‘Hindsight is 20/20’: Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla admits he should have called a timeout in the dying seconds of Boston’s 116-115 OT loss to the Sixers
- Mazzulla changed course after saying on Sunday that he had made the right decision
- Now he admits calling a timeout might have been the better decision
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Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla reversed course, saying he should have called a timeout in the dying seconds of his team’s overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Sixers guard James Harden cleared a green three-point shot with 18 seconds left to get ahead of Boston.
Boston blasted in the ball and couldn’t fire a shot before the final buzzer – as guard Marcus Smart unleashed his perfect try too late.
In the immediate aftermath of the game, Mazzulla defended his comments, but walked back that Monday.
“At the end of extra time, it is 20/20 afterwards. I should have called [a timeout] to help us get a 2-for-1 or a few more assets,” Mazzulla said on a conference call with reporters.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla now admits he should have called a timeout on Sunday
Sixers guard James Harden knocked down a go-ahead three-pointer to take a 116-115 lead
Boston didn’t call a timeout and Marcus Smart’s game-winning shot was released too late
“So, with 14 seconds left, one down, of course you want to get as many chances as possible. So we certainly learn from that.’
It mirrors a situation that occurred earlier in that game – where the first-year head coach did not call a timeout after Harden tied the game with 16 seconds left in the rules.
Boston continued to drive in the ball without calling for an interruption. Jayson Tatum again found Smart open from deep, but he missed.
That decision was one that Mazzulla reflected on Monday, saying he believed in his players to get things done.
“It’s something we’ve talked about all year,” he said Monday. “We trust our guys to make the right game. [Not calling a timeout] prevents the opposing team from getting matchups off the ground. It prevents the opposing team from organizing their defense.
“In hindsight it’s always 20/20, so it sounds good to say, ‘Yeah, we should have done this’, but we’ve been preparing all year as a team to take advantage of those situations.
“More often than not, it worked out for us. I thought the end of regulation was doing it right. We’ve got the last shot, and that’s what you want. You don’t want them to have a chance too.’
While this decision can be criticized – and perhaps should be – Boston have shown in the past that they can perform well if they don’t get a stoppage of play.
Boston has been successful with this aggressive strategy before – with players like Jayson Tatum hitting winning shots while Mazzulla gives its stars more control over the game
But Mazzulla points to the moments after Harden’s shot as a perfect time to readjust his thinking
Last season, in the first round against the Brooklyn Nets, Tatum drove down the track and hit a winning layup in the final seconds. He credits the decision not to call a timeout as a big reason why that shot went in, as it prevented the Nets defense from organizing.
“We’ve been doing it all year, we’re confident in that,” Celtics center Al Horford said after Sunday’s loss. “The momentum was there. Jayson had the ball in his hands, made a great play and if [Marcus] If Smart had noticed him half a second earlier, he would have fallen down. I don’t get too caught up in that part.’
With a crucial Game 5 coming up for Tuesday night and tied at 2-2, Mazzulla said he looks back on this loss as a learning experience.
“I think the two lessons you learn from that is calling [a timeout] get a 2-for-1 right away, get two shots, buy a few extra possessions,” said Mazzulla. Or we need to clearly understand as a team that we need to go faster to get a chance.
“We’ve done both over the course of the season. We did not execute either of them in that particular situation.”