Coaching misteps, overthinking Boston’s 2022 Finals rematch with Dubs cost Celtics a winnable game

Jayson Tatum may not agree, but Joe Mazzulla and Jaylen Brown acknowledged Boston did not play their brand of basketball on Saturday.

Far from the statement win they had hoped to make on the Golden State Warriors’ home court on Saturday night, the Boston Celtics instead found themselves the victims of a 123-107 loss to the Dubs due to a combination of peculiar rotational decisions by interim head coach Joe Mazzulla and frequent lapses on both ends of the court by his players.

“We have to be better. The staff has to be better,” admitted Mazzulla via MassLive’s Brian Robb after the loss. And despite Jayson Tatum claiming the game was “more meaningful to” the media “than it was to us,” the St. Louis native’s exceptionally inefficient 6-of-21 shooting night told a different story.

One of the Warriors still owning some prime real estate in Tatum’s mind despite his and the Celtics’ growth as a team.