Bill Simmons says Al Horford was coaching the Celtics in Game 7

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Bill Simmons says Al Horford was coaching the Celtics in Game 7: "Joe comes back with like 20 seconds left in the timeout"


Bill Simmons saw Al Horford take over the Celtics' timeouts with Mazulla talking to his assistant coaches.

OREL DIZON

MAY 30, 2023


A lot of the blame for the Boston Celtics' Eastern Conference Finals loss will fall on Joe Mazzulla's shoulders. But Bill Simmons and his dad, who attended Game 7 against the Miami Heat, don't even deem Mazzulla the team's full-time coach after seeing Al Horford take his place in the coach's seat during timeouts.

"Also, he was coaching the team," Simmons said while discussing Horford with his father. "You were telling me as this was happening, and I didn't fully realize it. They call timeouts, and Horford sits on the coach's chair and coaches for like two minutes, as Joe is with his four assistant coaches that we found in Store 24. What the hell? I didn't recognize any of these assistant coaches. ... Al Horford's there coaching. And then sometimes [Marcus] Smart will come in, and he's coaching. And Joe comes back with like 20 seconds left in the timeout."


Coach Al?

Any of the Simmons father-son duo is evidently not a fan of Mazzulla, who was thrust into Boston's head coaching role after Ime Udoka was suspended and then fired earlier in the season. The 34-year-old coach performed admirably in the regular season, leading the Celtics to 57 wins, one behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the top record in the league.


However, Joe got outmatched in the Conference Finals, where the Celtics succumbed to the Miami Heat in seven games.


Mazzulla probably saved his job by rallying Boston to a near-comeback from a 3-0 hole. Unfortunately, the team ran out of gas and options in the final game after Jayson Tatum got injured on the first play of the night.

Perhaps the sighting of Horford taking over on the bench won't provide confidence in the incumbent coach's job security. Interestingly, Simmons is not the only person to see it happen. NBA sideline reporter Allie LaForce also shared a similar report in Game 3 of the series.

It was also reported that Horford, who is two years older than Mazzulla, was behind the idea of the Celtics going on a trip to Top Golf instead of watching film after falling down 3-0. That resulted in the squad racking up three consecutive wins.



Bob
MY NOTE:  This article is 5 days old, so this is water over the dam.  Also, this article says that Bill Simmons isn't a fan of Joe, so take that into account too.  There's also nothing wrong with a veteran voice providing input into the huddles.  HOWEVER, the coaching staff, pretty much up-and-down the line, looked in over their heads in the Miami series.

Sam Cassell is a good first step.  I said this elsewhere and I believe this 100%.  He can't be the last one but hiring an assistant coach like him, with tons of experience, was an imperative even if the rest of the assistant coaches weren't bolting to Houston.  We need at least one more like him, wherever Brad can find them.  Remember Ron Adams?  He was the guy Danny hired to help Brad in his rookie year.  He ended up leaving after that to be an assistant coach @ GSW, where he's from, he wanted to go home for his final years, but he was an absolutely invaluable addition the year he was here.  He helped flatten out Brad's learning curve very quickly.  We need Cassell, and others, to do that for Joe.


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I used to like Bill Simmons, however, in the past few years, he has gone overboard with some of his claims, opinions, observations, whatever you want to call them. He always wants to portray that he has an insider look into what is going on. What is wrong with Al trying to rev these guys up in Game 7 ?? For most of the year the guys said they valued Al's contributions and help. Get over it Bill. Sick of throwing Joe under the bus. He is here. at least for next year unless the roof falls in. Sam Cassell is a good first addition, looks like Silas is taking first chair in Detroit. So, let's see how creative they can become with other coaching changes

Bill Simmons is a horse’s ass

Please...don't insult horses by comparing any part of them to Bill Simmons.

worcester wrote:Please...don't insult horses by comparing any part of them to Bill Simmons.

LOL

Saw this last week and thought it would almost be too stupid to comment on. Except to say how amazing it is that Simmons will bend facts to change their meaning, or maybe he just doesn’t understand team sports.

You see, Bill, coaches, especially good ones, want their players to talk, instruct each other and participate in the sideline huddle. There will be times when only the coach or an assistant will want to talk. The coaches will often indicate that with some gesture, like putting their hand up. Did you think that meant they wanted a high five, Bill?

If it’s just that you want to see another example of what you noticed for the first time in you career, and don’t trust the Celtic staff to provide an example, would Pop do? You know the guy, Bill, over in San Antonio. By extension of your marvelous exposure of this issue, Pop hasn't coached his team since he arrived in Texas.

I preferred Jean Simmons to Bill. Curt Simmons too.And Anfernee.