Joe Mazzulla is known for his love of martial arts. Tuesday, he argued that the NBA needs more fighting, too.
Speaking on a Boston radio show, the Boston Celtics head coach told hosts Scott Zolak and Marc Betrand, “I wish you could bring back fighting…what’s more entertaining than a little scuffle?”
Mazzulla thinks it’s was unfair that sports like baseball can have brawls involving whole teams and hockey can have fights while the players are literally wielding sticks, while the NBA reviews any hard contact and punishes fighting severely.
“I just don’t get why some sports are allowed to clear the benches. They have bats and weapons, we don’t. We just have a ball,” Mazzulla argued. “The other sport has one of the hardest surfaces and playing instrument in pucks and sticks and we’re not allowed to throw down a little bit?”
Mazzulla clearly likes it when things get a little physical. After the Celtics hired him to be their head coach ahead of the 2022-23 season, Mazzulla started training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He’s always trying to heighten his awareness, like when he told “Pardon My Take” last season that he always studies exits wherever he is and refuses to use revolving doors because they leave him vulnerable to attack.
That’s the kind of mentality that can keep a defending champion like the Celtics from getting complacent. Can the team really relax on the court when their head coach is making substitutions, working the officials and drawing up plays, while simultaneously scanning the crowd for potential assassins?
Much of the NBA’s opposition to fighting, which includes severe penalties for leaving the bench during an altercation, stems from a fight from 1977, when Kermit Washington leveled Rudy Tomjanovich with a punch that shattered his face, knocking him out of the NBA for five months.
The mere size of players, coupled with the NBA’s image-conscious approach, means the league isn’t likely to follow Mazzulla’s pro-fighting suggestion. Nor are they likely to adopt the coach’s idea for “power plays” in the NBA (clearly Mazzulla had hockey on the brain), to make intentional fouls more punishing to the defense.
“There should be like a power play where, on a take foul, on a technical, you have to play five-on-four for five seconds or three passes,” Mazzulla added.
The spirit of the idea might be correct, but just like Mazzulla’s idea to open up limited fisticuffs, the power play idea might be too much for the league’s overburdened officials. Considering how long a simple replay review lasts, managing a power play might be more trouble than it’s worth.
Meanwhile, Mazzulla’s team has fought its way to a 4-0 record, creating chaos on the court and stability at the top of the Eastern Conference.
