Joe Mazzulla is not soft; rather, he is strong and substantial to the touch, impervious to pressure, and nearly impenetrable. And he keeps saying that there won’t be any adjustments this season.
Following a shock defeat to the Heat in Game 2, what adjustments did the Celtics make? Not At All.
Yes, they made No little adjustments here and there.
After all, it’s the postseason, which demands greater intensity and concentration.
Following their fourth-place finish in the regular season against three-point percentage, they improved their perimeter defense and gave up less three-pointers in the subsequent Games 3, 4, and 5.
In all of their victories, they outplayed the fifth-best defense in the league offensively. They made a lot of threes and punished mismatches while limiting their turnovers. That’s usually how they operate.
As they say, though, the NBA Playoffs are all about adjustments and adjustments to adjustments, so it’s possible that there will be more of a reckoning going into Round 2 and, fingers crossed, beyond.
The Celtics will also be prepared.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla stated, “One of the things coming into the season was being able to win in different ways with different lineups,” following the Heat’s elimination in Game 5.
“We didn’t play well even when KP was well.”
We engaged in a wide range of activities. Double bigs was what we played. To be able to enter multiple postseason series when you have different matchups, all we have to do is establish a ton of different personas.
Because of the guys’ attention to detail, willingness to follow through on winning that specific game, and adoption of distinct identities, we have been able to accomplish that.
It’s one thing to use your talents to defeat a severely injured Heat team, but it’s quite another to get outside of your comfort zone and win four games.
With frontcourts of Jarrett Allen (6’9) and Evan Mobley (6’11) or Franz Wagner (6’10), Paolo Banchero (6’10), and Wendell Carter Jr. (6’10), both the Cavaliers and Magic are formidable rivals.
Opposing teams have been able to slow down the Celtics and crash the offensive glass in several of Boston’s defeats.
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