Joe Mazzulla explains Jekyll-and-Hyde nature of Celtics after Game 5 win

BOSTON -- Technically, the Celtics team that took the floor for Game 3 in Miami is the same Celtics team that took the floor for Game 5 in Boston. Technically.

In reality, Celtics observers know that the team has been impossible to get a read on over the course of the postseason, and particularly in the first three games of this Eastern Conference Finals against the Heat.

Yet after Thursday's dominant win, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla provided a succinct and straightforward explanation about what happened when Boston fell behind 3-0.

"One of our assistants put it in great perspective," Mazzulla said after the Celtics' 110-97 win to cut Miami's lead to 3-2. "You know the season's nine months long, and we just had a bad week. Sometimes you have a bad week at work." 

Fair enough.

"And we obviously didn't pick the best time to have a bad week, but we did," Mazzulla continued. "And we're sticking together and fighting like hell to keep it alive, and the guys are really coming together."

Whatever the preferred term -- hot or cold, Jekyll or Hyde, trick or treat, etc. -- the end result has been a confusing, occasionally frustrating basketball team to watch. But it will all be forgiven if the Celtics can go ahead and ensure that they finish this particular week of work with some of their best performances.