With the Miami Heat leading the Eastern Conference finals 3-0, Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla admits that his team’s locker room is fractured and needs to be repaired. He said that he needs to do better to figure out what the team needs to do to be connected on the court.
The Celtics have a challenging task ahead, as 149 previous teams have failed to climb out of a 3-0 hole in the NBA playoffs. Game 4 is on Tuesday in Miami, which means they have limited time to establish chemistry within the team. One solution to some of the team’s problems could be shooting the 3 better. They have only shot 19 percent from 3-point range in the first three quarters of the previous three games of the series.
Mazzulla takes responsibility for the team’s performance and admits that he “just didn’t have them ready to play” in Sunday’s game. Boston’s Jayson Tatum had 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting, including 1 of 7 from 3-point range, in the game. When asked if the team “gave up” emotionally in the third quarter when the Heat’s lead reached over 25 points, Tatum responded that it was a tough game from the beginning, and they did not play well as a unit.
Tatum also emphasized that the Celtics need to improve their defensive identity and be more connected in the game. He believes that they must work together, be on the same page, communicate, and support each other, which are the traits that he has seen in the Miami Heat.