Just win or die – Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla on his team’s mindset in Eastern Conference finals against Miami Heat

 

Boston Celtics looked down and out after they lost the opening three matches of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat. The last two matches have been do-or-die for the Celtics but they have shown they are not going to fall like ninepins.

The Celtics kept themselves afloat in the East finals with a dominant 110-97 win against the Miami Heat in Game 5 of the series to make it 3-2. Boston is now inching closer to becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs (0-150 all-time).

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla shed light on his team’s relentless approach and said it was a do-or-die situation for them.

“Just win or die,” he said. “I mean, I think it’s just [when] your back’s against the wall, you don’t have a choice,” Mazzulla said.

“So it builds a connection and it builds just an opportunity. I’ve said it all year, the guys in that locker room, they always stick together, and when our backs are against the wall, we just have to continue it.”

On the other hand, Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown scored 21 points in the fifth game of the series and he also concurred with his head coach. Brown added that the team stayed together when the going got tough for them after trailing by 3-0 in the series.

“Our back has been against the wall,” said Jaylen Brown. “Obviously, we didn’t imagine being in this position, being down 3-0, but when adversity hits, you get to see what a team is really made of.

“It couldn’t get worse than being down 3-0, but we didn’t look around, we didn’t go in separate directions. We stayed together.”

The sixth game of the series will be played on Saturday night and the Celtics will look to achieve parity.