Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla shares how he voted for NBA All-Star Game
Before Tuesday’s game against Indiana, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla offered a peek into his thought process when voting players into this year’s All-Star Game.
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“I think it’s important to hold people to a standard that we hold our guys to, for me personally. So winning is important. Looking at defensive metrics just as much as the offensive metrics, I think that’s really important, because I think that our guys that are up for All-Star don’t get the praise they should for their defensive metrics,” Mazzulla said.
He continued: “Guys have been top-five in defense for like 10 years or however long they’ve been in the NBA. And it’s not talked about in success as much. So I definitely look at both offensive and defensive metrics, and I think winning is important. And I think some of those stats that we have that just aren’t box-score stats, like affecting their teammates, all that stuff.”
Mazzulla confirmed he submits a ballot himself, as opposed to passing it off to a staffer like other NBA coaches have.
Jayson Tatum was one of five Eastern Conference starters named last week. Jaylen Brown is considered a strong favorite for one of the reserve spots, which will be announced Tuesday. Kristaps Porzingis could give the Celtics a third all-star, after it was announced Knicks forward Julius Randle would miss a few weeks with a dislocated shoulder.
Mazzulla has previously stumped for Derrick White. First-year Celtics guard Jrue Holiday earned his second All-Star nod last season.