Joe Mazzulla Shuns Hate From Raptors After Pouncing on Chance to “Empower” Celtics in Blowout Win

After sustaining a close defeat against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Boston Celtics are back to their winning ways. In the last 24 hours, they have registered two comfortable wins under their name. Especially the Saturday night encounter against the Toronto Raptors displayed the clinical performance and taking home a comfortable 117-94 victory. Despite the dominant performance and clinical victory, the Raptors bench had an issue with the Celtics head coach Joe Mazulla’s move in the later part of the game.

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum put up a great show, setting up the game for the Celtics. The duo dropped 29 and 27 points respectively which helped the team keep the pressure on the Raptors constantly. Notably, Tatum continued to play the fourth to its fullest even after a blowout lead.

Celtics coach Joe Mazulla responds to the Raptors’ attack

Joe Mazzulla only meant business throughout the game. Even after taking a massive lead in the fourth quarter, he refrained from checking out his star players from the court. Fans in the NBA world had a difference of opinion on that particular move. Even Jayson Tatum made a strong opinion on that decision after the game.

Apart from that, the Raptors players pointed out Mazzulla’s controversial move in the later part of the game.

Despite a blowout lead in the fourth quarter, Mazzulla used a ‘coach challenge’ to overturn a ref’s call. While the Raptors found the HC’s act to be disrespectful, Mazzulla had a perfect reply to them in the post-game interaction. He said, “I think it’s my responsibility to my players first, and it was a clear opportunity for me to empower the players, let them know that I’m coaching you.” 

Even though it was an unusual decision from a coach, Mazzulla stood by his decision and highlighted how it would help his players.

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On the other hand, Tatum stressed on the importance of giving game time for the reserve players.

Jayson Tatum’s stern statement on Mazzulla’s hard coaching

Following the game, Jayson Tatum responded with a stern response when asked about Joe’s hard coaching during a blowout lead. Jared Weiss, The Athletic reporter, tweeted Tatum’s response. The Celtics star said, “When we’re up 25, those are just as important for those guys that don’t usually get the opportunity to play.

Those minutes matter to them and they matter to us.” Even though the statement stood contradictory to Joe’s decision at the end, the 6 ‘8 tall baller stood by his words.

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Was Joe Mazzulla’s decision disrespectful to the Raptors? Let us know in the comments below.