The Boston Celtics suffered their second straight loss on Friday, dropping a crucial game to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and essentially ending all hope of securing the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics are now 7.5 games behind the Cavs, with 22 games left to play.
Despite the fact that the Celtics were without Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, this was a game they should have won. They built a 22-point lead in the first quarter before completely collapsing in the second half.
One of the reasons for the disappointing loss was Joe Mazzulla's questionable decisions. The Celtics head coach made a few head-scratching moves on the defensive side of the ball. The most notable one of them was leaving Sam Hauser on an island against Donovan Mitchell down the stretch. Mitchell was getting whatever he wanted in the second half and Mazzulla failed to make an adjustment.
In fact, he defended his decision to keep Hauser on Mitchell, per Celtics insider Justin Turpin. He called Hauser a great defender and said he earned a reputation for his defense.
Joe Mazzulla on his confidence as Sam Hauser as a defender:
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) March 1, 2025
“He’s been a great defender in the league for the last 2-3 years. He’s earned a reputation for that.” pic.twitter.com/gS9tI9FTBq
Mazzulla is an excellent player's coach and regularly praises his team even when they struggle. While his coming to Hauser's defense is understandable, calling him a great defender is certainly a stretch.
When guarded by Hauser, Donovan Mitchell scored 11 points on 4/6 shooting from the field, including two huge threes. The Celtics forward also spent significant time on Darius Garland. Mazzulla was more than happy to give up the switch and allow the Cavs' guards to go one-on-one against Hauser.
Making more of an effort to keep the likes of Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum on Garland and Mitchell could have kept the Celtics in the game late.
Hauser only sat for three minutes in the second half. He went 0/2 from the field during that time. Especially when he wasn't contributing much on the offensive side of the ball, Hauser being out there for such extended minutes certainly cost the Celtics. Let's hope it doesn't come back to bite them in the playoffs when they don't have home-court advantage against Cleveland.