Brian Windhorst points out absurdity of Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla's fight remarks
11/06/2024 01:07 PM
After being handed their first loss in 2024-25 by the Indiana Pacers, head coach Joe Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics finished their recent four-game road trip 3-1. During a successful back-to-back against the Charlotte Hornets, forward Grant Williams checked Jayson Tatum to the ground to earn a flagrant-2 foul. The controversial foul from the former Celtic surprised many. For ESPN's Brian Windhorst, it reminded him of Mazzulla's desire for the NBA to implement the rules of the NHL in allowing fighting and power plays advantages.
During the latest episode of Brian Windhorst and the Hoop Collective, Windhorst referenced Mazzulla's stance to Williams' flagrant-2, which resulted in an ejection during the final minute of the Celtics' 124-109 win.
"Grant Williams body checks hockey style, Jayson Tatum, right? Flagrant Foul, ejected what have you," Windhorst said. "In the Joe Mazzulla NBA, Tatum stands up and squares off with Grant Williams, or somebody squares off with Grant Williams."
It's interesting when you think about it. In Mazzulla's ideal style of NBA basketball, this is how a flagrant-2 would resolve itself, and no one could ever imagine the association evolving in this direction.
"He wants them to play 4-on-5 on defense for like five seconds. Grant Williams has to stand at the bench for five seconds. Then, he can run in like a hockey player," Windhorst added. "So in Joe Mazzulla's NBA, squared off Jayson Tatum-Grant Williams, everybody clears out like hockey, and the referees let them go."
Williams isn't ejected in this ongoing scenario, but perhaps this leads to a fractured friendship between the two. Grant later claimed Tatum as one of his closest friends.
Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown compared Williams' play to Ray Lewis — the NFL's retired Hall of Fame linebacker.
"What I liked the most is that he jumped right up and didn't lay around," Mazzulla said after the win. "It didn't faze him. He got right up, went to the free throw, and did his business."
Boston topped Charlotte 113-103 the following night.
Jayson Tatum off to an MVP-caliber start for Celtics
Joe Mazzulla and the champion Boston Celtics are 7-1 through their first eight games of the 2024-25 campaign, and Jayson Tatum has been on a tear. Averaging 30.0 points on 48.1% shooting, 35.5% from deep, 7.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.9 steals, Tatum could be on pace to earn his first Most Valuable Player award.
It's still very early into the season. Still, Tatum hasn't shown any signs of slowing down anytime soon and should be in for his most challenging matchup thus far against the 6-1 Warriors at TD Garden on Wednesday.
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