Joe Mazzulla Defends Shot-Contesting Antics, Predicts Rule Change Soon

Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told a local radio station Wednesday that he has been told to stop contesting players’ shots during deadball periods. Mazzulla sparked a lighthearted debate around the league this week after defending Suns player Royce O’Neal’s three-point shot after a timeout call in a game earlier this month.

Though he’s been instructed to stop, likely for player safety reasons, Mazzulla defended his decision to contest O’Neal’s shot during his radio appearance.

“Guys don’t shoot shots in front of our bench to go back to their bench to feel good about themselves,” Mazzulla said. “If I’m gonna ask the guys to contest, the staff’s gotta do the same.”

Several of Mazzulla’s Celtics players, including stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, spoke favorably of their coach’s shot contesting, but others were more critical and called it cheap. Others called it dangerous, and Mazzulla himself predicted that there would soon be a rule forbidding it. Still, he considered it an important way to motivate his team.

“At the end of the day, it’s about the mindset and the approach that we bring, and it’s within the rules of the game,” Mazzulla said. “It’s about setting a tone, and it’s just that. One of the biggest pet peeves is thinking that a guy’s gonna get a free shot and that’s not the way it works. If we’re gonna hold our team to a standard, we hold our staff to the same thing.”

In Mazzulla’s second season as head coach, the Celtics are the most dangerous team in the NBA and a clear favorite to win the NBA Championship. Boston is comfortably leading the Eastern Conference with a 55-14 record, putting the team 11 games ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks in second place. After several successful seasons with disappointing finishes, the Celtics find themselves in the midst of a historically good season and Mazzulla intends to lead them to a better end.