Celtics' Joe Mazzulla Offers Perfect Response When Asked About Officiating vs Bulls

The Boston Celtics lost on Thursday night to the Chicago Bulls 117-108. It was a game in which the Celtics didn't play particularly well offensively. They shot just 39 percent from the field and a horrendous 14-56 from three, which is just 25 percent. Poor shooting is the main reason they lost the game.

Losing this game has meant that the Celtics have dropped two of their past four games after a 19-3 start to the season. While they are still the second seed in the Eastern Conference, they have their eyes on Cleveland for that top seed. They want home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla was not particularly pleased with the officiating in this game. He had to be held back a couple of times while he was voicing his displeasure over some calls. He ended up receiving a technical foul because of his anger directed at the referees.

Mazzulla was asked about what he may have said during this exchange. His response was tongue-in-cheek, knowing he didn't want to get fined.

“I just hadn’t seen them in a while, so just a Merry Christmas, happy holidays,” Mazzulla said. “I wasn’t sure I was going to see them before the holiday, and I just can’t let a moment go by to where you wish someone just the best to them and theirs and their families.”

That's a pretty funny way for him to let the media know that he wasn't pleased with the calls that the officials were making in this game. He knows that the calls can't be changed now, so there's no use in getting fined for something that won't change the result of the calls.

Mazzulla is a firey guy and he will protect his players. He would rather pick up technical fouls than allow his players to get hit with one. He doesn't want that to become an issue down the season when too many technicals could result in a suspension of one of his best players.

It's clear that the Celtics players respond to this type of coaching. They won an NBA title with him coaching this way a year ago. Mazzulla used to be a liability as a coach. Now, the players and the fans see him as an asset. It's a remarkable turnaround for a guy who was thrust into this role unexpectedly when Ime Udoka was fired.

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