Joe Mazzulla Gives Extremely Blunt Answer To Kids Day Question
The Boston Celtics had a kids themed day at their game on Sunday against the visiting Los Angeles Clippers. Head coach Joe Mazzulla received a question before the game from a younger visitor representing the kids’ voice at the media session. An interesting question led to the always blunt Mazzulla keeping it real with his answer.
the game fun for them.
“Yeah, I struggle with that. I think everyone has a different definition of fun,” Mazzulla told the young fan. “You have to find one as a team. I think fun is a cop out sometimes when things aren’t going well. Everyone likes to say just have fun but what does that mean? That phrase can be a cop out sometimes. Don’t use it.”
Mazzulla has a reputation for not liking fun and doing everything in his power to contribute to winning. Various quotes and stories make him one of the most interesting coaches in the league. However, even Mazzulla is going far by being this blunt telling a kid to not use “having fun” as a “cop out” in life.
Joe Mazzulla Has Mixed Coaching Reputation
Boston won an NBA Championship with Mazzulla as the head coach and witnessed him becoming the voice that the team needed to get over the hump. Previous years saw the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown era of the Celtics teams falling short, despite coming close so many times. Mazzulla represented the missing piece, along with a couple of other players joining the team.
The Celtics are having a down year due to Tatum’s injury and a limited roster after various trades. Mazzulla must work harder and find more creative ways to get the team to victories with less talent. Today’s quote proves little has changed from his perspective as the coach. Mazzulla had no filter and still puts winning above all.
The kid likely knew that Mazzulla would have an interesting answer since he’s known for his infamous quotes during a relatively short time as the head coach. Mazzulla did show respect to the fan by saying it was a good question, and he clearly put some thought into the answer.
Joe Mazzulla’s Celtics Won After Answer
The Celtics played a competitive game against the Clippers on Sunday. It is not confirmed if Boston had fun or not during the game, but they certainly had a fun end result of scoring the victory. Mazzulla made some big moves that helped the Celtics score a three-point victory.
The young fan who asked the question likely had the best day of them all. Mazzulla’s answer to his question created a memorable moment that fans are enjoying online, and he was able to see his favorite team score a close home victory. Boston improved to 7-7 and are in the thick of the play-in race.
Mazzulla may get some votes for Coach of the Year if the Celtics continue to overachieve without Tatum on the court. The biggest takeaway is that Boston players will always put winning over fun if Mazzulla is the coach, and even young fans will always get his most honest answers.
Infielder Buddy Kennedy elects free agency after DFA'd by Dodgers
Infielder Buddy Kennedy elected free agency after being outrighted by the Dodgers, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He’d been designated for assignment earlier in the week when Enrique Hernandez returned from injury.
Los Angeles claimed Kennedy off waivers from Toronto two weeks ago. That coincided with an IL placement for Max Muncy. He joined Tommy Edman, Hyeseong Kim and Hernandez on the shelf. Kennedy provided an extra infielder alongside Miguel Rojas and rookie Alex Freeland between second and third base. He went 1-17 over seven games.
A former fifth-round pick of the Diamondbacks, Kennedy has played sporadically in parts of four big league seasons. He’s a .178/.271/.274 hitter in 181 career plate appearances. The 26-year-old has split time in Triple-A this year between the Philadelphia and Toronto systems. He has turned in a solid .268/.372/.408 showing in 77 combined games.
Kennedy will look for a minor league deal elsewhere. He’d need to be in another organization by Sept. 1 to be eligible for a postseason roster. He’d be a long shot to get a playoff roster spot either way, of course, but it stands to reason a signing team would prefer that flexibility if they’re adding him as upper minors infield depth.
