With two words, Marcus Smart raised some eyebrows after the Celtics’ Game 6 victory in Philadelphia on Thursday.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla had made a key adjustment, starting Robert Williams instead of Derrick White. It worked, fueling Boston to its best defensive performance of the playoffs. But in praising Mazzulla’s adjustment, Smart also acknowledged the criticism his coach has been taking during his first playoff run.
“I know he’s been killed a lot,” Smart said. “Rightfully so.”
It was certainly an unusual remark made from a player about their coach. But the relationship between Mazzulla and his Celtics players is also unique.
Smart meant no malice behind his words. The point guard clarified them Saturday, and reiterated how the Celtics are operating in a collaborative environment, one that Mazzulla has been fostering since he took the job suddenly in September. Mazzulla makes the final decisions, but the Celtics – who are experienced in these playoff moments – are there to help their rookie head coach. And then there’s the two-way street of accountability that came out publicly.
It’s come out in different ways. When Mazzulla didn’t call a timeout on the final play of the Celtics’ overtime loss to the 76ers in Game 4, he told the team he made a mistake during film the next day. Then came Smart’s comment after Game 6.
So, what did Smart mean when he said the criticism of Mazzulla has been warranted?
“Rightfully so in the matter of the fact of, just like us, when we go out there and we don’t play as good a game, or we don’t do things that we know we’re capable of or we should be doing, we get held accountable,” Smart said. “Joe’s not on the court. So he gets held accountable differently than we do, and that’s with certain things that he might do or might not do.
“But at the end of the day, it’s his decision. If it works, we don’t say nothing. If it doesn’t, then obviously you have to look at it. That’s the fun of taking the criticism and moving on, being coachable, being able to learn. The great players, the great coaches, they’re able to learn. Even if they make a mistake, they don’t let it deter him. They keep going and they learn from it.”
Celtics players across the board were happy to see Williams return to the starting lineup. Smart described himself as ecstatic when he learned the news. Al Horford said he was excited. They welcomed the move, which makes it fair to wonder if the players came to Mazzulla with the idea. It’s unclear exactly how the decision was made, but it seems likely that it was collaborative.
“We’re all about winning. Whatever that takes,” Smart said. “There’s things that we don’t see on the court that Joe sees. But there’s also things we see that Joe doesn’t see. We’re here to help each other. For that, being able to help him in ways where we’re letting him know like, we want to do this more. Allow us to do this. So we feel comfortable with him taking his time and him saying, ‘OK, I hear you guys, let’s do it.’ Or, ‘I hear you guys, I’ll take that into consideration, we talked about it, it didn’t work.’
“But having that open dialogue to be able to understand, take that criticism constructively and going out there and do the best we can.”
And while that may seem uncommon, it has seemed to work for this group. The communication is open. Their coach-player relationship is unique, but seemingly healthy.
“For us, Joe’s been here. Not as the head coach, but he’s been here through a lot of the hardest times and our struggles,” Smart said. “Now that he has that job, it’s nothing new. Joe loves us; we love Joe. We believe in Joe and Joe believes in us. It takes a full team effort like I’ve been saying. It’s not just one guy. We’re a well-oiled machine. One part goes missing then the whole thing goes down. Joe’s a key part for us, and we gotta continue helping him like he continues to help us.”
Derrick White has had a breakthrough season. He started 70 games in the regular games, then he started each of the Celtics’ first 11 playoff games. But when he was asked to come off the bench for Game 6, he didn’t mind.
“(Mazzulla) called me, said they were gonna go with Rob and I was all for it,” White said.
Like the rest of the team, White understands Williams’ importance and impact for the Celtics. The lineup change meant a reduced role for White, but it didn’t matter to him.
“I’m not entitled to that spot,” White said. “If it’s what’s best for the team we go with that. Rob’s a great player, so I was with it. … I’ve always just been it’s all about the team. It’s not about me. It’s been that way all year, so whatever the team needs, I’m all in.”
Sunday’s Game 7 is nothing new for Smart, who’s played in six of them with the Celtics, winning five. He knows what it takes.
“We all know it’s an elimination game for both teams,” Smart said. “That’s the beauty of it. It’s an even 0-0 series. One win is all you need and it’s going to come down to who wants it more. It’s going to be a bloodfest.”
The Celtics have not fared well at home during the playoffs recently. They’re a mediocre 10-10 over their last 20 home playoff games. That number includes last Tuesday’s dud in Game 5, when the energy was low in TD Garden. Jaylen Brown called out the fans to bring it after Game 6. What is Smart expecting?
“Chaos,” he said. “I expect them to be ready. I expect them to be as loud as we’ve ever heard them. We got the best fans in the league, I like to say, and they definitely help and give us energy as a team so we’re going to need every last bit of it.”