Joe Mazzulla’s pregame press conference for Celtics-Knicks Game 3 lasts less than 30 seconds
The Celtics coach only answered a pair of brief questions on Kristaps Porzingis before his pregame press conference ended.
As the Celtics’ season arguably hangs in the balance in Saturday’s Game 3 against the Knicks, Joe Mazzulla was quick and to the point in his pregame press conference.
The Celtics’ head coach only fielded two questions over a 30-second span before his pregame press conference ended. The first was on Kristaps Porzingis’s availability for Game 3, with Mazzulla providing an optimistic update on the big man as he’s been dealing with an illness.
“He’s gotten better. He felt better yesterday. I haven’t talked to him today yet, so we’ll see how it goes. But he’ll give it a go, and we’ll see where it goes from there.”
After missing the second half and overtime of Monday’s Game 1 against the Knicks, Porzingis came off the bench in Game 2 as Al Horford started in his place. In a follow-up, Mazzulla was asked if that would be the case again for Game 3.
“I don’t know yet,” Mazzulla replied. “I haven’t seen KP.”
Mazzulla didn’t storm off right after answering that question, like Lakers head coach JJ Redick did ahead of his team’s season-ending loss. There were a few seconds of silence right after. But his press conference ended right there, with no more questions being asked.
Typically, pregame press conferences involving head coaches in the NBA are on the shorter side. But they still typically last a few minutes. For reference, Mazzulla’s pregame press conference ahead of Game 2 lasted nearly five minutes, while his pregame press conference for Game 1 was roughly the same in time. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau also answered questions for about five minutes before Saturday’s game.
So, the abrupt nature of Mazzulla’s pregame press conference on Saturday is certainly unusual. Whether it’s an indicator of the team being tense or tight remains to be seen.
It’s pretty evident, though, that the Celtics are under a good deal of pressure ahead of Saturday’s Game 3. Boston blew 20-point leads in each of the first two games of the series on its home floor. Mazzulla’s 3-point approach came back to bite the Celtics over those two losses, making just 25 of 100 attempts from beyond the arc. As a result, Mazzulla has received a large share of the blame for the 2-0 deficit.
The Celtics are still favored to win the series on most betting markets, but only slightly. NBA history says that Saturday’s Game 3 is also a must-win, as no team has ever come back and won a series after trailing 3-0 ever in the sport. The Celtics became just the fourth team to force a Game 7 in such a scenario in the 2023 Eastern Conference finals, losing that game to the Heat on their home floor.
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