Joe Mazzulla faces pivotal choice after Celtics surprising Game 2 loss

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Joe Mazzulla faces pivotal choice after Celtics surprising Game 2 loss

Brian Robb · MassLive

Wed, Apr 22, 2026 ·

3 min read

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BOSTON — The Celtics ’ biggest question mark this postseason was always going to be their frontcourt. The team has three traditional big options at center ( Queta , Vucevic , Garza) that don’t switch well on the perimeter and are unproven in the playoffs. That poses a challenge against teams with quick scoring guards and the 76ers are one of those teams.

Boston got away with that group dealing with foul trouble in Game 1 in a miserable shooting night for the Sixers. Philadelphia regressed to the mean in a big way for Game 2 from the perimeter. The Sixers came out aggressive, hunting open looks on the perimeter and the Celtics hung back in drop coverage all night with their bigs. The net result was the Sixers going 19-of-39 from 3-point range in a 111-97 win.

Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe combined for 11 of those makes as they walked into easy 3-point looks all night with Boston’s guards struggling to get around Andre Drummond screens.

The Celtics did their best to throw a second body at Maxey when they could but they let Edgecombe fire away at will, a strategy they paid for on Tuesday night.

“We have to be able to be better at those things,” Mazzulla said of defending the pick-and-roll. “Credit to them. They made shots. So start with that, move to our pick-and-roll defense, whether it’s our body position, whether it’s the timing of our shifts, the level of our shifts, and we adjust from there.”

The scoring outburst was alarming for Boston not just because of the hot shooting but the volume. The Sixers attempted 16 more 3s in Game 2 with 22 of those attempts coming from Maxey and Edgecombe. A lot of those were uncontested pull-up 3s or catch-and-shoots against drop coverage that Mazzulla was unwilling to veer from all night on both players. Mazzulla cautioned about the aftershocks of changing that strategy after Game 2 while acknowledging adjustments would need to be considered.

“If you do, we have to understand and know what’s on the other side of that, and what comes with that,” Mazzulla said. “That’s the balance, right? I think that’s where offense comes into play, is you want to — when you have room for error, you want to be able to rely on both sides of the ball.

“I think the game’s connected in that way. And yeah, there’s obviously things that we’ll do differently next game, be ready to do differently next game, but at the same time, we have to be aware of what’s on the other side of that. And they’re a good team, and they put a ton of pressure on those things, and you kind of saw some of that tonight.”

Mazzulla’s been unwilling to go small for the entire series so far at center. However, the versatility that Jayson Tatum provides at center could be a solution on nights when Boston is being burned by the drop coverage.

That’s not an ideal situation for Boston given the chain effect it would have on Mazzulla’s rotation but the Celtics frontcourt did not do enough on offense tonight to justify the liability they present defensively against Maxey.

Boston can try to play better and smarter in Game 3 with their coverages but they need to be ready to turn to a smaller look to combat the Sixers aggressiveness. Boston has a group of hungry wings that have been factors all year long for Mazzulla. He’s got to be ready to turn to them if necessary in Game 3 and beyond.

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