Joe Mazzulla clarified why, in his opinion, the Celtics, despite their success, contend with a “entitlement” narrative.
“This expectation [that] it’s supposed to go a certain way all the time, it can be extremely unhealthy.”
The “entitlement” storyline Joe Mazzulla observes surrounding the Celtics: The Celtics
defeated the Pelicans 118–112 on Monday after overcoming a double-digit deficit. A
dominant second half, especially the fourth quarter, which saw the Celtics outscore New
Orleans 37-25, was the driving force behind the victory.
The Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was questioned about the team’s difficulties in the first half,
particularly the second quarter, after the game. It seemed that he disagreed with the statement.
“You felt it was a poor second quarter?” Mazzulla responded to CLNS Media’s Bobby
Manning. Manning noted that Boston only scored 25 points, to which the Celtics coach
answered by stating, “We only surrendered 24.”
Manning clarified that he was alluding to the offense, which had a notable uptick in
performance during the second half. Mazzulla agreed, but he also used the opportunity to
speculate about why he believed his team was held to irrational standards.
Mazzulla asked, “I think that’s the key, right?” “It’s just not how it works; in the first half, there’s this sense of entitlement that says we should play incredible basketball every
quarter and every game.”
The head coach, in his second year, went on to explain that his team had actually won the
second quarter (25–24), but they were still down due of a subpar first quarter.
“This expectation that things should always go a certain way can be really unhealthy,” he
said. “We have to keep playing whether we are up or behind five or eight. When we
eventually began to defend in the second quarter, I believe our momentum shifted.
Mazzulla highlighted that the Celtics shouldn’t be evaluated solely on their current shooting
percentage while discussing the team’s offensive capabilities.
“A result cannot define us,” he declared. “Short-term success is guaranteed if we only feel
good about ourselves when the ball is going in.”