How will Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla adjust after Game 1?
When the Celtics Hired Joe Mazzulla, they knew that they were handing over the keys to a potential championship team to a rookie head coach. However, rookie head coaches have guided their teams to titles in their first season at the helm. It has only happened five times but Mazzulla could very well become the 6th.
No doubt that Mazzulla was in a blessed yet envious situation as he inherited a roster that coaches only dream about when accepting a head coaching job for the first time. While Mazzulla has done a decent job and is still learning the nuances of coaching in the NBA Playoffs, he has struggled to adjust at times and some of his decision-making has been questionable.
Even though the Celtics defeated a Quin Snyder-coached squad with the Hawks and even though they outdueled the Doc Rivers-coached 76ers, it is safe to say that the Celtics were just the more talented team in both of those series. Now, Mazzulla faces his biggest coaching challenge yet as he will have to figure out Erik Spoelstra who is one of the most cerebral and experienced coaches in the league.
Spoelstra is easily the best coach left in the postseason with arguably the least talented team to work with. Let’s not forget the fact that the Heat lost Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo to injury and they still are finding ways to be competitive and win. As good as Butler played during Game 1, Spoelstra and the coaching staff deserve credit for the job they have done.
Six of their players scored at least 15 points and that 3rd quarter explosion where they scored a playoff franchise record 46 points pretty much killed the Celtics spirit as it was difficult for them to recover. Spoelstra has the Heat playing efficient basketball and they are working as a team. All the players are focused, hustling, sharing the ball on offense working through screens with plenty of ball movement.
Mazzulla is going to have to learn how to adjust and he must learn quickly because Butler is going to be a problem for them however long this series lasts. Mazzulla has great defensive players at his disposal and his focus going into Game 2 should be to make Butler as uncomfortable as possible by double-teaming him and keeping the ball out of his hands as much as possible.
The Celtics can’t allow Butler to dictate the flow of the game and it would also be a good idea to start picking him defensively before he crosses halfcourt whether he has possession of the ball or not.