Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla’s surprising reaction to tough upcoming schedule
The Celtics’ schedule isn’t getting any easier, but Joe Mazzulla doesn’t seem to mind.
BOSTON — After falling to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night, 123-114, the Boston Celtics are 2-4 in their last six games. Despite these recent struggles, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is looking forward to his team’s schedule becoming even harder in the coming days.
Following the nine-point loss, which is tied for Boston’s largest margin of defeat this season, Mazzulla was asked how his guys are planning on handling an upcoming road trip featuring four games in six days.
Joe Mazzulla on the Celtics’ tough schedule in the coming weeks: “I’m actually really excited about it. It’s gonna be great.”
Although that answer might seem surprising given Boston’s troubles this December, it’s on brand for Mazzulla. The New England native has never backed down from a challenge and he doesn’t expect his players to either.
What does the Celtics’ upcoming schedule look like?
David Butler II-Imagn Images
On Tuesday afternoon, the 23-9 C’s will have an opportunity to bounce back at home against the Toronto Raptors, who are currently on a 10-game losing streak. Once that New Year’s Eve showdown ends, the Green Team will head west to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves on Thursday night. Next, the Celtics go down to Texas on Friday to face the 21-10 Houston Rockets.
Things only get more difficult on Sunday afternoon, as the C’s take on the talented Oklahoma City Thunder (who are 13-2 at home). To close out the road trip, the Celtics travel west again to meet the Denver Nuggets late next Tuesday. The 2023 NBA champions haven’t lost to the Celtics in the regular season since November of 2022.
While this Western Conference gauntlet is daunting and full of playoff teams, Mazzulla is confident in his squad. Celtics guard Derrick White didn’t discuss any of these games, but he did emphasize how much the players believe in one another.
“Just trust the character in the locker room or the type of guys that are in that locker room,” White responded when questioned about his confidence in his teammates. “And those the type of guys I want to go to war with. So I’m confident in that.”
Boston didn’t lose three games in a row for the entirety of 2024, so faltering in four of its last six contests is uncommon. It’s especially unusual for White, who’s made two trips to the NBA Finals since joining the C’s in 2022.
“There’s ups and downs through every season, so we’re in those downs and just got to figure it out together,” he said.
The Celtics had the chance to avoid talks of a slump on Sunday because they nearly stormed back to defeat the Pacers. However, cutting Indiana’s lead down to five with 8:23 remaining in the fourth quarter was as good as it got for Boston down the stretch. Indy had an answer for every push and Boston struggled to hit the shots it needed, making just one of its final 12 attempts from deep.
The Pacers handle the Celtics with care for the win 💪 Tyrese Haliburton: 31 points on 11-of-19 FG 6 rebounds 7 assists Pascal Siakam: 17 points on 6-of-11 FG 8 rebounds 6 assists 3 steals
“Winning in the NBA is hard,” Celtics star Jayson Tatum admitted. “We gotta understand that. We know that.”
Tatum, White, and reigning Finals MVP Jaylen Brown combined for 70 points and 15 of the Celtics’ 26 assists. It wasn’t enough though, and Tatum knows it.
“Everybody is confident in our ability and what we can be as a team. We just gotta do it,” he stated. “It hasn’t been the best stretch for us. But that’s okay. Nobody’s panicking or anything like that, but just gotta be better.”
