Zolak & Bertrand: Joe Mazzulla responds to criticism of Celtics path to Finals
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla checked in with Zolak and Bertrand this week, fresh off his team stamping their tickets to the NBA Finals following a sweep of the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Yet, despite of the dominant run through the East, the Celtics are facing criticism for not having to fight through a ton of adversity and catching teams who are without their biggest stars. How does Mazzulla respond to those criticisms?
Zolak: You hear it from the outside, not only locally, but nationally regarding the run you guys are on and I’m talking from a negative perspective that people question the path. You know, you avoid this team, that team, you guys are 12-2 throughout these playoff. Does it **** you off when you hear things from the outside when things are talked about from a negative standpoint?
Mazzulla: No, I mean, I don’t hear a ton of it. You obviously know what’s out there just because you getting asked questions every other day, but at the same time, it doesn’t **** me off. It’s just control what you can, nothing you can do about it like and I and I think there’s always two sides to to a narrative regardless of the path that we’ve been on. If you don’t take care of business, there’ll be a reason why. And if you do take care of business, there’ll be a reason why. So I think the great thing this team has done this year is kind of just stay balanced, focus on what’s true, and at the same time, focused on the things that we can control and and I think the test that’s been put put in front of us, we’ve kind of handled, you know, as a team and and with togetherness and kind of with the right mindset.
Check out below for the full interview…
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