Finally, Joe Mazzulla regrets not having taken a time-out

Half a second is about the time he missed in Boston to pull off the perfect hold-up, the ball having left the hands of Marcus Smart, posted behind the arc, just after the Game buzzer 4 won at home by the Sixers after overtime (116-115). The Celtics had reason to regret when they saw the attempt of their point guard cross the net, to be finally canceled in stride.

After eluding the question the day before, Joe Mazzulla admitted yesterday, with a clear head, that he should have taken a time out to stop the clock and allow his team to put a system in place, even if it meant letting Doc Rivers readjust his five, perhaps by leaving Tyrese Maxey for De’Anthony Melton, with a more defensive profile.

“I should have called a time-out to help us play a 2-for-1. (either take a quick shot then send the opposing team to throws to have a second attack behind) or some additional possessions. It’s clear that with 14 seconds remaining, with a one-point delay, we want to give ourselves as many chances as possible. We will learn the necessary lessons from this.” did he declare at a press conference.

The job that comes…

However, the coach also defended his general philosophy, which leaves the power to the players. The Boston technician notably took as an example the previous situation, at the end of the fourth quarter, when Marcus Smart had the last shot for the win without Joe Mazzulla having requested a time-out beforehand. The leader then found himself in a very good shooting position, without however managing to score.

“It’s something we’ve talked about all year. We trust our players to make the right choice. The fact of not asking for a time-out prevents the other team from taking players out of the field, it prevents them from organizing their defense. Looking back, it’s always easier to say, ‘We should have done this’ but we’ve been preparing all year to be able to take advantage of those situations. It worked more often than it failed for us. At the end of the fourth quarter, it worked. We got the last shot, and that’s what we want. We don’t want them to have the last chance either.”

But the score was then tied at the very end of the fourth quarter, and not at +1 for Philly like five minutes later. This situation also highlights the on-the-fly learning of Joe Mazzulla, propelled Boston coach from the height of his 34 years and without experience as a main coach before this season.

“I think the two lessons we should learn from this is to take a time-out right away, go for a “2+1″, and have two shots, two more possessions. Or, you have to be clear enough as a team to want to get a shot faster. We did both during the season. We just couldn’t execute either in this particular situation.”he concluded.