As the Celtics enter the final week of the common season, Joe Mazzulla, naturally, isn’t involved with future potentialities or hypotheticals.
Next week, the Celtics will study their playoff opponent, possible from one of many play-in video games. With 4 video games left this week, they nonetheless have a shot on the No. 1 seed. But Mazzulla isn’t losing his vitality on these issues.
“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Mazzulla mentioned. “A lot of it’s out of our control.”
The No. 2 seed within the Eastern Conference, the C’s nonetheless have a shot – even when it’s extremely unlikely – to catch the Bucks for the highest seed. They path by two video games, with a highway tilt set for Tuesday in opposition to the No. 3 seed 76ers earlier than ending the common season at dwelling with a two-game sequence in opposition to the Raptors earlier than Sunday’s season finale with the Hawks. Each of these groups are potential playoff opponents.
The Bucks, in the meantime, end their common season in opposition to the Wizards, Bulls, Grizzlies and Wizards. The Celtics must make up two video games over this last stretch to leap over the Bucks, as a result of they personal the tiebreaker between them that they earned with final Thursday’s 41-point win in Milwaukee.
Mazzulla isn’t nervous about these eventualities. Instead, he’s targeted on sustaining the extent of play the Celtics have showcased over the past month, a stretch by which they’re 8-3 and constructing good habits on each ends on the proper time.
“What we are able to management is enjoying the best way we performed the final 11 video games, we’re 8-3, primary in each offense and protection and so we’re doing plenty of good issues. We simply should preserve that going.
“I felt, over the last 48 hours (in back-to-back wins over the Bucks and Jazz), the first game we were very detailed. We managed the game well. Second game, it was just more of a mindset win. And so we have to put that together as we get ready for the last stretch and into the playoffs.”
The Celtics are principally wholesome proper now. Robert Williams and Al Horford will possible proceed sitting the second evening of the back-to-back once they return dwelling to face the Raptors on Wednesday. But Mazzulla isn’t essentially going to relaxation starters and regulars this week, even when it’s clear they’ll lock up the No. 2 seed. He mentioned he’d map out the week on a game-to-game foundation.
“I really want to win,” Mazzulla mentioned. “I like winning.”
Coaches step up
When Damon Stoudamire left Mazzulla’s employees to develop into the top coach at Georgia Tech in mid-March, it left a void on the Celtics. Stoudamire was Mazzulla’s high assistant whose in depth NBA expertise was priceless for the first-time head coach. The Celtics didn’t rent anybody to interchange him, so everybody who remained – together with now high assistant Ben Sullivan – needed to make up for the loss.
Mazzulla mentioned they’ve executed an admirable job, as they’ve executed all season relationship again to coaching camp when former coach Ime Udoka was suspended. Like then, the teaching employees has dealt with a troublesome scenario very effectively.
“The staff deserves a ton of credit,” Mazzulla mentioned. “The starting of the yr, when all this went down, they’d a choice to make about whether or not they have been going to purchase in, whether or not they have been going to belief, blind belief, have been they going to be empowered and step up? And I feel all people, together with Damon at the moment, simply did a fantastic job of understanding the circumstances and shifting on. Each man has actually grown on this scenario due to that.
“Damon leaving, it’s a huge void, and I think Ben has done a great job. I really rely on him in the game preparation, the experience that he has. People don’t realize that he’s won two NBA championships with the Spurs and the Bucks, so he’s seen a lot. That’s really helpful. He has stepped up in that department, and our staff, the workload is more, but I trust every one of those guys and really grateful for the mindset they’ve brought to this situation. They’ve made the most of it and credit to the guys for trusting our staff. I appreciate that.”
Tip-ins
For the fourth and last time this common season, the Celtics will face a troublesome matchup in defending Joel Embiid on Tuesday. They restricted the 76ers star within the first two conferences in Boston, however Embiid was dominant in Philadelphia on Feb. 25, when he had 41 factors and 12 rebounds and went to the free-throw line 18 instances. Over the final a number of years, Al Horford has been counted on to be a main defender for Embiid – a job he’s executed effectively – however Williams careworn it can take extra than simply him.
“Just got to play as good of defense as you can, playing against a superstar like that,” Williams mentioned. “More of a team effort than putting it on someone individually.” …
Williams caught a few of Sunday’s NCAA girls’s nationwide championship recreation as LSU beat Iowa. The Celtics large man, a Louisiana native, was pulling for the Tigers however was additionally impressed by Hawkeyes star Caitlin Clark, who had an excellent match.
“I watched the beginning of it,” Williams mentioned. “It was my first time seeing the Clark girl. She good, she surprised me. Shout out to LSU for winning, that’s who I was going for, but Clark surprised me.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com