The Boston Celtics lost home-court advantage — again.
Joe Mazzulla’s team collapsed in the second half of Game 1 vs. the Miami Heat, allowing them to put up 46 points in the third quarter, which is a franchise record.
Mazzulla held onto his timeouts instead of trying to stop the surge in a loss that Shannon Sharpe called “embarrassing.”
Playoff Jimmy leads the Heat to a 123-116 Game 1 win over the Celtics:
“The Celtics were up by 12 and then shortly were down by 11. That’s embarrassing; you have to play some defense.” — @ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/LLQKmzXyCz
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) May 18, 2023
Sharpe pointed out that the Celtics were actually up 12 points, and then, all of a sudden, they were down by 11.
He questioned Mazzulla’s adjustments and the Celtics’ determination, citing that they just cannot pick up the defensive intensity unless they actually play with some of that throughout the whole game.
The Celtics have put themselves in a dangerous position.
They’re not going against the young Atlanta Hawks or against Doc Rivers; they’re facing Jimmy Butler and Erik Spoelstra.
They need to be at their best if they intend to get past arguably the toughest team in the Association, especially with a rookie coach trying to match up with one of the savvier and more brilliant in the league.
There’s no denying that Boston has the deepest team still left in contention, and they should have little trouble taking down the No. 8 seed in the conference.
However, the Heat are tough and will do whatever it takes to finish the job, and it doesn’t matter if they’re in Florida or at the TD Garden.
NEXT: Jimmy Butler Made Franchise History In Game 1 Win Over Celtics