Joe Mazzulla Sends Clear Message to Celtics Following Decisive Win over Heat and Blowout Loss to Clippers: ‘Handle Success’
The Boston Celtics, who lead the NBA at 35-11, are adjusting to being the hunted.
The Boston Celtics defeated the Heat 143-110 on Thursday night in Miami, giving them one of their most remarkable wins of the season. Saturday night’s encore at TD Garden resulted in a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Clippers (115-96).
At 35-11, Boston still has the NBA’s best record. The Celtics have largely regarded as the most skilled top six in the league, and by racing ahead of the pack, they have established themselves as the hunted.
While it is advantageous for them to keep the hunter’s mindset, their competitors have moved quickly to gain momentum. The Heat signed Terry Rozier, giving them a guy who fits the description of the scoring guard they missed out on when Damian Lillard chose to join the Milwaukee Bucks rather than come to South Beach.
Speaking of Giannis Antetokounmpo and company, on the same day that Rozier was rerouted to Miami, the Bucks fired first-year head coach Adrian Griffin and hired Doc Rivers.
Who knows what Boston’s main competitors will do between now and the February 8 trade deadline?
After the Celtics were thrashed by the Clippers, their head coach, Joe Mazzulla, acknowledged his team’s ability to follow one of its best performances with one of its worst, stating that dealing with success is one of the most difficult tasks.
“To me, there’s no coincidence that the two extremes happened one after another,” Mazzulla went on to say. “And I believe those can be gifts if you look at them correctly, keeping you balanced, humble, and in check.
“You are never as good as you believe you are. You are never as horrible as you believe you are. because I believe it is vital, because we usually talk about adversity, but it is always viewed as something bad happening to you. But, in my opinion, one of the most difficult things to do is win consistently and all the time while dealing with success. Being able to manage success is equally difficult as dealing with loss. So, nevertheless, I believe you should focus on your team’s character, and our players will be fine; we’ll recover.”
