Marcus Smart: Joe Mazzulla has shown ability to ‘learn’ amid criticism

BOSTON — celts guard smart marcus provided more clarity on his scathing comments after Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, when he said coach Joe Mazzulla “legitimately” faced criticism in his first year in charge of the team.

“No wonder in the fact that, like us, when we go out and don’t play a good game, or don’t do the things that we know we’re capable of and should be doing, we’re held accountable,” Smart said after the Saturday afternoon practice. “Joe’s not on the court, so he’s responsible differently than we are. And that’s with certain things that he could do or not do.”

With their season on the line in Game 6, the Celtics made a critical adjustment by inserting Robert Williams III in the starting lineup and returning to the unit they used for most of last season en route to an NBA Finals appearance. Celtics players responded to the trade with great approval, including Smart, who said he was excited about the trade.

Smart used that roster change to note that Mazzulla, the 34-year-old Celtics first-year coach, was still learning. But Smart continued to support Mazzulla’s decision making.

“At the end of the day, it’s his decision,” Smart said. “If it works, we don’t say anything. If it doesn’t work, then obviously you have to look at it. That’s the fun of taking criticism and moving on, being coachable, being able to learn. Great players, great coaches, are capable of learning.

“Even if they make a mistake, they don’t let it stop them. They carry on and learn from it.”

Mazzulla has received criticism throughout this second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers — for his timeout management late in Boston’s Game 4 loss and after the Celtics were beaten at home in Game 5 to fall behind 3-2 in the series.

Smart said that players have an open dialogue with Mazzulla and allow them to come to him with suggestions. But even if several Celtics players favored Williams’ inclusion in the starting lineup, none said he had a meeting with Mazzulla to influence the trade.

Williams is expected to remain in the starting lineup for Game 7 between the Celtics and the Sixers on Sunday in Boston.

When asked what led to the change, Mazzulla replied simply: “We were down 3-2 in the series.”

“Our goal is to win, whatever it takes,” Smart said. “There are things that we don’t see on the court that Joe sees, and there are also things that we see that Joe doesn’t see. We’re here to help each other.”

Mazzulla was not the Celtics’ head coach last season when they won a pair of Game 7s, against the milwaukee dollars and Miami Heat — on his way to the NBA Finals, but was a member of Ime Udoka’s staff.

So Smart reiterated that while this is Mazzulla’s first time at the helm, he feels like the coach has been a part of the journey with the rest of this Boston core.

“He’s been here through a lot of our tough times and our struggles,” Smart said. “So now that he’s got the job it’s nothing new. Joe loves us and we love Joe. We believe in Joe and Joe believes in us.”