Joe Mazzulla Calls Celtics Players Out Amid Losing Streak

The Boston Celtics are in the midst of their first two-game losing streak of the season after falling to the Sixers at home on Christmas. The Celtics are four games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, putting home-court advantage throughout the playoffs at risk.

Over the last two seasons, there has been a ton of overreaction after every Celtics loss. There can be a tendency among the fanbase and the media to act like the sky is falling every time Boston shoots poorly from downtown and suffers an unexpected loss.

However, the reaction was different after the Sixers' loss. Instead of downplaying it, head coach Joe Mazzulla was critical of his team, which has lost three out of the last four and four out of the past seven games.

According to Jay King of The Athletic, Mazzulla specifically focused on the defensive breakdown in Tyrese Maxey's layup with one minute left in the fourth quarter. Criticizing his team's execution, Mazzulla said "The body position is important, and we just didn’t execute that."

That play was obviously not the only thing that cost the Celtics the game. Mazzulla is well aware of that and called his team "inconsistent" on both ends of the floor.

"We’re playing inconsistent basketball. So we’ve got to be better at both ends of the floor. Got to be more consistent at both ends of the floor."

- Joe Mazzulla

The Celtics are down to third in offensive and ninth in defensive efficiency this season. In the last two weeks, they have scored only 113.9 points per 100 possessions, significantly lower than their offensive rating for the season. (121.3)

It could partly be complacency or the fact that players have been in and out of the lineup. Kristaps Porzingis is still getting integrated and Jrue Holiday missed the game against the Sixers. Regardless of what the root cause is, the Celtics need to get back to their winning ways to make sure they don't fall further in the East standings.

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