Stephen A. & JJ Redick DEBATE how much Joe Mazzulla is to blame 🍿 | First Take

On First Take, Stephen A. Smith, JJ Redick and Tim Legler talk in-depth about the Boston Celtics falling short in Game 7 to the Miami Heat.
0:00 What went wrong for the Celtics in Game 7?
1:30 JJ’s take on Jayson Tatum’s early injury
6:30 How much blame Joe Mazzulla deserves
11:40 Should the Celtics have attacked the basket more early on?
#ESPN #FirstTake #StephenA
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[@steplaland]

Miami got no Oladipo, No Herro, No Gabe Vincent in G5, a Benched Love and they whining about Tatum who played almost the whole game. Excuses.

[@donm3625]

Gabe played

[@cbfsoar15]

@@donm3625 read it said game 5

[@SmurfENT1]

AGREED!!!

[@bluv5185]

And don’t forget Brogdon the last couple games either..

[@richardoracin2655]

💯

[@lexis4490]

Tim and JJ on = old school: real sports talk. Got to love it.

[@brandonrhymez2961]

😢🎉😮😮🎉🎉😂😂😂😮😮😢 p 6kooo9

[@wcbgcpetere1]

These two break the game down like nobody else on the network.

[@suneelj93]

Why does ESPN upload content at 720p instead of 1080p60? They are below quality standards of average KZbinrs.

[@porkmilk8984]

​@@suneelj93 none of the TV stations know they are near death and have no idea how to transition to full internet casting.

[@Mo-yd8xc]

"Habitual habits?" I thought JJ went to Duke?

[@mokhelemokhele585]

JJ Reddick and Tim, bring a level of calmness that is needed on these networks that are just concerned with soundbites. Cogent analysis, perfect breakdown and fair. 👑👑

[@ultrascreens5206]

Im hoping those days of just spewing nonsense for headlines and stupid topics being debated fiercely just for views are over

[@koola998]

Here we goo again. Worship them cause they white...😞 what about jalen rose and Richard jefferson???

[@mokhelemokhele585]

@@koola998 Jalen Rose and Richard Jefferson aren't regulars on First take, JJ is. J-Rose and RJ are great and you're right they deserve praise too. 👑

[@andrewdurand3181]

@@koola998 troll

[@rareform6948]

@@koola998 lol you’re the racist here, you get salty anytime someone praises a white person? Get help

[@Ballaholic17]

The Miami Heat and Florida Panthers broke the city of Boston's hearts.. it was great to watch

[@Citylife_90]

Jacking up so many 3s was the issue. Even with Jayson being hurt, this should’ve been a really close game. Jaylen needs to better his ball handling skills.

[@GamingAndGuitar03]

Deadass I felt the same sentiment during march madness

[@SolaceMcfly]

Jaylen brown dribbling is so horrible he obviously learned nothing from IT and kyrie

[@leechrec]

Jaylen needs to develop a post up game and needs to get better at moving without the ball.

[@johnjack902]

Its that simple

[@ghosting6723]

@@AS-lj7jefacts our pg is suppose to be the coach on the court and smart is not that

[@tigerhoods7927]

Jaylen Brown: “Don’t let us win game 8”

[@Latasha-qz1lz]

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@RealShaktimaan]

Don't let us win a game in 23/24 season - Marcus Smart

[@dtroof4936]

🤣🤣🤣

[@SolaceMcfly]

Game 8 Marcus Smart goes crazy

[@KingoftheRoad-2023]

I was asleep then checked the final scores and couldn't believe that my Boston only got 84 points against Miami's 103.I thought maybe they were the results from 3 years ago on the screen/perhaps a TYPO?. JAYLEN BROWN is an EMBARRASSMENT to the NBA.Even my 8 year old son knows how to dribble well.JB gets paid $50M per year yet he cant dribble a ball, and cost us the game.I am now looking forward to Denver sweeping the HEAT the way they made my morning Horrible with that Gigantic Loss. Go Denver GO.Put the HEAT to Sleep ONCE and for ALL.

[@jamesonedwardsii4943]

Joe Mazulla wasn’t the guy throwing up bricks in the first three games and game 7 🤷‍♂️

[@rudebwoypotato2340]

So much bricks you would've thought they were building a new stadium

[@tigerhoods7927]

Facts

[@desiv1170]

True, but in the post-game interviews when asked if they were shooting too many threes, he said "No" and that was it. Nothing else... Mirrors what Tatum was saying when they lost the first three games... "It's a make or miss league".. So, the coach is apparently good with the plan that if they are going to lose games because three point shots aren't going in, then that is fine. No planning for other options. No schemes for drives/layups... Just, "No" and that's it... I mean, if Boston is fine with that, then OK. But that means they are fine with losing when they go cold and don't try something different. (And going cold has been something that has happened a lot...)

[@youngblood4127]

The NBA is like AAU 2.0. It’s never the players faults & the coaches gotta coddle and do what player say. Meanwhile, the “Star” players & the team can travel to the best hotel, eat the best food, get the best gear & really just get by on their athleticism .

[@bigmo3692]

That doesn’t make him any less of a terrible coach

[@RipleyJ]

Espn is cracking the code finally on what we want. Surrounding stephen a with intelligent analysts is good for everyone

[@mattr2118]

I'm going to blame Jayson Tatum because if he doesn't play like dog water in the first three games of the series then he never even has to get injured. He's INSANELY inconsistent & unreliable, and he's going to escape blame because of an injury

[@jayharris1359]

He had over 30 and 10 2 of those : games and Spo doubled and took the ball out of his hands in the 4th

[@IBlackSanta]

So its all tatums fault??? Yall haters are crazy... why is it always his fault yet jb had an even worse series than him??? Yall did this to jt and rode jb like crazy after last seasons finals but now you're still on jt??? Wild to me. And yes mazzulla deserves some blame because adjustments, offensive schemes and play calling is his job.. he was awful this whole play offs the celtics are should regret committing to him too early

[@Frankieefootballmundial]

@@IBlackSanta Watch him joined the Lakers

[@du2thurl42]

he played bad game 3 do u even watch. in what world are game 1 and 2 bad games

[@du2thurl42]

@@IBlackSanta they rode jb and jb didnt even play that good

[@jamesleroy8797]

Injuries are part of the game. Nobody gave Giannis and Lebron a pass even when they were injured why should we give Tatum one? Even without Tatum Boston are a more talented team compared to the Heat, the Heat just had the bigger drive and heart to win this game over the Celtics. No excuses for the Celtics

[@ImTheRonzy]

to be fair jt admitted that injuries are no excuses. just the media making excuses again

[@smoothsavage2870]

Nobody gave those 2 a pass. Giannis injures players as a winning strategy, so he had it coming. Lebron's "injury" didn't get brought up until after he got swept so it seems like bs.

[@beazy3364]

The difference is Tatum got hurt IN THE GAME and continued to play. Giannis was hurt, sat out and came back when he felt better.

[@jamesleroy8797]

@@smoothsavage2870 Lol not even a big Giannis fan but that’s just BS, you’re still hung up on that Kyrie injury 2 years ago??? Even Nash said it wasn’t intentional. And even if Lebron’s injury is bs it wasn’t his fault that the Lakers lost but he was still blamed for it. So no excuses for your Tatum

[@angel-ij4xv]

Damian going to the celtics

[@naturalbornthriller9025]

Heat doing all this without Herro makes it even more impressive 🤝

[@meechie5797]

Makes that 2020 ring even more impressive

[@Thatrobloxandfortniteplayer]

They're actually playing better without him, even if his healthy ready to go I would gradually put him in and see how it goes if not go to sleep n watch and trade for a Big Man.

[@hotfire4647]

They have more flow without him so he'll get traded to the magic

[@buddylee5712]

Oladipo was out this season too

[@Percy_P]

@@hotfire4647 😂

[@jeffreyvalentyn6815]

FINALLY THANK YOU LEGLER! Jj and Stephen A are missing the main reason they struggled with Mazzula. There was no picking apart of the zone

[@quiksix25]

The NBA is now a 3 pt shooting contest- whoever makes their open 3s wins, whoever misses their open 3s loses

[@CSIme]

Facts; there is no reason to take 40+ 3s in a game. 🤷🏽‍♀️; that's not basketball. Also hurts because the missed ones make it easier for the other team to grab rebounds.

[@GoatedAtNFS]

they can’t handle a Heat vs Nuggets finals 😂

[@ericradford2142]

Waaahhhhhh!!

[@nikkrelj471]

So let me get this right. When they were down 3 to 0 it was majority of his fault. Then they tied it and he got zero praise. And now that they lost we are straight back at criticizing him. How about we direct some accountability and blame towards the players. Cause they aren't getting any right now. Its all Mazulla while the guys who sre actually on the court are choking and bricking every shot

[@Maxjuliann]

That’s how the media is , they blame the coach first then they blame the second best player then they blame the role players then they finally blame the superstar

[@garrisona5669]

Just like a scorned gf you do something right no credit do something she don’t like and there you have it exactly then they get upset as to why Joe is a flat ahole towards them and I don’t blame em they been riding him all crazy

[@DarrellLeeB]

What key adjustments did Mazzulla make to get them out of the 3-0 hole? Because of Mazzulla, they almost didn't even make it to game 7. It was lucky to even get that far.

[@christianluu2994]

This core isnt able to get it done with 3 different coaches, but yes lets blame mazzula for jb's 8 TOV

[@abhisangu3175]

I mean did you watch the video. SAS gave him props and they talked about jaylen browns mistakes and tatums injury and lack of aggresiveness

[@RekojGnik]

Jimmy was hurt too so let's not act like one guy was hurt

[@michaelchen1755]

Jimmy still hurt 😂😂 That ankle....he's not getting the elevation on his shots and have to resort to pump fakes

[@mangeshkulkarni598]

@@michaelchen1755lmao that’s his game bro he’s a foul baiter

[@vedounamanicadimasochisti]

Can you please tell what's the injury and the extent? I'm not second guessing that, I'm just unaware of that really.

[@awesomereviews1561]

@@vedounamanicadimasochisti he injured his ankle vs New York and it’s not fully healed since they have been playing every 2 or 3 days.

[@vedounamanicadimasochisti]

@@awesomereviews1561 Oh, I now remember that. Well, he had some great games after that, like the the beginning of the series vs Celtics. Only the man knows how he is I guess.

[@raijbite]

Are we not gonna talk about Caleb Martin Carrying Miami

[@KingKofi01]

People making excuses for Tatum seem to forget that he shrunk in last year’s finals too

[@jaysco5257]

Tatum being the worst pull-up off the dribble shooter this year. I will quote Shaq. "It looks good when it goes in."

[@MrGNugget]

Tatum may have been hurt in game 7, but that’s why you can’t go down 0-3. He and the celtics played terrible, especially in game 3! No passes will be given

[@onlylikemindedbw]

But so was jimmy and olidipo and gabe playing hurt and they are missing herro. So let's not act like the heat was fully healthy

[@money0925]

That Game 3 performance was unacceptable. They quit. Didn't deserve to win after that

[@steplaland]

97% chance of winning and they lose, biggest choke job of all time.

[@joeypena8521]

97 percent? I don’t think that’s correct besides all the pressure was on Boston it’s not that surprising they lost

[@95yazid]

@@joeypena8521 He was refering to predictions and odds before the series started, ESPN gave a 97% chance to win for the Celtics. Boston was such large favorite for this series that they were still seen as the favorites after going down 3-0. But it's just the media and "casuals" (I really don't like using that term) overlooking the Heat, every basketball fan with a brain knew this was the 3rd time in 4 years this 2 teams met in the Conf Finals and this one was gonna be a hard fought one just like every other

[@Bareus34]

@@95yazidnope, they werent at 3-0 but at 2-0. ESPN model sucks, wouldnt base anything on it

[@95yazid]

@@Bareus34 I have a friend who bet on Miami 7 times this series because they always had more interesting odds, even in Game 4. And I remember looking at the odds for the series at this point and it was still Celtics favored. Idk about ESPN at this point tbh maybe they had a different opinion, but a lot of ppl were pushing for the 3-0 comeback as if it was (almost) a sure thing.

[@garrtrigger]

I want more JJ and Tim breakdowns and analysis.

[@EricMrRareAir]

the media wanted Celtics vs Lakers & got the complete opposite 😂 you’ve gotta love it!

[@jasondima1411]

I love it also!!

[@therealwelfin]

Enjoy a boring finals sweep now

[@dylanjoyce2407]

Denver in 6 most likely

[@diamondbackspartan3204]

@@dylanjoyce2407 Miami in 4!

[@Frankieefootballmundial]

@@dylanjoyce2407 Miami in 7 😂😂

[@757-David]

If Joe Mazulla were white, Stephen A would say he should be fired. He would be "the players need someone they respect', "the team needs someone who holds the locker room".

[@iloveap83]

There is definitely validity to this comment. Look I love Joe Mazulla I think he did the best he could while being thrust into an impossible situation but Stephen a. is clearly biased.

[@VOICEtheVILLAIN]

“Kids aren’t smart enough.”- JJ Redick Best part of this 😂

[@truck84]

All these excuses if Tatum wasn't hurt but the Heat was up 3-0 while Tatum was at his best! Congrats to the Heat for overcoming the odds

[@superkid12345]

the problem wasnt tatum getting hurt, the problem was the Celtics offices is centrally focused on shooting 3s and Jason Tatum, so if one or both of those things are off, they have no backup plan.

[@lestershipman3039]

They need to get back to defense first and Tatum injury was a problem but they do need more offense then jacking up 3s

[@CSIme]

And Jalen Brown isn't a scrub, so he should have been stepping up also since he ran his mouth.

[@shezpherd]

I think Joe showed some grit as a coach where he has a bright future. Dude was thrown into the fire with no prep this year and only 34. The real question is do you want him coaching a Championship caliber team while going through growing pains? Tough question for the Celtics this off season

[@Apxstle64]

Great take, as a c’s fan I feel the exact same way

[@jzzft11]

NO!!!!!! Joe must go!!!

[@smoothsavage2870]

They extended him, so it's obvious that they want him there.

[@angel-ij4xv]

nuggets taking out the trash in 4

[@davidjones5547]

I think that Mazzulla's offensive approach to the game BLOWS. To base his offense on the 3 point shot when this team has NO reliable 3 point shooter is absolutely idiotic. The Celtics won 57 games during the regular season and 11 games in the playoffs in spite of Mazzulla. He has to go and this decision is not Brad's to make. It is up to Wyc whether Mazzulla comes back next season or not.

[@SojiRo23]

Joe Mazulla can’t dribble to ball for Jaylen Brown. Boston has the same issue they’ve had for the past 5 years. No floor general, lack of attention to detail, they turn the ball over way too much, Tatum and Brown don’t make each other better. It’s time to blow it up.

[@christiancooks8091]

That’s what I said after they lost

[@damiantanks1738]

Love JJ and Legs analysis of the game

[@heyitsmedammit]

This analysis is peak Tim Legler. The finest description of that game that I've heard anywhere, from anyone, at any time.

[@100jlthomas]

Stephen A has little to no respect for Jimmy Butler as that guy, and the same lack of respect for Miami. It’s evident

[@tigerhoods7927]

Lol nobody listen to him for serious basketball takes anyway

[@100jlthomas]

@@tigerhoods7927 I see. It’s like he can’t fathom how Miami or Jimmy can be this good. It must be the fault of the other team someway somehow lol

[@josephgreene4174]

@@100jlthomas Horrible take dude. SA says repeatedly that playoff Jimmy is that dude. It's the games leading up to the playoffs that he doesn't show up... and that's true.

[@100jlthomas]

@@josephgreene4174 the most he says is Jimmy is a “rough rider”.. he doesn’t acknowledge Jimmy as the best player in the East come playoff time.

[@nanox4]

@@100jlthomas Yes, he only cares about the Lakers.

[@kevincunningham6282]

Tim and JJ are really smart guys concerning the game of basketball and it's IQ.

[@cadderlybonadauce370]

At least Tatum was really hurt, you can see it and he played through it. Unlike other players, who, without any whispers suddenly got injured just to shift his focus on why he lost (Skip pointed out how many times he has done this to shift the blame). But Miami is also missing players who are injured (who are contributors too). So let's just call it as it is they lost. No shame in it as Tatum played well too and through pain.

[@swoop1341]

Lol ultimate d eating

[@dbeat321]

​@@swoop1341 do you enjoy the nba?

[@str8duval]

According to y'all if other players would have got injured and would have looked exactly like Tatum, you would have simply just accused him of Faking. Tatum had 6 other games to close the deal so I really shouldn't have even come to a game 7

[@swoop1341]

@@dbeat321 yes sir I do, that's y random shots at players is corny to me if a player is injured they are injured . No need for shade right?

[@zayn9763]

JB did as bad if not worse than JT,,,, idk why JT is getting all the blame.....

[@g0ldenl0nd0n8]

No one ever brings up the fact Miami had players out already ESPN stay making excuses why the HEAT keep winning SMH!!! HEAT NATION

[@wcbgcpetere1]

JJ and Leggs are the best basketball analysts on ESPN television.

[@blackcurlmagicgrey-sloan8640]

HANDS DOWN

[@felixjuan014]

Jimmy is injured since game 2 of the 2nd round

[@vedounamanicadimasochisti]

Can you please tell what's the injury and the extent? I'm not second guessing that, I'm just unaware of that really.

[@felixjuan014]

@@vedounamanicadimasochisti Rolled his ankle missed 1 game, since then he was not the same as he was in round 1

[@calkestis658]

Love how these guys casually forget that no team is more injured than Miami now, out with two of their top players, and many of their current players, including Jimmy, have injuries.

[@95yazid]

yeah it's crazy not bringing up the fact Jimmy has been battling injuries throughout the whole playoffs and give excuses to Tatum and the Celtics for being injured 1 game Also I don't remember seeing that type of energy when they took 7 games to beat a one legged MVP ...

[@justinalley3399]

@@95yazid tatum has been playing with a broken wrist since the all star break

[@95yazid]

@@justinalley3399 nearly every team in the playoffs has been battling with injuries and mostly on their best players, Fox, Morant, Lebron, Giannis, Brunson, Embiid, Jimmy, Kawhi. That's just the way it is, every year, in the NBA, it's the same for everybody, the guys push through and the best team wins in the end plus aren't you like one year late with your information?

[@terrordoszucas7219]

They made a big mistake firing Ime Udoka, the team lost the consistency and identity.

[@TonySoprano-mm8ip]

They had no choice but to fire him

[@picassojulien899]

@@TonySoprano-mm8iptrue but in the same breath losing ime hurt this team alot. But the main issue is that the players aren’t disciplined.

[@SunniMerlot]

@@TonySoprano-mm8ip they should have exposed the willing participant before they did

[@dadillonful]

Did Udoka win a ring last year?

[@JoshuaEdwards977]

​@dadillonful they went 6 games in the finals when their stars were just 24 and 25 years old.

[@newagestudios408]

I don’t blame Boston for anything, Miami just wanted it more and seemed to be the more aggressive team from game 1. I don’t think Boston was ready for how Miami was coming.

[@tharris6032]

That's why you do blame Boston because a 8 Seed shouldn't beat a 2 Seed. Denver is a 1 Seed and is showing you why

[@HerbJr316]

@@tharris6032 No… Miami was just the better team. Having better talent doesn’t make you the better team, nor does the seeding. 7 games determine who has the better squad… and Boston just ain’t it.

[@motivationalshy5072]

Yall completely ignoring the beat player on the court got injured when score was 0-0 and jaylen brown wanted to be the top dog and we all seen he clearly wasn’t ready for that role

[@HerbJr316]

@@motivationalshy5072 That’s not ignored… it’s a big factor. It’s the narrative folks are making that’s the issue though. Anytime the Celtics won, it was because they were the better team. Anytime the Heat won, it’s because of what the Celtics didn’t do. With 4 loses in a 7 game series, how does the losing team get that much slack?? That’s the issue here.

[@KingoftheRoad-2023]

I was asleep then checked the final scores and couldn't believe that my Boston only got 84 points against Miami's 103.I thought maybe they were the results from 3 years ago on the screen/perhaps a TYPO?. JAYLEN BROWN is an EMBARRASSMENT to the NBA.Even my 8 year old son knows how to dribble well.JB gets paid $50M per year yet he cant dribble a ball, and cost us the game.I am now looking forward to Denver sweeping the HEAT the way they made my morning Horrible with that Gigantic Loss. Go Denver GO.Put the HEAT to Sleep ONCE and for ALL.

[@babirgurbanov2784]

I recommend them to talk about Heat too. This is not about Celtics at all:)))

[@apep06]

Dawg Tim Legs zone breakdown and Game play breakdown is ridiculous 🔥

[@Poseidon0077]

This Miami ‘Heat’ Team is just Simply… ‘Fascinating’. Got a Good Feeling (believe it or not), we haven’t we haven’t seen Nothing Yet!… “Let’s Go ‘Heat’!”…

[@Lloyd00]

It's weird that coaches seem to be confused by zone when i bet the majority us that played high school or college basketball have heard exactly what Tim said countless times. Screen the zone, get to the middle. Someone in the short corner...

[@JSauer21]

Only a couple of teams truly play team basketball, and they're both in the finals

[@iloveap83]

It's far more complex than that. Believe me Joe Mazulla knows how to break a zone. The key is getting multimillion dollar players to respect you and buy in

[@Slucee]

The fact that Celtics almost got swept & folks STILL give MIA little chance at beating Denver is insane.

[@loveblue2]

Denver is a totally different animal. Plus, the Celtics are known for their inconsistent play post season. I will be shocked if the Heat get past the Nuggets. The Nuggets are on another level...very different from the teams Miami rolled through to get to the Finals.

[@o.gparamount3099]

Denver actually has a good coach that makes adjustments and consistent players

[@hart3113]

The entire eastern conference is trash. Not one team can beat any of the Western conference playoff teams. The Celtics could've swept the heat if mazulla wasn't such a trash coach and said hey we're trash at shooting 3's lets not do that anymore. It was a battle of the trashes this playoff series and the heat are gonna get smoked.

[@monkbop8044]

The East is HIV. The West is AIDS. There's levels to this. West can survive HIV, the East wont survive AIDS

[@pauljoseph3081]

Chuck nailed it. Talents + luck gave Boston those 3 wins, G7 was all about coaching and schemes, Spo roasted them with the zone which you can't do against teams like Denver.

[@ARW-qn7wt]

The Celtics just flat out got beat. The Heat was dropping bombs 💣 out there and the Celtics missed too many shots whether Tatum twisted his ankle or not. Butler twisted his ankle too. No excuses. Take that L! And Boston need to make some changes.

[@Frankieefootballmundial]

He twisted his ankle in the conference semifinals against the Knicks and they still prevail

[@joesilva8484]

Man Tim and JJ sure do know their hoops. Awesome breakdown 👍🏀.

[@bdemanttt]

Oh the excuses! This dude twisted his ankle , cut it out he was still out there dunking driving by people and shooting. No hero no Vic O no excuses . Shouldn’t even have been in game 7 to begin with

[@Frankieefootballmundial]

Have the 76ers made the conference finals will they still lose to the heat

[@romeobodeodo]

The one criticism I have of the Celtics (and I was rooting for Miami) is that with Tatum hurt and Jalen Brown having an awful game, they didn't go to other players down the bench who might have come up big given that once in a lifetime chance. If I were one of the guys who never got a chance in this situation, I'd want to be traded, because it was obvious that the players who could normally be depended on to deliver just didn't have it that night, and it was a last chance situation.

[@BR3ND4NK]

Boy first take keep these 3 for the way it’s been analysed in a professional manner. No Stephen A yelling or bullying pretty much who’s opposite. This is a breath of fresh air

[@DixonNas]

JT excused himself early 😂😂

[@rrogers2370]

Heat players had the same chance of getting hurt also. Last I checked.

[@Greg3G1G3]

Took the miami heat 5 mins left in the 4th qtr to realize to attack tatum on defense

[@viagabee9193]

the heat are running a match up zone. It's a 2-3 zone but with a man2man concept also involved. one of my favorite defenses out there since it makes it look like you're playing man to man when you're actually in a zone. syracuse is a prime example of this with jim boeheim

[@Micheck-1]

This was an old school throwback 90s early 2000s analysis breakdown…This is how ESPN use to be & sports shows…Tim & JJ and Stephen A are a nice combination, I actually enjoyed this segment…Jalen,Tim,JJ then your journalist Wilbon,Stephen A…And Mike Greenberg the host

[@IRequireMedication]

Jalen's an imbecile

[@Thebestoutthere]

It was never mazzulla. This core reached the ecf with 3 different coaches. Players gotta play better.

[@joemagwood9130]

Jaylen Brown was handling the ball like it was a bomb in his hand.

[@lexis4490]

I want to blame Mazulla but there’s only so much he can do. They were setup to win but players struggled.

[@Wodz30]

It absolutely IS the coaches fault. Driving worked. 3's did not. Coaching DOUBLED DOWN and said "jack up more 3's". Coaching should see what is working and push more of that. Reduce the 3's and drive more. Everyone else can see this...but the coaches ignore this. I do not blame the players for that. They were told to follow a script. It was drilled into their brains. Meanwhile Miami mixes up drives and 3's and is consistent every game.

[@alexescutia4805]

@@Wodz30 this always happens to them the Celtics get away from the paint and chuck 3’s. It’s happened under multiple coaches

[@CheckUnderYou]

Udoka got taken to 7 against literally the same team. If Jimmy hits that three are we saying Udoka wasn't the guy either?

[@omt4293]

Only thing I blame him on is he should have told his team to stop shooting all those 3s. Take it to the basket when your 3s aren’t going down. It’s his first year as head coach so hopefully he learns from this.

[@LOWKEYMEMPHIS]

The Celtics lack discipline. Simple as that.

[@skeletor7708]

Bingo!

[@picassojulien899]

And its killing their championship window.

[@josephgreene4174]

That absolutely and they need an alternate 'leader' to step up when Tatum goes down.

[@sadworldwide]

Definitely a lack of heart and proper mindset. They don't play hard consistently, and they resort to chucking 3's and playing passively when winning.

[@melanatedgod5337]

Exactly!

[@ayrtonyozamp4451]

That performance hurts Jaylen Browns trade value

[@ReducedFatEric]

They lived and died by how the Warriors got eliminated. When things were down, instead of going for easy buckets, they lived and died by the three. I know how that is with Jaylen Brown, he was doing what Klay did in his series vs the Lakers, chucking em up with bad shots and they werent falling.

[@o.gparamount3099]

While having no other plan, this the Nba at its worst smfh

[@dannyhernandez265]

While Klay was dogshit vs the Lakers.

[@joeymanny]

This what im saying the problem on this generation of players is that they are lack of fundamentals, they are jacking 3's all day and hope they will get hot. Majority of players play like a 48 mins 3 pt contest

[@ponypower8]

9-FOR-42 from beyond the arc. If the Celtics consciously just attacked the paint and the post more (like what White did in the 4th) perhaps limiting their 3-point attempts to 30, that would mean those other 12 attempts could have possibly resulted to 10 or 12 points either in the paint or from the FT line. That would have made the game a lot closer, and they might have given themselves a better chance of winning. But they chose to live by the 3 and die by the 3.

[@neoreign]

I'm no professional, never was but If you match me up with a defender that can't stand in front of me, i'm driving every time. I would yell 'stop letting easy' at my team mates if they settle for shots. Come on, it is Bam, not Shaquille O'Neil waiting for you in the paint, drive every time. If you have an open shot sure but always drive and suddenly the basket looks BIGGER.

[@Wodz30]

@@neoreign How does the coaching staff watch the game, SEE the drives WORKING, SEE the 3's not falling and THEN tell the players "SHOOT MORE 3'S!" - fire everyone

[@Jbeaming1]

@@Wodz30 But its the analytics!

[@tonygareth221]

I wish it would have been a sweep. I wish that last second shot didn’t go in. Didn’t want 7 games but I’m glad Miami got it done. Now I hope the nuggets win!

[@exillens]

Miami was missing a key starter(Tyler Herro) and key bench player(Oladipo), it shouldn't even had came down to a game 7. Not buying any Tatum injury excuses at all

[@rumbajuice]

Those 3 games were due to Heat not playing up to par. Jimmy and Bam were atrocious in Game 6, otherwise they would've won. But I can say, after having had 6 games already played, against the zone defense which Spo didn't even try to hide, why did the coaching staff never adjusted?! I literally watched the Celtics, up 9-4 in the first, brick 6 3's in a row against the zone, and the coaches literally did nothing to adjust the offense. JT and JB played awful but I can't say it's on them. They had to figure out how to iso 1v2 against the zone because the coaches were giving them nothing.

[@dagoatunleashed5926]

Celtics shouldn’t fire Mazzulla but they deserve this bc of the way they treated udoku. Let’s go HEAT🔥

[@chechechance5193]

I agree!

[@dadillonful]

The way they treated him? 😂 nobody forced him to cheat

[@thekingbradable]

“The way they treated Udoka” y’all just repeat the same nonsense you hear on sportscenter. He deserved to be fired, simple as that.

[@stevebell5970]

Coach wasn't taking bad 3pt shots & turnovers! Heat came ready and took Game 7

[@iloveap83]

I love Joe Mazulla but game preparation is part of coaching!

[@thciswack99]

Now this was a great conversation.

[@toddflamingo]

Tim Legler is my basketball professor.

[@kennethstone4590]

Lmao Stephen let both Jj and legs talk and went back to his point of jayson Tatum lmao Stephen A can’t ever be wrong 😂😂😂

[@ADM-nx8gn]

Joe had nothing to do with the comeback from 3-0. The players went and had a meeting without the coaches so they could focus. Sadly Mazulla's incompetence reigned supreme. Watch Brogdan's post game.

[@moejackson2768]

Funny how the media is trying to blame the current coach when it was management who screwed up this whole situation😂😂😂

[@YahdirSanchez]

this is panel has to be one of the best keep having them even 1 or 2 times a week

[@TND_HOLLYWOOD456]

I mean Jason Tatum did play on a sprained ankle correct? So you want a guy to just forget about the pain and just play through it 😂

[@jamaljones6568]

Jalen Brunson did just saying

[@TND_HOLLYWOOD456]

@jamal jones that’s cool but I’m saying he was in a lose lose situation. If he leaves that game he quit he’s soft rite But if he stays and play it’s his fault Tatum has to find a way to just play through the pain.

[@RootTheCoop87]

The Heat have been dealing with injuries the whole season and in the playoffs, they would have been a higher seed if that wasn't the truth, and still made it to the finals. If Herro wasn't injured, there wouldn't haven't even been a game 5, 6 or 7 😅

[@michaelc5669]

I watched JJ's live stream after the game and been waiting for this first take since!

[@shareefhinson5101]

No excuses when Embiid was hurt, I don’t wanna hear it. Cancun on 3

[@jamesleroy8797]

I don’t get why it’s always the coach getting blamed when it comes to the Celtics. They’ve had the same core of guys for the past 5 years and some even longer, if you’ve had all that time to figure things out and still haven’t then it’s time to break this team up. They’ve reached their ceiling and I don’t think they’ll ever win a championship, their core had a good run making it to multiple conference finals and one finals but it’s time to change things up. Maybe tatum and brown aren’t the duo they were expecting them to be. Maybe Smart needs to go, idk the right move but this is as far as their core goes.

[@Vineeth_Lifestyle]

They need a play maker like Rondo , Chris Paul or Tyrese Haliburton to set them up shots. They turn the ball a lot trying to make their owns shots.

[@Thebestoutthere]

Move smart and brown for good pieces and the celtics will still be contenders.

[@mannydaprofit2869]

@@Thebestoutthere exactly. I’d trade brown for Murray from Atlanta. They definitely need a playmaker Celtics are in good shape regardless

[@TonySoprano-mm8ip]

@@Thebestoutthere Smart is the best defender they have, they need him

[@ChiTownMade]

I think the Celtics can win it all at some point with them having 2 two way wings but they need the right team around them. They need a backup big man and they need that vocal leader. So I think they sign Andre Drummond and sign Patrick Beverly. And probably a better coach.

[@tharris6032]

Tim Legler knows his stuff 😊

[@marioedwards6289]

JJ making Stephen A be more accountable for his words and speak more educated about the game. Good work JJ! You are taking over

[@cameronwilliams2039]

You can't blame Joe mazzulla at all !!!!! Even tho different coach ?!?! .... Same Players and far as the players they have to be held accountable 😕😞😔 ijs the Celtics were In the NBA finals last year same core group of players .... It definitely came down to those guys 👎🏿😠🥱👊🏿 in the result they got punch in the Mouth !!!!

[@DRMZ37]

Jayson Tatum's injury on the first place really did change the complex of this game. But this doesnt happen if Boston doesnt blow the lead in games 1 & 2. The only game Boston truly lost was game 3. The other games Boston clearly was the better team. But they have a habit of relaxing when they're up, they try to shoot themselves out of a slump especially when theyre up instead of attacking. And they dont put teams away as they should. They played around all playoffs long and they deserved to lose. As a Boston fan watching them all postseason. It was a few games they deserved to lose that they won. Maybe next season theyll learn from these bad habits

[@jonathanolivier6932]

True , I agree with you

[@RF-dw8ms]

Facts we saw it with Atl and the 76ers series. They get lackadaisical

[@AugustusGray]

A 38 year old Lebron played with a torn tendon in his right foot and dropped 41 points. JT rolls his ankle and had 14 points. Did he have the same injury in game 3 when he also had 14 points? Like Shaq says, if you’re out there, you shouldn’t make any excuses about being hurt. Miami beat the Celtics without Herro and Oladipo, there’s no excuses for Boston. And Jaylen Brown needs to learn how to dribble. His assist to turnover ratio in the postseason is horrific

[@samcremin1486]

Not all injuries are the same. You can slander him for other games but you can’t just say because this guy played through an injury successfully that everyone with any injury can play through it, just doesn’t work like that.

[@tigerhoods7927]

Lol Bronsexuals can’t go a day without making it about Lebron

[@Firestorm2814Sector]

@@samcremin1486sure, but at this time of year excuses are inexcusable. No one cares

[@Shiny101]

Imagine comparing LeBron at ANY AGE with Tatum and actually thinking you make a point lol.

[@Joe-wq6te]

@@samcremin1486 if Tatum wants to be mentioned in that category like he does, then he has to be held to that standard. If you’re the superstar on the court, you have to perform. No excuses for being hurt. If you’re hurt then don’t play but if you’re on the court don’t make any excuses because we all know if Tatum played well after he was grimacing then everyone would’ve said how heroic of an effort it was. He didn’t and now he had a hurt ankle. Can’t have it both ways

[@CCEkeke]

I really think it was fitting how the two most decorated NBA franchises got bounced by hungrier, better teams in their conference finals.

[@ScruffyWarlord]

Tim Legler should have his own talk show. Dude knows basketball where as Steven A Smith just speaks in generalities and knows nothing about when it actually comes to x and o.

[@Dhewlett93]

Stop wit tatum gettin hurt. Brown should of showed up. They have 2 all nba players. If brown showed up with the rest of the guys showing up they could of won

[@tylers9476]

2nd Team All NBA Jaylen Brown this series: 133 points off 134 shots Undrafted Caleb Martin this series: 135 points off 88 shots

[@Dhewlett93]

@@tylers9476 exactly smh

[@pedrogujamo2600]

To be honest i dont think JT ankle would've made that much of a difference

[@richarddubach2648]

Tatum is the zone buster for the Celtics though.

[@Whatdoyouwant904]

Mazzulla definitely holds most of the blame imo, you can’t just keep jacking up 3’s all game hoping they’ll fall. It’s game 7 you’re the coach it’s your job to make the proper adjustments to give your team a chance

[@newagestudios408]

Celtics take far too many 3s lol whenever they got to the rim they had success, idk why they continued to settle for 3s when they weren’t falling. As soon as Bam got in foul trouble they should’ve just kept getting to the paint.

[@thekingbradable]

Tatum getting hurt did affect the outcome of the game, but Miami also has tons of injuries. And the supposed second best player on Boston Jaylen Brown didn’t step up.

[@DeeBrownLTD]

How does SAS get to talk more basketball than the former NBA players??

[@geoffwheeler2994]

Derrick White was the only guy in green who I thought played with heart.

[@anthonysantiago1452]

ESPN with excuses

[@angelocervantes4950]

Rookie coach got them this far. Its incredible. In the end there could only be one

[@pauchel.lozano26]

After the Tatum excuse you can appreciate the greatness of MJ for dominating the game with a flu.

[@hermixtonen]

The bizarre thing to me is how Tatum’s left ankle can be bent to the degree it was bent (ouch!), and he can still dunk by jumping off it later on. If my ankle got bent that much , I’d be on crunches. How is he doing two handed dunks jumping off that very foot?? Unreal ability