through,” Mazzulla said. “Just because we were this last year, you can’t take for granted the details, habit, execution, togetherness, trust. All that stuff has to be rebuilt.
“I think sometimes when you have the same team, we have this expectation that we’re just going to pick up there and it’s different,” he added. “Different year and different spaces, so we have to reestablish that and you have to work that and that just takes time. So, this is the space that we’re in. I love the fact that we’re not happy. It’s the best place to be in and we’ll figure it the hell out.”
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