Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla thinks postseason basketball does not change much from the regular season.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, knocks the ball out of Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic’s hands during the second half of Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series on Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill.)
Boston Celtics player Jaylen Brown (7) passes around Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) and forward Nikola Jovic (5) in the first half of Game 3 of an NBA first-round playoff series on Saturday, April 27, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photos/Wilfredo Lee)
In the eyes of the Boston coach, nothing truly changes between the regular season and the playoffs. It is a game. Show up,
play. That’s what he expected when the season began in October, what he expects now that it’s April, and what it appears he’ll expect if the Celtics are still playing when the NBA Finals arrive in June.
“To me, I know it’s mundane, and the playoffs create a lot of hysteria, but there’s no difference between a regular-season and a playoff game,” Mazzulla remarked following Game 3 of the Boston-Miami series. “You just have to bring it—mentally, physically, emotionally. “You just have to bring it and execute.”
Some seem to concur with Mazzulla’s point of view.
Take Denver’s Nikola Jokic, for example. The Nuggets, the defending champions, fell in Los Angeles …
