After leading his Boston Celtics to win the NBA title last season, Joe Mazzulla and his team show no signs of stopping. With four wins out of four, the Massachusetts franchise is increasingly establishing itself as the team to beat.
In an exclusive interview with NBC Sports Bostonthe Celtics head coach shared his goal of increasing physicality in the NBA:
We have deprived the public of brawls. In the NBA you are no longer allowed to fight. Harder play means more entertainment. Basketball is the only sport where there is no excessive contact. In other sports they have pucks and sticks. We only have one ball, let us fight a little
Joe Mazzulla
Speaking of revolutionary ideas, Joe Mazzulla suggested, inspired by football, the introduction of a blue card which would force a player to leave the pitch for a set period of time.
It would be interesting to introduce a rule similar to that of football, where a player must leave the field after receiving a technical foul or too many personal fouls. This would make the matches more dynamic. We could think of a “blue card” which forces the athlete to stay off the court for a certain period of time
Joe Mazzulla
Although they are quite extreme proposals and which we are unlikely to see introduced, they demonstrate the desire to push the boundaries of the game.
