The Boston Celtics bounced back from their season opener loss to take down the nba champ New York Knicks on Friday. The 107-103 loss of Boston left head coach Joe Mazzulla impressed and he made sure to praise Jayson Tatum, Jordan Walsh for their defensive showing during the game.
Mazzulla appeared relaxed during his postgame press conference after the Celtics secured their first victory of the season. He highlighted Tatum's ability to make an impact beyond scoring.
“You look at the stat sheet tonight, 14-for-26, 36 points, that’s probably the game that everybody expects 82 nights a year,” Mazzulla said. “I’ll be a betting man that he gets something similar to that most nights. But his greatness has to be in other ways for us. He takes on the challenge of being disruptive defensively.”
Article Continues BelowWalsh' determination to accept the challenge of defending Jalen Brunson also received a nod from Mazzulla.
“You know they took the challenge, and it's not easy,” he said. “I thought tonight you saw a version of like at his best. That's what he's going to be for us, and he's going to continue to get better.