Charles Barkley rebukes Joe Mazzulla for attempting to block Royce O'Neale's shot
When a timeout was called in the final minutes of the fourth quarter of Thursday night's action between the Boston Celtics and the Phoenix Suns, coach Joe Mazzulla was seen contesting Suns forward Royce O'Neale's shot before heading to the bench. It was a hilarious sight to behold for fans, which NBA legend Charles Barkley was not a fan of.
Following the Celtics' impressive 127-112 victory over Phoenix, Barkley had strong comments for Mazzulla's antics with the block attempt, as per a segment on TNT's "NBA on TNT." The 11-time NBA All-Star argued that O'Neale could've gotten hurt in that moment.
"I would've knocked the hell out of him. I'm not gonna lie," Barkley said. "I would've hit him ... I'll tell you why I don't like it. What if he stepped on his ankle and hurt himself badly? He can't do that. Come on, man."
In today's age, the NBA has prioritized the importance of protecting its players. This is why landing on an offensive player's landing space is automatically deemed a foul in the eyes of the officials as this can lead to serious injuries, regardless of if it was intentional or not.
Interestingly, Barkley's co-host Kenny Smith found what Joe Mazzulla did hilarious, as it can be looked at as the Celtics coach's fiery spirit and competitive nature coming out, even in a timeout situation. Be that as it may, Charles Barkley's point still stands as he found it puzzling for an NBA coach to even consider doing such a thing.
Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla talked about his block attempt at Suns forward Royce O'Neale
Speaking after a dominant win against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla shed light on what the intent was when he contested Royce O'Neale's three-point attempt during a timeout in the fourth quarter.
"I saw a guy trying to get a shot who hadn't made one," Mazzulla said. "I didn't want him to feel good about himself going to the bench. That's the bench rule. Guys don't shoot shots in front of our bench to go back to their bench and feel good about themselves. If I'm gonna ask the guys to contest, the staff has got to do the same."
Joe Mazzulla's answer showcases how he leads his team by example. With how competitive Boston has been throughout the 2023-24 season, it starts with the team having a focused and bought-in mentality, and it starts with their coach.
With just 16 games left to go in the season, the Boston Celtics are standing strong with the best record in the league (52-14) and winners of eight games in their last 10 games.