Several Boston Celtics fans pointed to one major coaching decision that they believe burned their team on Friday in a marquee matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Celtics raced out to a 25-3 start over the Cavs in the first five minutes of play at TD Garden in Boston, Mass. But the top-seeded Cavaliers eventually erased that deficit and snatched a 123-116 win over the defending NBA champions.
Cleveland was very evidently able to expose one weak link in Boston’s defense: Sam Hauser. The Celtics sharpshooter started on Friday in place of an injured Jrue Holiday. The Cavs repeatedly hunted Hauser in switches, often leading to easy shots for the visiting team.
Fans on X were not happy with Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla’s decision to play Hauser for 38 minutes in the heavyweight clash.
During his postgame press conference, Mazzulla was asked about the Cavaliers repeatedly attacking Hauser. The Celtics coach had no regrets about keeping Hauser in for as long as he did.
“He’s been a great defender in the league for the last 2-3 years,” said Mazzulla. “He’s earned a reputation for that.”
Oddly enough, Hauser led the Celtics with a +18 during his minutes on the floor. But the eye test seemed to tell a completely different story.
With the Celtics already having climbed the mountaintop last June, the regular season may just be an evaluation period for the team before its postseason title defense. The team mostly stuck to a tight 7-man rotation against Cleveland, playing their recent defensive-minded addition just three minutes.
Boston played without both Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis in the loss. If those two are healthy come May or June, Hauser would only get a fraction of the minutes he received Friday against the Cavaliers. But that won’t stop Celtics fans from complaining about a coaching decision in February.
