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Celtics Praise Joe Mazzulla's Poise, Adaptability After Advancing Past Hawks: 'That's What It's All About, Especially in the Playoffs'
As diagnosed in a film study examining the roots of the Celtics' Game 5 collapse against the Hawks, operating at a slow tempo backfired, as it often does for them.
Thursday, Boston made the necessary adjustments, striking a balance between playing fast and in control to capitalize on the advantages created by a quicker pace.
"I think it was just our pace on the offensive end," stated Celtics' head coach Joe Mazzulla after their 128-120 Game 6 win. "I thought last game, because of me and my play calling, we played slow. I thought this game, I kind of learned from that, and then they were very proactive," adding, "Playing fast doesn't mean playing helter-skelter, it's just we got organized really fast, we got spaced fast, we found the advantage fast, and we made the right play."
It's paramount in the playoffs for teams to adapt and keep throwing counterpunches to survive and advance. Boston's first-year bench boss's ability to do so, fixing a pace of play problem that's plagued the defending Eastern Conference champions longer than he's been their head coach, was vital to them avoiding a Game 7 against Atlanta.
Mazzulla and the Celtics' coaching staff getting forced to recalibrate their defensive strategy as John Collins heated up from beyond the arc, burying 4/9 threes in Game 5 and 3/4 on Thursday, and Trae Young's carving up their drop coverage, was far more challenging.
In the final seven minutes of Game 6, Collins only got one shot, which required him to grab an offensive rebound, and Jayson Tatum swatted his put-back attempt.
During that stretch, Young's one turnover exceeded his point production as he went 0/5 and never got to the foul line. Marcus Smart's outstanding on-ball defense was the primary reason for that.
Boston was at its best in the final frame of Thursday's slugfest, pairing lockdown defense with an up-tempo approach, proper spacing, and off-ball activity, leading to high-quality shots they repeatedly capitalized on. The combination translated to an 18-7 knockout blow to end the game.
Following the victory, Smart, who finished with 22 points, four assists, and four rebounds, praised Mazzulla's adjustments to stay one step ahead of the Hawks.
"Being able to adapt; that's what it's all about, especially in the playoffs, and that's what he did. Game 5 wasn't a good game for us, we came back out, and we adapted tonight, and we got the win."
Tatum, who registered 30 points, a game-high 14 rebounds, a team-best seven assists, two blocks, and a steal, discussed Mazzulla's poise and the mutually beneficial partnership between the Celtics and the NBA's youngest active head coach (34 years old), who made the rarely seen leap from sitting behind the bench a season ago to being in the one seat.
"It's been great. He's been great all season. Just managing personalities, managing games; the season is long, we've had great periods, we've had periods where we slipped a little bit, and his faith in us, our faith in him -- I say it all the time, this is a relationship, we're all on the same page. As much as he's helping us, we're helping him cause we're all on the same team.
"And I think he always finds a way to maintain his poise, especially as the coach, the leader of a team, that's important. When things are going great, you stay the same; when things aren't going great, you stay the same. And he's done a great job."
Further Reading
Here's What We Know About the Celtics-Sixers Second-Round Schedule
Jayson Tatum Shares His Perspective on Bucks' First-Round Exit
