After the Boston Celtics’ shocking Game 3 collapse vs. the Miami Heat in the 2023 East finals, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla fell on his sword. taking all of the blame for how his team played in a key contest for their hopes of hanging an NBA-record 18th banner.
But veteran big man Al Horford had something to say about how he and his teammates comported themselves despite Mazzulla’s mea culpa. “He’s being generous,” said the Florida alum postgame via CLNS Media. “At the end of the day, that falls on each player. We know what we have to do. We knew the magnitude of this game.”
“As a player, I take responsibility because we didn’t have what we needed to have — that’s what that is,” said Horford.
Can they stave off disaster and accomplish the as-of-yet-impossible comeback? Should we put our energy into trying to imagine what this ball club does next once the dust settles on the series? And … https://t.co/MSyrmtE3A8
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) May 22, 2023
“I think we’re just having some adversity,” he continued. “I think it’s tough. … We’ve dealt with adversity all year, and right now, I personally felt that before the game we had the right mindset, and sometimes you want something so bad, and things just don’t go as you plan.”
“But it was tougher for us tonight, there’s no question about it. But this is a part of our journey right now. And right now we’re in a low, and rightfully so, we’re being counted out because we haven’t been able to respond.”
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