Can the Celtics Actually Justify Bringing Joe Mazzulla Back Next Year? | The Bill Simmons Podcast 

Simmons after the Celtics lose badly is the most entertaining Simmons.

My favorite part of the Celtics losing is watching Bill freak out about it 😂

Listening to Simmons after the Celtics lose is always gold because he scramble for ways to protect Tatum LoL

When Pat Riley had a win-now team with Wade and Shaq he saw that Stan Van Gundy wasn't working. He had Spo already but did he move a guy in his early 30s into a pressure cooker? No, he took the responsibility himself and won a chip. My point is Brad Stevens should have known he needed to coach, regardless of how it looked. Instead, he put a guy in charge that's finding the lights to be a bit too bright for him. If I'm a Celtics fan, I'm holding Stevens responsible.

Mazzulla is a gym teacher, we need a coach

I could blame him for previous games in playoffs with non timeouts etc.. This game wasnt on him. Players just quit allready in first qt

Tatum and Brown NEVER use their size advantage against smaller players. They didnt take advantage against the smaller warriors last year. When the 3 isn't falling, its time to attack a different way.

I love seeing Bill and Ryen cry internally 🤣🤣🤣

Put Some Respect on Miami Name baby!!!!

Can’t think of a worst situation for a coach??? He inherited a team that went to the Finals last year!

I don't recall Mazulla not scoring points in the 4th quarter

0:43 Bill cant think of a worse situation a new coach has been thrown into.. I can throw one on for contentiom: Steve Nash in Brooklyn.

How about Damon Stoudamire leaving the Celtics in March?

Classic example of why some are GMs and others are talk show host's.

Letting Udoka go cost the team a title I wonder if Bill thinks it was the right decision

The most frustrating non-title team (I'm 3 years younger than Bill) were those Weber Sacramento teams

First time coach takes this team to the Eastern Conference finals, I say he did great his time coaching.

That comment about the Drexler teams was very spot on. I see lots of Clyde in Jaylen Brown, btw--right down to the shitty dribbling. Clyde could never really handle the ball either, tbh. Always got fouled up unless he was head down, going right, straight to the rim.

Bill's really mellowed out over the last 15 years lol

They should let the players coach themselves at this point. Outside of Pop, Kerr and Spoelstra no coach is safe from being on the hot seat.

jaylen brown literally always falling forward when he dribbles has driven me fkn crazy for years

Let’s be real man, The players aren’t showing up, it pains me to say It but they are not competing, it’s simple things like following your shot, swinging the ball, at least contesting shots, or having enough basketball iq to not Jack contested threes literally one or two seconds into the shot clock. I know we as Celtics fans have all seen them play better, what happened to the Celtics team that sent a message by blowing the bucks out by forty? Got too complacent not enough dawg.

You should have gave Stoudemire the head coaching job.

no way they're talking about Jaylen Brown's turnovers when Tatum set the all-time playoff record for turnovers last year lol

They should fire him now, don't even let him coach game 4.

The Celtics biggest problem is that their two best players are gunners who don’t make their teammates better.

He's not the one that didn't trade for Chris Kaman. He's not the one that didn't go after Sabonis. He's not the one that didn't go after Jakob Poeltl. This is what the Celtics haven't learned from the last decade. You can't win titles without big men that can rebound, score, and assist. The five guys that were on the floor at the end of the night, earned the right to start game 4.

I couldn’t wait for the podcast after the loss

I think firing Joe would be the most insane scapegoating. I don't think any coach is beating Spo when the Heat have fire in their eyes. He hasn't been great but he's made adjustments. That's more than Doc Rivers has ever done. The Heat are just a buzzsaw and inevitable. I think this is a matter of giving credit to the Heat rather than blaming people

I’d prefer prefer nick nurse over anyone currently out there. We also need to find a way to send Jaylen out and get dame back in some kind of multiple team trade. He’s really not worth 300m and In hindsight we should have gotten KD. We need a real crunch time guy.

Assuming the Celtics are going to shell out for Brown, they have to fire Mazzula. Better to do it "too early" than to end up in a Budenholzer situation where a mediocre coach gets a grace period because his team wins despite him.

Coach Mazulla is 34 years old and is too young to be a head coach for a team that had expectations of making the finals. He became the coach by default due to the Celtics losing will hardy to the jazz and the udoka situation. Damon stadomire left mid season to be a head coach in the NCAA. Mazulla can be a great coach, just not ideal for the timeline and expectations for the Celtics. They may need a new coach and that would possibly be their 4th coach in 4 years 😬

Get Nick Nurse he is the best nba coach I ever seen shut down top players with his defense.. He is great for a veteran team

I like Tatum but he is the all nba player & the best player but somehow it’s everybody else fault but his..

The players didn’t execute and they need things to work on for sure, more roster moves will be needed too. But the coaching situation HAS to be addressed, we can’t just continue with Joe, he’s clearly not ready for a team trying to compete at the highest level. Keep him as an assistant though!

Blazers really blew it in '91 - 63 wins, league best record, Finals experience after losing to Detroit the year before.. But then Magic and the Lakers were like "nope!" lol

Brad Stephens is definitely not the answer at coach.

This is what I love MAMBA MENTALITY COACH! Lets Go Mazzulla! Big Fan!

Rob Williams shot 100% in multiple games and is virtually unstoppable in the paint w/o fouling. Grant Williams is a beast. Muscalla and Kornet have moved down low. So when the 3 is not falling, why don’t they go inside?

Need a Bill Simmons Doc Rivers bashing post-firing!

ESPN giving the Celtics a 97% chance to win next year's championship

I think Celtics should make Joe Mazzulla assistant coach again and get Monty Williams as HC

A Tribe Called Quest's Midnight Marauders CD in the background was a pleasant surprise as a new listener. Honestly, I only came to check out how you guys are dealing with the Mazzulla guy who does not belong. I was feeling embarrassed for him. Im also wondering how the Celtics franchise is feeling about all of this meltdown. Keep rockin it steady.

U can blame the coach all u want & there is fair grounds to do that but the real issue is that they're a soft team, especially their 'superstar', tatum. Even in the Finals last year, u saw them fold for the series midway through game 5 & that was w Udoka who's a real good coach.

It's CRAZY that earlier today I was comparing Tatum to clyde drexler when it comes to personality and how he effects the game. Then Bill compares the Celtics to those Portland teams, that's crazy. The funny thing is Tatum is Clyde Drexler and Jaylen is just like Clyde Drexler light lol. You can get to the finals with two Clyde's you not going to win tho, you need a Hakeem.

Thank you, Bill says it best, they’re basically the same team with Brogdan and how have they gotten worst especially defensively. They’re a year older, a year wiser and a year more experienced. Defense was their identity last year which got them to the finals and 180ing their season. Joe was also apart of the coaching staff so how has that not translate into this season?

People keep saying it’s on the players but a ship needs it’s captain to navigate , coach needs to tell the players what to do. Players don’t know what’s going on no one is leading them, Mazzulla is watching RU-vid videos on how to coach.

Coach Matzulla could prove that he can be Pat Riley of 1981 in his 1st head coaching job of the showtime Lakers

My only complaint about Mazulla (and Udoka last year) is preferring Horford to start over Rob Williams. I love Al and love having him on the team, but he just flat out cannot consistently defend outside of the paint. He is maybe the best in the league at defending Embiid, but he got abused by GS last year, and gets blown by every time he gets pulled out onto the perimeter. And I still don't understand how Grant Williams essentially disappeared from the rotation. He was HUGE for us last year but lost minutes this year. Whoever coaches Boston next year needs to be a hard ass about defense. Too much cry baby-ing about calls and too much watching guys shoot open shots and not closing out consistently. We used to be the scrappy team, historically Boston has always been scrappy and hard-nosed. Coach needs to get on the players when they're sleepy on defense. I'm so sick of Boston having to have their backs against the wall to wake the hell up and play ball. We should've swept ATL, Philly should've been done sooner and we shouldn't be down 0-3 to Miami. Extremely disappointed as a Celtics fan, but the good news is that we still have room to grow and our window is still open. I think we also need more depth at the forward and big spots.

The last month has taught me that every coach that made the playoffs is a bad coach except for Spoelstra.

Yes. Udoka took the same team to the Finals. What will be Mazzulla’s excuse after they get the sweep tomorrow night?

worse situation for a new coach? steve nash in bk? lol

I don't like Joe Mazz as head coach, but the players have been absolutely awful in this series. They've obviously quit on him, but they've done this to every coach they've had at points throughout seasons. They quit on Stevens, it took half a season for them to buy into Udoka, and now they're quitting on Mazz. At some point, they're gonna have to make a big move to shake up the roster and let the players know they're not in charge, and bring in a new coach that can hold guys accountable to that extent.

Moving on after 1 season is crazy

I'm so amazed by how good Bill is as a journalist, while knowing so little about actual basketball...😂😂

Way too large a portion of Tatum's game is standing around the three point line not moving.

“Don’t get fired, Bill!” **Jalen Rose voice

Jeff Van Gundy is itching to back on the sidelines, but clashes w/ incompetent management in NY and Houston has him seeking the ideal situation. If JVG still believes that these Celtics can win a title after this display, management should absolutely make him their top priority. Of course I could be jumping the gun on Mazzulla's firing.

Gotta start blaming these players, they look unmotivated and getting outplayed by a less talented team. I respect Miami but let’s be real Boston is the better team and have better talent, all year Boston has been very lackadaisical. Miami just wants it more and just playing with more heart

I love it, these idiots will continue to think Tatum and Brown aren't part of the problem and fire the one guy who took the heat for the team. Keep rolling it back with Tatum and Brown guys, love it. Sincerely, not a Celtics fan.

I thought Damon Stoudemire would have been a better choice.

I would have hired Vogel or Stevens should have coached the season. At this point I would prefer Nurse.

It’s nothing sweater than sweeping the Celtics Let’s go Heat !

This is Brad's fault. He should have hired Stoudelmire.

I’m a Heat fan not even trying to be a dick since history says we’ve already won the series. Everyone said Spoelstra was a bad coach his first year, they’ve still yet to give him a CoTY. You need to give the man atleast another year to see what he has as a coach.

Stevens should’ve hired Quin Snyder. He improved the Hawks greatly in a short amount of time. You guys are naming all of these other guys. Snyder was available and would’ve jumped at the opportunity to coach this team. Should’ve been a no brainer. I like how with Budenholzer everyone acts like he’s a terrible coach. I guess everyone already forgot that Giannis missed 2 and 3/4 games in the Heat series. That’s a pretty big factor in that series. Guy has always been a very good coach.

Not a Celts fan, but they need a rotation big. Al is dependable, but showing his age. Timelord shows flashes, but usually hurt. Grant varies too much, can be Draymond-lite for 1 game, disappears for the next week. The only consistent guys in the rotation are Brogdon and White. Danilo should be back next season, right? Might give 'em offensive consistency for 20mpg.

Sure as heck I’m not watching another season of the Joe Mazzulla show in Boston.

Boston’s biggest issue is that their two best players are “pretty good” at a lot of the things that you need to be “great” at to win a title. Jimmy and Bam are so great at what they can specifically do that Spoelstra can cover up for the role players and put them in positions to succeed. Tatum and Brown aren’t consistently great scorers and aren’t making the defensive plays necessary to win. Tatum can be a great scorer but he has too many dud games and hasn’t blended his scoring and playmaking yet where he can be a true offensive weapon. And Mazzula isn’t coaching up to cover the rest of the players and are allowing them to freelance offense

Tatum, Brown and Smart swapping offensive possessions is like guys on the Alimony Tour swapping guitar solos. Nice solos but not exactly a winner, which is why you are listening to it in a small venue or on a cruise ship. It was something the Celtics were doing last year, so can't blame the coach. It is something that allows an excellent defensive team to eventually zero in and "solve." That plus Horford losing his 3-pt shot handicapped them. A team with versatile, disciplined defenders can "solve" their offense and a team with excellent execution can "solve" their defense. Strangely, I was flashing back to the 2011 Mavs beating the Heatles. On paper the Heatles had much better personnel but the Mavs way out-executed them on both sides of the ball and eventually had sets that were more efficient.

Man if BILL’S confidence in the Tatum and Brown thing is wavering, wtf are the C’s supposed do now?? He was the last one dying on the hill

Would Dame be possible for Boston? They really need a scoring PG. Smart can focus on defense.

The simple fact is that Boston did not come to play. They listen to people like Simmons that makes them think they were anointed to the Chip and the Heat were beneath them. I can prove it by simply looking at how the C's ignore lose balls, hustle plays, passing, Demanding the ball and drawing fouls, all of the intangibles.

This is why you need a point guard. Celtics have never tried to get a pg that would tell their stars to move their butts and I will get you the ball. They need a young Rondo-like player.

Jalen looked like he had cerebral palsy on a couple of drives.

They have to get a new Coach..They have a time-line here and they cant waste another year with Joe..

Bill is a master at asking a question, and then cutting the guest off to answer his own fucking question

So we never got to the trade idea?

HES NOT THE ONE NOT PUTTING EFFORT IN. No way tatum can be at the 3 line and be the 7th person across mid court after a miss. No effort

so there wasnt ONE experienced coach who wanted big money by the Celtics to help out and work as an assistent to Mazzulla?

The Celtics didn't have an elite guard since Ray Allen went to Miami, that's the real problem they have. Brown and Tatum are a great duo, but without an elite guard play you are not winning anything in the NBA. Even the Raptors with Kawhi, needed VanVleet and Lowry to play at an elite level to win the 2019 finals, with Smart and White you are not a threat to break down top notch defenses in the playoffs

I can't see them getting rid of him, just yet. They just signed him to an extension. They probably will bring in some veteran assistants though

Game 7 now

They need a coach with clout that can kick them in the ass and motivate. Unbelievable you need motivation in the playoffs.

Bloody Stevens should’ve stepped up to the plate. The handling of this Udoka business was a debacle and it’s on Stevens.

I don't agree with Charles Barkley on a lot of things, but I've always thought that one of his own personal "rules" that he would never advocate firing someone is right. People like Simmons (and most of the media hotairheads are like that) casually saying that someone should lose their job, do they have any 2nd thoughts? I don't think Mazulla did a good job during the playoffs, but firing him basically means not giving him a second chance even though this is his first head coaching gig. The players (the same players from the last several with good additions such as Brogdon) definitely underperformed, probably more so than Mazulla. Mazulla has the excuse of being young and inexperienced, what are the players' excuses? Players are supposed to get better each year (until they peak and/or get too old), and Celtics have been the healthiest of all the remaining teams all year. So Jayson Butterfingers in the 4th quarter Tatum (yet these 2 dudes here focused on Brown "can't dribble") will get his $318mil supermax contract, and the coach gets fired for the team playing badly in the playoffs (even though they reached Conf Finals)?

All year the Celtics had problems with teams with a 500 and below winning percentage.

Mazzulla got them to the Conference Finals. He is not a problem or a bad coach. The Nuggets would not destroy the Celtics. It would be a competitive series. Nerds grow up . . . .

The problem is their priorities lie elsewhere than winning a championship. Otherwise Udoka would still be here after a suspension. They(Wyc, etc...) rather look better in people eyes so they don't get forced to sell like the Suns owner. That Udoka decision was made right after the Suns owner was forced to sell. I bet they keep Mazzula just so they don't have to admit their mistakes. They are so soft and the celtics are so screwed.

I'm not a Celtics fan. An outsiders view of this team is they need leadership on the bench and leadership on the floor. A new coach and a point guard/ connector on the floor. What is your view of what the Celtics need to improve their collective IQ.

Bruh he’s a 34 year old first year coach. Give him a break, he’ll figure it out

Yes the coach has no idea what he doing but this team is playing some high level softball, at times it seems like theres 0 chemistry just a whole bunch of guys trying to get a bucket, tatum himself doesn’t seem to even like joe anyways, they all loved ime

I don’t think he’s been the best but I do think he’s getting scapegoated because of this blowout, if the players could close games they would be up 2-0 in this series as reigning champions, they’ve been chokers for 5 years that’s not on him

Mazulla can’t hit one three or get one stop. That’s on the PLAYERS!

if somehow celtics could hire frank vogel as an assistant would be gr8 or get a coach out of retirement that has experience like stan van gundy or mark jackson

Darvin Ham would be a great coach for the celtics

Boston should call OKC, like yesterday… Send Brown to pair with SGA… 🤷🏾‍♂️ they have young pieces and picks…

wait what was the trade Simmons was nervous to bring up?

Blame the coach for sure, but we Celtics fans probably should admit that the 2 J’s have not learned to be superstars in the playoffs! And we really need a true point guard to start, no talks about trading JB talk about trading Marcus Smart for a point guard, this is business not personal! It will help take off pressure from both J’s if we get a scoring PH

That same core ran Brad Stevens out the locker room - the have bigger issues than the coach.