Joe Mazzulla: Indiana Pacers challenged Boston the most ‘by far’ during NBA Title run

Joe Mazzulla: Indiana Pacers challenged Boston the most ‘by far’ during NBA Title run

We are a month away from the start of the 2024-25 preseason, with teams leaguewide beginning training camp in only a matter of weeks!

The Boston Celtics enjoyed a historically great 2023-24 season. They became one of 14 teams to ever win 80 total games, including winning their 18th-ever NBA Title, their first since 2007-08. Boston rolled through Miami, Cleveland, Indiana and Dallas in 19 total games, combining to go 16-3 with a plus-8.6 NET Rating.

When reminiscing about the team’s playoff run, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla discussed which team gave his team their biggest challenge:

“That Indiana series was by far the toughest series,” he told John Karalis of the Boston Sports Journal. “And we swept them, but it should have went seven (games).

“You have to have an understanding that we have to fight for the things that we can control but there’s so much that goes on that you can’t control. We’re trying to foul up three and give (Aaron) Nesmith a wide open corner 3. If he makes that and we go in the overtime on the road, it’s a completely different game.

“There’s a list of things that I wrote down that I’m like. Here are all the things that happened that we had no control over, and we got to practice this list of things to try and gain a little bit more control over. But there’s still stuff that you have to surrender to within a game.”

Indiana was the only team not to best Boston once during their title run, though three of Boston’s four wins against them were by five or fewer points, including two by one possession. Here was its series-by-series NET Rating, to offer some perspective:

• First Round vs. Miami: +17.0
• East Semis vs. Cleveland: +8.5
• East Finals vs. Indiana: +6.3
• NBA Finals vs. Dallas: +2.6

Boston’s worst loss came in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against Dallas–losing by 38 with a minus-39.3 NET in that game; in their four wins, the C’s posted a plus-13.6 NET with their four margin-of-victories coming by 18, seven, seven and 18 points, respectively.

Indiana’s pace also caused difficulties at time throughout that series–regardless if Tyrese Haliburton was on the court or not. Miami, Cleveland nor Dallas pushed pace; Indiana finished second in the league in pace and, thus, finished second in offense despite being a low-ish volume 3-point shooting team. Obviously going quickly would also give the Celtics more bites at the apple, but it was Indiana’s best formula for keeping pace throughout most of the series.

Indiana Pacers Rick Carlisle is a good coach; so is Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, arguably the best in the sport. Mazzulla’s also improved considerably as a tactician over the past two seasons.

All in all, it was a dominant run, despite each of the four teams they faced dealing with injuries. Having injury luck is apart of every title run, and even Kristaps Porzingis missed more than half of their postseason games with a lower body injury.

Do you think they’re bound to repeat? Let us know in the comments below!

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