Joe Mazzulla: 'My Stupidity' To Blame for Boston Celtics Slow Start In Win Over Miami

The Celtics fell behind by 22 early in their game against Miami, and the whole team just looked off. Joe Mazzulla said that was his fault, and his adjustment in the second half helped the Celtics turn the game around.

Feb 3, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla reacts against the Dallas Mavericks during the first quarter at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

BOSTON — Things were not going well for the Celtics in the first half against Miami Friday night. They were trying to work a new guy into the lineup, maneuvering guys into different configurations after losing a key bench scorer, and spinning their wheels offensively. The result was a 21-point deficit and FIVE percent shooting from three.

“1-for-21’s bad,” Derrick White deadpanned after the game, which they came back and won. “We probably should not do that again.”

Good call. But rough shooting happens from time to time, and as evidenced by their 9-16 second half, it is often short-lived.

The bigger issue seemed to be an unusual lack of cohesion from the team. They weren’t as crisp, and it seemed to be more than just figuring out how to play with Nikola Vucevic. After the game, Joe Mazzulla said it was his fault. 

“I kind of put the guys in a tough spot to start the game, just processing all the what-if scenarios,” Mazzulla said. “We were just kind of bogged down by those things … Once we just kind of simplified it, and once the game went on and we were able to see those reads, I thought the guys did a much better job.”

It’s easy to get caught up in overthinking. Pro sports is a constant chess match between coaches, and when a new player is involved, there's no precedent to lean on in those what-ifs. 

Theoretical answers to hypothetical situations can lead to apathetical performances, which are antithetical to the desired aesthetical result. 

In other words, overthinking things can overwhelm the guys, and you don’t want that. Simplifying things made it easier for everyone. 

“It's going to take time,” Mazzulla said. “We just added a new guy to the team. Everyone's impacted in some type of way, just human beings. So it's naturally going to go like that. And you've got my stupidity that I'm doing, trying to get prepared for everything, so I thought they handled it really well.”

Self-awareness is an important trait. The Celtics ended their double-big experiment in the middle of the third quarter, and the team took off. Miami’s switching defense let Vucevic get free underneath for a few easy buckets. The ball started moving again and the threes started falling. 

“I was careful to not overthink things and just let my natural instincts take over and just play,” Vucevic said. “I think I did a pretty good job of absorbing the amount of information they threw at me, but I think as we continue to work on things we’ll get better at it.”

Eventually, the thinking will give way to reacting. Thinking slows players down, which explains a lot of what was happening in the first half. Mazzulla realizing he was responsible for that and adjusting was a big part of the Celtics flipping the game in the third quarter and going on to win. 

“I think you can just get to a point where, ‘okay, we acquired somebody new, here's all the possibilities we could get to,’” Mazzulla said. “I don't really believe in simplifying it. We've got to find a way to make the complex simple, but how could we do it in a way to where we could just do it quickly and not be overthinking it? So that starts with me, and we'll clean some of that up.”