Eddie House: Celtics look like they've quit on head coach Joe Mazzulla
BOSTON -- In the world of sports media, there are hot takes. Opinions spouted solely to get a rise out of people, with no real belief from the person sharing it.
Then there are takes that come from a place of honesty and a little bit of pain. And after Sunday night's embarrassing loss for the Boston Celtics, Eddie House found himself in a position to offer up one of those takes.
"The biggest takeaway is the Miami Heat are just more prepared -- damn that. Let me say this: I feel like the Celtics have quit on their coach. Let's call it what we really see," House said on NBC Sports Boston's postgame show. "I feel that those guys out there don't believe in what their coach is doing. We've seen that done in many other places. I don't believe that they really believe in Joe Mazzulla. I just feel that. Because if you believe in whoever is out there, the leader of your team, whether it be a coach, that message is passed down from the superstars. Lackluster efforts, not getting back in transition defense -- to me, it looks like a team that is already defeated."
The Celtics, of course, lost 128-102 in a must-win Game 3 in Miami, and they're now in an 0-3 hole in the conference finals. Their blown leads and missed opportunities in Games 1 and 2 laid the groundwork for the Game 3 flop, and it has House feeling extremely doubtful for Boston's chances on Tuesday in Game 4.
"So, man, I hate to say it like this, but at the end of the day, I wouldn't be surprised if we go in and lay another egg," House said. "Because we've been laying 'em this whole series."
House wasn't the only viewer who believes the Celtics quit, either. Magic Johnson shared a postgame tweet, saying, "In my 44 years of being associated with the NBA I never thought I'd see a Boston Celtics team, a franchise with 17 Championships, quit. I know Celtics fans all over the world must be disgusted and devastated."
And on the TNT postgame show, Heat guard Gabe Vincent told the crew, "They're a really good team, they're a well-coached team, they've got stars, they're not gonna lay down."
Charles Barkley couldn't let that fly.
"Clearly you didn't watch the game tonight," Barkley replied. "Talking about well-coached and don't lay down? Hey, go look at the tape again."
As for his role in the team's no-show on Sunday, Mazzulla took the blame.
"I just didn't have them ready to play," he said after the loss. "I just didn't have them ready to play. I should have -- whatever it was, whether it was the starting lineup or it was an adjustment, I have to get them in a better place ready to play, and that's on me."
He later continued: "It's on me to be better for them so that they play harder. I just didn't have them ready to play. I just didn't execute the proper game plan. I didn't put them in the right mentality to be ready, and it's my job to make sure that they're connected and that they're ready to play, and I didn't do that."
Mazzulla admitted that there has been some sort of disconnect between him and the team. And when asked what caused that disconnect, the coach did not have an answer.
"I'm not sure," he said.
