PHILADELPHIA — Less than four years into his Celtics tenure, Joe Mazzulla now is Boston’s longest-tenured head coach.
Mazzulla gained that distinction following the Red Sox’s stunning decision Saturday to fire manager Alex Cora and several of his assistants.
Cora was let go just 27 games into his eighth season with Boston. Asked Sunday about the 2018 World Series winner’s dismissal, Mazzulla, who speaks often about the temporary nature of coaching jobs, replied: “One day you’re there, the next day you’re not.”
“That’s how it goes,” the Celtics bench boss said before Game 4 of his team’s first-round playoff series against the 76ers at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Mazzulla praised Cora, a former major league infielder, for his ability to connect with his players. He’s confident the 50-year-old will find success elsewhere.
“He’s great,” said Mazzulla, who spoke with Cora before a game at Fenway Park earlier this month. “I think he does a great job building relationships with the players, navigating the ebbs and flows of a long season, staying even-keeled. I’m grateful I got to learn from him, and wherever he goes, I know he’ll be good. But he does a great job just building relationships, communication. I learned a ton from him.”
Mazzulla expounded on that message during a pregame interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Sean Grande.
“I think one of his best gifts is just his ability to connect with the guys in a certain way,” he said. “And any time you have a guy who is a great manager, but also was a good player, they know how to navigate a locker room, and they know how to develop relationships with different guys. … I watched a lot of his pressers and how he was able to just convey consistency, whether they were playing well or whether they weren’t. So, grateful to know him wherever he goes, I’ve definitely gotten better because of him.”
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens offered a similar reaction to Cora’s firing. Stevens was the C’s head coach during the early years of Cora’s tenure before moving into his current role in 2021.
“I love Alex,” Stevens told the Herald.
The Red Sox won their first game without Cora on Sunday, beating the Baltimore Orioles 5-3 in interim manager Chad Tracy’s debut.
C’s pleased with Maxey defense
Containing Tyrese Maxey was a priority for the Celtics entering this series. So far, so good.
Though Philadelphia’s All-Star guard averaged 27.0 points and 7.7 assists over the first three games — tied for the fourth-highest scoring average this postseason as of Sunday — Boston believes it’s defended him well, according to Jordan Walsh.
“I actually think we’ve done a great job, honestly,” the defense-focused wing said at Sunday’s morning shootaround. “You’re not going to be able to take away everything. The offense still ran through him. He’s still going to get all the shots he wants. He’s still going to get the ball in the positions they’re going to put him in to succeed. In spite of all that, I think we’ve done a great job.
“To some people, it may not seem that way, but inside the organization, we feel like we’ve been doing a good job. We can get to the next level and amp it up a little bit more, but as of now, I think we’ve done a good job.”
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey, center, moves to the basket against Boston Celtics guard Jordan Walsh, right, during the second half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball game, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Maxey entered Game 4 shooting just 39.2% from the field, well below his regular-season average of 46.2%. The Celtics also have kept him off the foul line, limiting Maxey to nine total free-throw attempts through the first three games.
As of Sunday, Walsh had logged the second-most matchup minutes against Maxey behind Derrick White, per NBA player tracking, and held him to four points on 1-for-6 shooting in the series (0-for-2 from 3-point range). His best work came in the third quarter of Game 3, when Walsh entered and snuffed out a Maxey run after the latter had scored 10 points in less than two minutes.
Garza staying ready
Mazzulla spoke Saturday about the early foul trouble starting center Neemias Queta has encountered in this series, which has contributed to both larger workloads for backup Nikola Vucevic and opportunities for third-stringer Luka Garza.
Garza saw meaningful action in two of the first three contests against Philly, logging 14 minutes in Game 1 and four minutes in Game 3 (plus a garbage-time appearance in Game 2). He was impactful in his brief second-quarter shift Friday night, hitting a 3-pointer and grabbing an offensive rebound to set up another three by Baylor Scheierman.
“I think we all impact the games in different ways,” Garza said Sunday of Boston’s three bigs. “I think we all have strengths, and I think the great thing about that group for me is (they’re) just really high-character guys you can learn from. Both Vuc and Neemi, when I’m watching on the court, I’m seeing, if I do get a chance to get in there, what they’re doing, what’s not happening, and I try to make adjustments for myself going into it.”
Off the rim
One key lineup change for Game 4: Joel Embiid, Philadelphia’s star center, suited up for the first time since April 6. Embiid missed the end of the season and the first three playoff games after undergoing an emergency appendectomy. The Sixers upgraded him from doubtful to questionable less than 90 minutes before tipoff, before eventually clearing him to play. The 2023 NBA MVP replaced Adem Bona in Philly’s starting five. … Both teams had their full rosters available Sunday night. The Celtics started their usual lineup of White, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Jayson Tatum and Queta. … After tearing his Achilles during Saturday night’s Nuggets-Timberwolves game, Minnesota guard Donte DiVincenzo began his rehab the same way Tatum did after he suffered the same injury last May: by having Dr. Martin O’Malley surgically repair his tendon the following day.