In their last game on Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end as they suffered a 21-point loss to the Miami Heat. What could've been viewed as meaningless game for the Celtics, as their playoff position is cemented as the second seed in the Eastern Conference, and they were without three key players in Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Al Horford.
As reigning NBA champions, the Celtics don't like losing, at all, and head coach Joe Mazzulla, doesn't see games as meaningless, even if they have no impact on the standings. Speaking to the media after the loss, Mazzulla dismissed the notion that the game was meaningless, and said the loss served as a good reminder to the team.
"I mean, we're all pissed," Mazzulla said after the loss to Miami. "We all hate losing and that was my message, it was a good reminder that losing still sucks. I love the fact that the staff is miserable, guys are pissed, no we're not happy about it. We have to come back and do it the next day, I think it's great. At the end of the day it doesn't have much of an impact but it still sucks and we're all miserable right now. We'll get back after it."
Mazzulla has never been a coach to shy away from the truth, and while Boston only has 20 losses during the regular season, each one serves as a reminder of a feeling they don't like. Getting that feeling out of the way in the late stages of the regular season should help build more confidence and preparation heading into the playoffs.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Joe Mazzulla said loss to Heat serves a reminder that losing sucks
