Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla turned heads on Saturday with one of the wildest quotes of All-Star weekend. According to Mazzulla, the NBA should ban halftime in every game because it’s only useful from a business perspective.
“If it was up to me, I wish we would ban halftime. I can’t stand halftime. I just don’t understand it,” said Mazzulla on the Zolak & Bertrand Show. “I guess I do from a business standpoint, but I hate it. It’s useless. It gives you an opportunity to escape from the arena. It gives you an opportunity to escape from the competitive arena. I’ve never understood it from a psychological perspective of — it’s crazy, I think in cricket they take a few hours off.”
As head coach of the Celtics since February 2023, Joe Mazzulla has found great success leading Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and a core of elite and competitive two-way players. Joe, however, has been known for his hot takes in the past, and his opinion on halftime may be his coldest takes of all
The break between halves has been a staple of NBA games since the very beginning. The only change ever made to halftime has been the length of the break, which started at 10 minutes. Eventually, the league added an extra five minutes to halftime, totaling the break to 15 minutes long.
The halftime break isn’t just important for player rest and safety, it’s also a key opportunity for the NBA and its partners to add even greater appeal to the game. It’s also an important time for the audience to safely look away from the court without fear of missing action.
In the arena, while the teams are in their respective locker rooms getting rest and advice for the second half, the fans are treated to a show, usually in the form of extravagant productions featuring top artists, acrobats, or magic tricks. These moments can often be the most memorable for fans watching the games live.
For people watching the game on television, the halftime break offers a chance to provide key analysis of the game which is done through playbacks, replays, and halftime shows like ‘Inside the NBA.’
Needless to say, the league game day schedule is set in place for a reason, and as much as Mazzula might not like it, halftime is here to stay. In a league where ratings are down and the game itself is on the decline, things like the crucial mid-game break must stay as it is to not further disrupt the NBA product.
For Joe Mazzulla, there’s nothing he can do but play on and live with the current game-day conditions. As the second team in the East this season (39-16), the coach has done a good job keeping the Celtics up to championship standards.
Now if he can just find a way to keep his team fresh out of the break, it may be just the thing they need to spark another miraculous title run.
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