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Joe Mazzulla revealed he’s had a torn meniscus since March
"Everybody's hurt this time of year. It's the playoffs."
Joe Mazzulla’s injury admission after Celtics’ championship: In the euphoric postgame scene of the Celtics’ 18th NBA championship, Boston players and coaches cut loose after months of tightly wound focus on a singular goal.
With the season over, the Celtics are now free to celebrate for a while. And while he will undoubtedly enjoy the revelry as well, Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla surprisingly revealed that he’s also set for an offseason medical procedure.
Mazzulla, speaking in a postgame interview on SportsCenter, said that he tore his meniscus in March.
“Hey, guess what? I have to have knee surgery. I tore my meniscus in March after we lost to Atlanta,” Mazzulla said to ESPN’s Michael Eaves. “So the first thing I have to do is get back on the mats. I’m going to be out a little while. I’ve been working through it since March.”
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“But that fighting mentality is what I kind of think kept us focused,” Mazzulla summarized. “That ability to just work through stuff. Everybody’s hurt this time of year. It’s the playoffs.”
Mazzulla said he expects to be “back on the mats” in the “next three to five months.”
Trivia: As a player, Joe Mazzulla was once part of a West Virginia team that reached the Final Four in the 2010 NCAA tournament. The Mountaineers notably upset Kentucky in the Elite Eight to reach that point. What future number one overall NBA draft pick did Mazzulla and his teammates overcome in that game against the Wildcats?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: He was drafted by the Wizards.
Scores and schedules:
The Celtics clinched the team’s league-leading 18th championship with a 106-88 win over the Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday. Boston won the finals by a 4-1 series margin, with Jaylen Brown being named MVP.
The parade to celebrate Boston’s latest championship will begin on Friday at 11 a.m.
Also from Monday, the Red Sox got a 7-3 win in Toronto over the Blue Jays. The two teams play again tonight at 7:07 p.m.
More from Boston.com:
- The Celtics overcame years of doubt and are NBA champions: 10 takeaways
- Jaylen Brown was named NBA Finals MVP after a 21-point performance in Game 5
- Kyrie Irving offers up ‘respect’ to Celtics after falling to Boston in NBA Finals
- Tom Brady, Isaiah Thomas, Barack Obama and others react to Celtics’ 18th championship
- Al Horford is an NBA champion. Finally.
- Celtics teammates praise Al Horford after 38-year-old vet wins first title
- Kristaps Porzingis sheds light on ankle injury that will require offseason surgery
- Jayson Tatum celebrated Celtics’ championship with emotional reaction reminiscent of Kevin Garnett
- What Jayson Tatum’s son, Deuce, told him amid Celtics victory celebration
- Joe Mazzulla was a Division 2 coach not long ago. He’s now an NBA champion, and just getting started
- Finals MVP Jaylen Brown reflects on his grandmother, Bill Russell, and Jayson Tatum after Celtics victory
- Celtics’ Derrick White smiles through the pain after getting tooth chipped in Game 5 of NBA Finals
- Watch: Payton Pritchard hits another buzzer-beater heave against Mavericks in Game 5
Another one from Ceddanne: The Red Sox rookie made another impressive outfield grab on Monday.
On this day: In 1975, rookie outfielder Fred Lynn tied the Red Sox single game record totaling an incredible 10 RBIs in a 15-1 demolition of the Tigers.
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Lynn belted three home runs as well as a triple in one of the most impressive offensive displays in Boston history.
Daily highlight: Every angle of Peyton Pritchard’s half-court buzzer-beater at halftime in Monday’s Game 5.
Trivia answer: John Wall
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