Joe Mazzulla’s hot seat is blazing after admiting he lost locker room in Game 3 blowout
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is now sitting on a blazing hot seat after his team fell down 0-3 to the Heat with an embarrassing Game 3 loss.
Joe Mazzulla has been the head coach of the Boston Celtics for eight months. He’s had the permanent gig without an “interim” title for less, only picking up a contract extension in February. He has some explaining to do if he wants to keep it.
Mazzulla proved capable of getting the Celtics the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, but the performance of the head coach and his team in the Eastern Conference Finals has been nothing short of embarrassing.
Boston lost two relatively close games to the Heat in Boston. Their season was essentially hanging in the balance in Game 3. And they fell flat on their faces in the most uninspiring way possible.
After Sunday’s 128-102 loss, Mazzulla was asked by a reporter if he has lost the locker room.
“Yeah, it’s why I need to be better to figure out what this team needs,” he admitted.
That’s…not good.
Mazzulla may have given Brad Stevens and the Celtics reason why he should lose his job as well.
NBA Twitter openly questioned the head coach and his employment status.
Joe Mazzulla’s seat should be on fire after Game 3 loss
Since many are asking...
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) May 22, 2023
I would fire Joe Mazzulla. I don't advocate for firing people, bc it's gross, but it's warranted. I'm there with this one.
That said, I don't think he's going to get fired. Not with multiple guaranteed years left under contract. Just can't see it.
The fall of the Celtics defense in 2023 is just dumbfounding. Kudos to Miami for knowing exactly how to attack a disconnected, poorly coached half-asleep team. This is embarrassing. Oh and the timeout came 4 plays too late. Should be a fun pod tonight!
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) May 22, 2023
I mostly roll my eyes 👀 at fans who perpetually blame coaching for their disappointing teams — but Celtics defense doesn’t even resemble last season. It’s the coach.
— Colin Cowherd (@ColinCowherd) May 22, 2023
The Celtics wouldn’t be in this tough spot if Ime Udoka was their coach.
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 22, 2023
The players don’t play for Joe Mazzulla.
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) May 22, 2023
The players don’t play well under Joe Mazzulla.
Joe Mazzulla doesn’t coach.
Joe Mazzulla doesn’t know how to coach a superstar.
Joe Mazzulla is not ready for this role.
The Celtics need someone else other than Joe Mazzulla as their head…
Unfortunately, this is why the #Celtics may need a new coach this offseason. It’s not that Joe Mazzulla can’t coach or won’t be successful in the league. But, for whatever reason, the players don’t seem to play for him. https://t.co/UDdGOtXbja
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) May 22, 2023
Mazzulla has admitted to being obsessed with the movie The Town as a way to access the Boston mindset. Instead of putting him in the right headspace, it’s just made the head coach the subject of every meme possible.
Joe Mazzulla started watching The Town 4 times a week this year to try to connect with the Boston mindset. But Jimmy Butler befriended Mark Wahlberg to truly understand the Boston mindset years ago so that he could one day destroy it pic.twitter.com/EyQj5dK7pb
— sreekar (@sreekyshooter) May 22, 2023
Erik Spoelstra to Jimmy Butler every postseason 😅 pic.twitter.com/DxGqRks4Is
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) May 22, 2023
Mazzulla landed the Celtics job at just 34 years old after Ime Udoka was suspended for the season because of his off-the-court behavior. The interim tag was removed in February when Boston named him the permanent head coach and gave him a multi-year extension.
That extension is probably the thing that saves Mazzulla from being fired. It’s simply too early into his tenure. Still, there are huge championship-winning names available during this particular coaching carousel.
At the very least, Mazzulla’s job will be safe until Tuesday, when the Celtics take the floor for Game 4. If they fail to show any sort of fight, Boston may have to consider the drastic measure.
dark. Next. Best memes, tweets as Heat humiliate Celtics in Game 3