Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla says playoff basketball doesn’t change much from regular season
Updated 6:25 PM GMT+1, April 28, 2024
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MIAMI (AP) — There’s been a notion in the NBA for years, one that says the game changes when the postseason rolls around.
Joe Mazzulla disagrees.
In the eyes of the Boston coach, nothing really changes from the regular season to the playoffs. It’s a game. Show up and play. That’s what he expected when the season started in October, that’s what he expects now that it’s April and it sounds like that’s what he’ll expect if the Celtics are still playing when the NBA Finals roll around in June, too.
“To me, I know it’s mundane and the playoffs create a lot of hysteria, but there’s no difference between a regular-season and a playoff game,” Mazzulla said after Game 3 of the Boston-Miami series. “You’ve just got to bring it, mentally, physically emotionally. You’ve just got to bring it and you’ve got to execute.”
There seem to be some that agree with Mazzulla’s way of thinking.
Take Denver center Nikola Jokic, for example. The defending champion Nuggets lost in Los Angeles to the Lakers on Saturday night, missing out on a chance for a four-game sweep in Round 1. Denver gets another chance to advance when the series returns to the Nuggets’ home floor on Monday night.