Joe Mazzulla Discusses Game Mismanagement Leading to Losing on the Margins and a Series-Opening Defeat to Sixers

The Celtics took 12 fewer threes and committed twice as many turnovers in their Game 1 loss to the Sixers.

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With Joel Embiid inactive due to an LCL sprain in his right knee, Game 1 seemed set for the Celtics to protect the parquet and jump out to a 1-0 series lead against their division rival. 

Instead, losses on the margins and an inability to slow James Harden, who torched Boston's defense for 45 points, led to the latest perplexing defeat for the defending Eastern Conference champions.

A day after his team's 119-115 loss, Celtics' head coach Joe Mazzulla expressed, "Our strength is our offensive management. If you have 20 points off turnovers, if you have ten live-ball turnovers, and you get outshot by 12 at the three-point line, and you get outshot by 11 in general, it really doesn't matter what coverage you play; it's a variation game at that point. 

"For this team, they've been built on defense for a very, very long time, they have the DNA of that, and they're always going to play hard, but we manage the game best with our offensive decision-making, and we just have to continue to do that."

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Much like striking a balance between when and how often they want to send a second defender at Harden, Boston must find equilibrium offensively. The hosts got into the paint at will in Game 1, producing 66 points there. But that proved a double-edged sword, combining with the Sixers' zone defense to help the latter protect the perimeter and tilt the mathematics of the matchup in their favor.

The Celtics attempted 12 fewer threes than Philadelphia, and the latter made seven more. The loser of the battle beyond the arc often finds itself on the wrong end of the game's outcome.

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To that, Mazzulla stated, "Sometimes, when you get into a comfort level of, 'we can get into the paint whenever we want, we have to do it over and over again,' and so I think it's important to know that we have to find that balance of getting into the paint and making the right play, at the same time, we have to shoot open threes."

Boston's first-year bench boss stressed that at the podium after Game 1 and multiple times following Tuesday's practice. He did it for good reason. It's paramount that the Celtics don't pass up clean looks from three-point range.

And if they couple that with taking better care of the ball after committing 16 turnovers, twice as many as the Sixers, leading to seven more points off giveaways for Philadelphia than Boston, it'll go a long way towards evening the series as it heads to the City of Brotherly Love where Embiid will likely enter this clash between rivals.

Further Reading

Celtics Address Letting Guard Down in Game 1 Loss to Sixers Team Missing Joel Embiid

Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Game 1 Loss vs. Sixers: The Perplexing Defeats Have Become More Predictable

Jaylen Brown Discusses Celtics and Sixers Rivalry, Bill Russell's Legacy

Here's What We Know About the Celtics-Sixers Second-Round Schedule

Celtics Praise Joe Mazzulla's Poise, Adaptability After Advancing Past Hawks: 'That's What It's All About, Especially in the Playoffs'

Celtics Discuss Difference-Maker in Game 6 vs. Hawks: 'In the Playoffs, You've Got Basketball, You've Got Execution, And Then You've Got This Like Fight That's Kind of Going On'