Mazzulla's Celtics Get Revenge, Advance to Eastern Conference Semis

The West Virginia product is moving on to the second round of the NBA Playoffs.

Apr 12, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

A year ago, the Boston Celtics appeared to be well on their way to the NBA Finals. With the No. 1 seed, Milwaukee, going down in the opening round of the playoffs, everyone started penciling Boston in as the Eastern Conference champion.

What folks didn’t know was that Miami’s first round upset over the Bucks was not fool’s gold. They were legit - a team that got hot at the right time, springing upsets over Milwaukee, New York, and yes, the Boston Celtics in the East Finals. 

This year, the two met in the opening round and after being tied at one a piece through the first two games, Boston quit playing around and put the hammer down, winning by an average of 22.6 points over the final three games. 

Former West Virginia guard and current head coach of the Celtics, Joe Mazzulla, was asked about taking care of the team that knocked them out last spring.

“We don’t really worry about what happened last year. At the end of the day, I really liked how we approached the series, regardless of who we were playing. Had an intentionality to it, an attention to detail, had a consistent physicality. That’s the most important thing, having that regardless of who you’re playing against.”

The Celtics will now get a few days to rest before returning to practice as they await their opponent in the Eastern Conference semis. They will play the winner of the series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic. Cleveland currently holds a 3-2 edge in the series.

“Each team presents a different level of challenge. I think for us, we have to stay open-minded to go to different stuff. What wins one series, what wins one game is not going to win the next game, is not going to win the next series. Every team is better than us at something  and we’re better than them at something. We have to do a great job of honing in on our strengths and at the same time understanding what our weaknesses are and work on those.”