Marcus Smart was not going to let Boston Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla downplay his achievement after he and his staff were named as coaches for the All-Star Game's Team Giannis.
Mazzulla and his staff were selected for the honour after securing the Eastern Conference's best record through February 5, with their 36-15 mark one game ahead of Western Conference-leading Denver Nuggets (35-16) in the race for the overall one seed.
It has been a remarkable rise from obscurity for 34-year-old Mazzulla – who is two years younger than his starting center Al Horford – having earned his first role in the NBA as an assistant to Brad Stevens back in 2019 after two years as head coach of division two college Fairmont State.
When Stevens was promoted by the Celtics to president of basketball operations, he retained Mazzulla while promoting Ime Udoka to his first NBA head coaching role.
Udoka's lone season in charge was a success, taking the Celtics all the way to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2010. He was suspended in the offseason after what was described as an "inappropriate, consensual relationship" with an employee.
Stevens showed no hesitation in naming another first-year head coach, and it has again proven to be a shrewd move, as Mazzulla has his side sitting top-five in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
When asked about the honour of coaching the All-Star Game, Mazzulla deflected credit to others in the organisation.
"It's more of a testament to the players and to the staff," he said. "The staff, as hard as they work on scouting and preparation and the relationships that they build with the players.
"So it's a testament to the staff, and then the players have to play the games and they have to win. I'm blessed that we have guys that work at it and I appreciate their support for our staff and for our organisation.
"But if they don't win the games and play as hard as they played, we’re not in this situation. So thank you to both of them."
Listening close by, Smart jumped in and made sure his coach received the praise he deserves.
"Oh, he’s definitely pumped about it," he said. "I mean, first time being a head coach and you go to coach the All-Star Game, I don’t see how you’d not be excited – but that’s just Joe.
"He does a good job of hiding his enthusiasm for certain things and other times, he lets you know.
"We’re just extremely proud of Joe for everything, and how him and the rest of this team and coaching staff have responded to everything we’ve been through this season. We tip our hat off to those guys."
Smart added that Mazzulla's willingness to share the credit is part of why this Celtics side are the juggernaut they have become.
"It’s just the humble mentality that we have," he said. "We got a lot of great guys, from coaches and players, that could sit here and boast about themselves, about everything they’ve accomplished and things like that, but that’s not us.
"We love each other, and we let all the outside noise do the talking for us. But it definitely means something to Joe, and it means a lot to us for him to do it.
"Joe’s been through a lot. He stepped into a situation that wasn’t ideal for anybody, and he strived and exceeded, I’m sure, a lot of expectations, so we’re happy for him."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver hopeful new CBA can get done before Friday deadline
NBA commissioner Adam Silver is hopeful a new collective bargaining agreement between the league and players can be approved before Friday's deadline.
If not, he said the league's plan would then be to opt out of the current CBA.
The NBA and National Basketball Players Association are negotiating ahead of a deadline set for midnight on Friday that would allow either side to opt out of the current CBA on June 30.
The current CBA expires at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
"I certainly can foresee one getting done and I hope we do get one done," Silver said on Wednesday during his news conference at the conclusion of a two-day meeting of the league's Board of Governors.
The sides have already extended the deadline on two previous occasions – once in December and another time in February – and Silver said the league won't extend it again if there is no deal by Friday night.
"If we don't have a deal by this Friday night and nothing else were to happen, yes, it would be our intention to opt out of the current deal," Silver said.
The two sides have been negotiating a new CBA for more than a year with spending limits and player health being specific issues, and Silver said progress has been made.
"I think both sides understand that this is a window of opportunity that we should try not to miss," Silver said. "Because, if we don't have the deal done this Friday, the next real deadline is June 30, but that's the very end of the season.
"The whole idea behind these early deadlines (is) to try to avoid going right up to the line."
While Silver said the league would exercise the opt-out option if a deal isn't reached by Friday, NBPA executive director Tamika Tremaglio said the players don't intend to opt out.
"The March 31 deadline is an important benchmark, and we are doing everything in our power to reach an agreement with the league," Tremaglio said in a statement.
"If we don't have a deal and the league decides to opt out, it will be disappointing considering all the work both sides have put into the negotiations, and the fair nature of our requests. As far as our fans are concerned, it will be business as usual. Games will continue uninterrupted."
Although there is a midnight Friday deadline, Silver said if progress is being made and the two sides are close, it is possible the deadline could be pushed back a few days.
"I could imagine if it came midnight Friday night, and we were having a productive discussion and somebody said, ‘We could use a few more days,' we would agree to a few more days," Silver said. "But that's more of a hypothetical."
Kerr credits Green with willing Warriors to victory as Curry lauds unmatched 'competitive spirit'
Steve Kerr credited Draymond Green with "willing" the Golden State Warriors to victory in their comeback win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Green scored eight points and provided 13 assists, four turnovers and two steals to help complete a 120-109 turnaround triumph for the reigning NBA champions at Chase Center.
Golden State were trailing by 17 points after a lacklustre first half, but Green sparked the team into life, earning the credit from his coach.
"Draymond willed us to victory tonight," said Kerr. "Just the intensity, the frustration early with the way we were playing.
"Mad at the world, yelling at everybody – their bench, our bench – and frankly, we deserved it."
Green's first spark came late in the second quarter when he picked up his 17th technical foul for a shove on Brandon Ingram.
The pair exchanged words, amongst some shoving, and were issued Ts.
He will be fined $5,000 if the technical foul does not get rescinded over the next 24 hours - which Green thinks it will be - but if it does not, the Warriors forward believes it was worth it.
"It was perfect," said Green. "Perfectly executed. We looked dead those first 18 minutes. We had to find some energy somewhere.
"It wasn't just going to come, especially after losing the game like we did last game [99-96 to Minnesota Timberwolves].
"That can carry over. I felt like it did. I knew we had to do something and do it fast before the game got out of hand."
Green almost picked up another technical foul 20 seconds later after colliding with Herbert Jones but following more shoving and a video review, no Ts were assessed.
"I've got to play with the same intensity I try to play with each and every time I step on the court," added Green.
"I can't worry about that. For me, if I'm going to change my intensity level, then why be out there?"
Following Green's clash with Jones, Stephen Curry got involved in the scrum yelling at Pelicans players and giving some shoves.
"He knows that guys are backing him up," said Curry. "I'm sure [Green] wouldn't go out on an island like that if he didn't have that confidence.
"There are times when I've got to keep him in check and bring him back in when it's turning in the wrong direction in the sense of staying focused on just winning."
The Warriors outscored the Pelicans 74-46 in the second half, shooting 70 per cent to help complete their second-biggest comeback of the season.
Curry scored or assisted half of the points Golden State won after half-time.
Green said: "When I turned it up a notch, [Curry] turned it up another two notches.
"We all hopped in line and followed him, and he was locked in. No one was stopping him."
The Warriors are now sixth in the Western Conference, holding just a half-game advantage over the Timberwolves in seventh with five rounds left of the regular season.
"It feels like we've been in a playoff vibe for a couple of weeks now," said Curry.
"The only difference is you're playing a different team every night. But it's the same kind of adrenaline rush that we're getting. Every game does matter.
"We have a competitive spirit that's unmatched. And it's been that way for a decade."
Brown bemoans 'everything going wrong' as Celtics team bus stuck in traffic before defeat
Jaylen Brown did not want to make excuses but acknowledged "everything was going wrong for us" after the Boston Celtics' upset loss at the Washington Wizards.
The Celtics had the opportunity to close to within one win of the Milwaukee Bucks and the number one seed in the East on Wednesday.
Instead, they went down 130-111 to a Wizards team missing Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma.
One of the Celtics' team buses was stuck in traffic for around an hour before the game, and although Boston recovered to make a solid start, it was the first sign of the troublesome night that was to come.
"Tonight it just seemed like everything was going right for Washington; everything was going wrong for us," Brown said.
"On top of all the stuff that was happening before the game... but I'm not one to make no excuses."
The Celtics had recovered from a run of three straight defeats in early March to win seven of the next nine before visiting the Wizards.
While Boston are now 2.5 games back, Brown knows they cannot afford this one-off defeat to become part of a slump.
After the Bucks play the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, they welcome the Celtics to Wisconsin the following night.
"Games like this are not supposed to happen. You're supposed to win," Brown said. "But it's over with now, nothing we can do about it.
"I'm not concerned, because the way my brain works is you have just got to look forward to what's next.
"You don't want one bad night to turn into three bad nights or a bad week. Nobody wants to see that. We don't want to see that, so you don't harp on it.
"Obviously, we dropped the ball. But now you have just got to refocus and get ready for the next one."
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