Joe Mazzulla and his regrettable excuse after his 'block' on Royce O'Neal: "It was to break the barrier between coach and player"

In a game between the Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics last week, head coach Joe Mazzulla attempted to block a shot by Royce O’Neale following a timeout call. This went viral on social media as fans thought it was funny, but the league didn’t think so as they asked him to not do that anymore and to remain on the sidelines.

Mazzulla stated that he did that to break the barrier between him and his players. He constantly tells his guys that we’re all in this competition together, and to prove it he came onto the court and played defense on a dead ball. Ultimately, the Celtics head coach just wants his team to be themselves and play freely, but that means that he would have to be himself and stand on the sidelines with his clipboard.

Royce O’Neale was having a rough shooting night prior to the timeout being called. Due to the possession being dead, the veteran decided to put up a shot to hopefully find his rhythm. When the jumper got contested by the coach, it was instantly banned. While Mazzulla didn’t hear who or why this is forbidden, many people around the league fear that this could be dangerous, as the shooter could possibly land on the foot of a contesting coach and injure himself.

A recent example of a coach getting too involved is a game in January between the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies. Head coach Taylor Jenkins was upset about a no-call, so when Taurean Prince was bringing the ball up the court he started playing defense on him while arguing his points.

He immediately received a technical foul for his actions. The league wants to enforce that coaches should remain on the sidelines and do their job while the players compete on the court free from interruptions.

Regardless of this discipline coming towards head coach Joe Mazzulla, the Celtics have been rolling and proving to be the best team in the NBA. They are currently on a 7-game winning streak and will look to continue this momentum on Friday against the Detroit Pistons.