The Boston Celtics cannot seem to get over the hump.
Regardless of who’s coaching them, who’s on the floor with their core, or who they have to face, the outcome always seems to be the same.
And after watching them blow so many leads, struggle against lesser teams, and lose multiple games at home throughout the playoffs, some were asking for Joe Mazzulla to be fired.
.@stephenasmith is still giving praise to Joe Mazzulla:
"If we're going to give him that criticism when he's down 0-3, we've got to give him some love for coming back from 0-3." pic.twitter.com/FNPs2Aspcv
— First Take (@FirstTake) May 30, 2023
That’s why Stephen A. Smith wanted to give the rookie coach his flowers after all, citing that he deserves some love for coming back from a 3-0 deficit, as much as he deserved criticism for putting his team in that position in the first place.
Smith also pointed out the fact that Mazzulla was — by far — the least accomplished and experienced coach in the final four teams still left in contention, and that also has to be a factor to weigh in when considering his future with the organization.
However, even though Smith believes he did a good job overall, he did call him out for not taking care of the point of emphasis and issues that were evident when he was an assistant for Ime Udoka.
Smith ripped Mazzulla for being there and knowing what needed to be done and not doing it when it was his time to lead the way.
Truth be told, Mazzulla did a mostly solid job, considering the position he was put in.
Even so, the Celtics front office has plenty of things to figure out in the offseason.
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