Celtics
“You give them structure offensively, give them a little structure defensively, and then get the hell out of the way.”
Kings coach Mike Brown spent six seasons as an assistant with the Warriors at the height of their powers. He was around for three of the four championships during the Steph Curry era, including Golden State’s most recent title in 2022, when they beat the Celtics.
During that run, Brown experienced similar situations to what the Celtics are going through now. Boston has the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference secured and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. Golden State won 67 games during the regular season in 2017 before winning the championship that year.
Asked how teams in this position should attack the final stretch of the regular season, Brown pointed out that the approach can be different based on the personnel available, noting the Warriors players were older in 2022 than the Celtics are now.
But, there are some common themes, such as making sure players are rested and giving them freedom to experiment before the stakes are raised in the postseason.
“I thought the formula was pretty simple,” Brown said. “You give them structure offensively, give them a little structure defensively, and then get the hell out of the way. Then, when they have questions, you better be ready to answer the questions and give them the right answer.
”I’m not sure what [Joe Mazzulla]’s formula is here, but having said that our guys had a lot of freedom and a lot of trust in them on the basketball court. So, we were OK down the stretch not playing them or just continuing to play the same way we played. Because we knew at the end of the day they were good enough, not just physically, but mentally also to make adjustments on the fly or something like that. We knew we could get it done.”
Brown won his second NBA Coach of the Year award last season after leading the Kings to a 48-34 record. With Mazzulla in the running for the award this year, Brown was asked for his take on the job the Celtics coach has done.
”He’s done a fantastic job,” Brown said. “I tell people this all the time, it seems like the coaches in this league are getting younger and younger. I was 35 when I got my first head job [in Cleveland], and woof, it was an experience. These guys now, they seem so cool, calm and collected. The way they speak, the way they coach.”
”I kind of envy them because I don’t feel like I was quite like that when I was younger. He’s done a heck of a job for a team that’s expected to win. They’re expected to win and not just win during the regular season but win a championship, and there comes a lot of pressure with that. You’ve got to try to stay even-keeled as possible so that your team doesn’t feel anxious or anything like that. He’s done a fabulous job with it.”
Brown, White out
Jaylen Brown (left hand), Derrick White (back), and Jaden Springer (left knee) missed Friday’s contest.
Brown scored 23 points in 33 minutes in Wednesday’s win against Oklahoma City. Mazzulla said there weren’t any serious issues that popped up with Brown’s hand after the game. When asked if he considered shutting Brown down for the rest of the regular season, Mazzulla said no and that Brown was “good.”
”He made it through the game well,” Mazzulla said. “I think it’s just managing the guys throughout the rest of the regular season.”
Mazzulla also described White’s status as “good.” White was seen in the locker room before the game high-fiving rookie Jordan Walsh to celebrate the Maine Celtics’ playoff win.
G League playoffs
The Maine Celtics are in the G League’s Eastern Conference Finals after a 119-112 home win over the Delaware Blue Coats on Thursday night at the Portland Expo.
.”It’s important for the players, important for the staff, important for the organization because it validates the development,” Mazzulla said. “I always talk about alignment between the front office, ownership, us, and Maine is in the alignment as well. You want people to know what they do matters. So, the fact that they’re in there and the communication between us and Maine, the player development staff and our staff and front office and players is great. I’m really happy for [Maine coach] Blaine [Mueller]and the players and the staff.”
