SO BIZARRE :Who told Joe Mazzulla to stop trying to block opposing players?

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has been asked to cease attempting to block shots taken by rival players by an unidentified killjoy.

Mazzulla said on Wednesday to Zolak & Bertrand of 98.5 The Sports Hub that he has been asked to cease his shot-blocking antics.

Mazzulla responded, “I’ve been told that I can’t do that anymore,” when asked if he anticipated blocking shots against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The head coach of Boston declined to say who advised him to halt when pressed.

Mazzulla attempted to block Phoenix Suns forward Royce O’Neale’s jump shot last Thursday night during a timeout, which prompted the request.

Mazzulla informed reporters following Boston’s commanding 127-112 victory against the visiting Suns that he did not want O’Neale to watch the ball go through the hoop because he had not yet made a basket.
Mazzulla said, “I saw a guy going in to try and get a shot” (via our very own Noa Dalzell). “I didn’t want him to feel good about himself by returning to the bench because he hadn’t made one. That’s a bench rule, and Gary (Washburn) asked me about it a month ago. Guys don’t take shots in front of our bench in order to feel good about themselves and return to their bench. The staff will participate in the contest if I ask the guys to.

Now, who doesn’t love a little competitive spirit?

That’s the exact sort of psycho behavior that has endeared many Celtics fans to the second-year man in charge.

Apparently… there is someone who isn’t a fan, but who??

Was it Brad Stevens? Wyc Grousbeck?? Perhaps the traditional-uniform-hating NBA Commissioner Adam Silver????

 Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Since Stevens is Mazzulla’s immediate superior, he becomes one of our suspects in this case. He’s been the Celtics’ head coach for a long time, so I’m sure he has a notion of how he wants Mazzulla to perform while sitting on the bench. I’m not sure if this is the kind of thing that would energize Brad, though. Naturally, Stevens was always polite while sitting on the bench (apart from the one occasion when he got himself sent off). However, he undoubtedly possesses a competitive attitude that demands deference to the degree of dedication Mazzulla is demonstrating to his players. He aspires to set an example, as Joe stated. He will not refrain from doing what he requests of his players. To be honest, that would be rather out of character. Stevens must respect that way of thinking. Furthermore, Stevens is accustomed to playing the game. How could anyone forget his savage 2021 pump fake in Sacramento? Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Do we honestly believe Mazzulla’s competitive actions would be frowned upon by Wyc Grousbeck? That would be blatantly inappropriate coming from the owner of the Boston Celtics, who allegedly ordered the players to “play with some balls” in the team’s locker room in Miami following a Game 3 defeat to the Heat.

Mazzulla was doing precisely that, in my opinion, with his bench-blocking slogan, wouldn’t you?

I mean, in the video where Joe jumps to save O’Neale’s shot, Wyc is plainly visible. When the challenged shot is made, he waits there and then claps. It just doesn’t seem like the kind of thing he would be whining about.

Now let’s talk about Adam Silver.

Silver does have an obligation to hold each and every league member to a specific standard as commissioner. If players disrespect referees, taunt opponents, or behave in any other way that betrays a lack of decorum, his office is in charge of fining them.

If Silver made the decision to crush the happiness of Celtics supporters who get a kick out of watching their coach have some toughness, that would not be shocking in the slightest.

However, this is the same commissioner who expressed his displeasure with the lack of effort at the NBA All-Star Game played last month. Silver sounded as sad as could be when declaring the Eastern Conference squad the champions.

Thus, it might be a little hypocritical of Silver to have advised Mazzulla to give up on trying to stop opponents’ shots from being blocked.

As an aside, NBA outfits were also destroyed by him and Nike.

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