Before the Boston Celtics took on the Minnesota Timberwolves, a cool and collected Joe Mazzulla gave his regular pregame press conference to media. A presser like this usually features questions about the upcoming matchup or other such matters. On Wednesday, though, much of the conversation revolved around the officiating in Boston’s game Monday night, a controversial loss to the Indiana Pacers.
In the final moments of the game, Boston was on the wrong end of two consequential plays. First, a foul on Jaylen Brown was reversed upon review by the refs before a call against the Celtics helped Indiana ice the game. The following day, the league admitted to blowing the final call in a loss that infuriated Mazzulla and his players.
Fast-forward to Wednesday, and Mazzulla was calm and steady. He seemed to shy away from criticizing the reffing.
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Later in the press conference he was also asked about Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic, who recently sounded off on what he perceived to be poor officiating.
Once against, Mazzulla was unflapped, although he may have tipped his hand. At the end of his presser, he made a passing but conspicuous reference to his favorite movie, “The Town.”
“It’s more important to focus on the third quarter for our team,” Mazzula said. “I think you have a right to be pissed about the situation, I don’t think that’s wrong. But at the end of the day, if we try to act like that’s the main reason why we lost, we’re not getting the perspective and the lesson that we need to.”
Mazzulla told reporters his team needed to focus more on what the moments that led to those calls rather than the officiating itself, while joking it did help to have a few days to process his emotions. When asked about Rajakovic’s comments, Mazzulla was again stoic in his analysis.
“I think at the end of the day for coaches,” Mazzulla said. “Whether it’s right, wrong, or indifferent, the most important thing is making sure our players know that we have their back. And to make sure that we’re going to defend them, whether that’s during a game, after a game, in practice, to the media, or to the refs.”
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As the press conference concluded, however, Mazzulla made his move. His love for the movie “The Town”, is well-known, and he reportedly watches the movie regularly. As reporters began to gather their things, Mazzulla brought up his favorite movie.
“By the way,” he said. “You never asked me about my favorite scene in ‘The Town.'”
He then gave a recap of the moment in the film. The scene comes toward the end of the film, after Jon Hamm’s character fails to catch Ben Affleck. Hamm finds a folded note on his windshield.
The note simply reads “go (expletive) yourself.”
It’s unclear if this was a dig at the refs or the league’s explanation of Monday’s officiating. Maybe Mazzulla just wanted to talk more about his favorite film.
The Boston Celtics react to the NBA's last two minute report on their loss to the Pacers https://t.co/xN1dhgVehL pic.twitter.com/FSJ1qHPpCY
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) January 10, 2024
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