If it were up to Joe Mazzulla fighting would be allowed in the NBA. And while some around the league like Golden State Warriors guard Draymond Green — who has a history of getting physical during games — don’t agree, the Boston Celtics coach has at least one his players on his side.
“Look, I’m with it. I’m with it,” Jrue Holiday said during an appearance on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back.” “Get your paws ready, all right? If we gotta get in the boxing gym, if we gotta get in the ring. You know Joe does jiu-jitsu, so I really think he’s ready but to his point, back in the ‘90s and the early 2000s like when people was scrapping and throwing hands, it was pretty entertaining. … I’m too old for that, but other people can have that.”
Mazzulla said on 98.5′s “Zolak & Bertrand” that fans are robbed of entertainment because there’s no fighting anymore.
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“What’s more entertaining than a little scuffle?,” Mazzulla said. “You get to go to a baseball game — how come in baseball they’re allowed to clear the benches? How come in hockey they’re allowed to? I don’t understand.”
The NBA is able to fine players who engage in fighting up to $50,000. It’s rare fights break out during games, though sometimes there is hard shoving or the benches clear in rare circumstances. And while Mazzulla probably won’t see that rule get changed any time soon, Holiday knows his mindset won’t change because he’s “genuinely himself.”
“Joe, he’s him,” Holiday said. “He’s gonna be like that in film. He’s gonna be like that while we’re going through schemes and plays. But he’s genuine and he’s genuinely himself and I think that when you know him, you can tell that he really cares and he really cares for people. He really cares about Celtics basketball.
“From the day I got here, he made it known what this was about,” he added. “It was about being a Celtic and the legacy and winning championships and hanging banners.”
