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Celtics' Joe Mazzulla Reacts to Jaylen Brown's Fight Comments

Originally posted on Boston Celtics on SI | By Seth Quinn | Last updated Apr 26, 2025 12:58 PM ET

The Boston Celtics fell to the Orlando Magic 95-93 in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series. The Magic aren't the best offensive team, but they make up for it on the defensive end by using their physicality.

Unfortunately for the Celtics, multiple players on the roster are banged up due to this physicality, including Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Jaylen Brown.

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Brown commented on the Magic's physicality, saying, “There might be a fight break out or something. It’s starting to feel like it's not even basketball, and the refs are not controlling their environment. If we want to fight it, we can do that. We can fight to see who goes to the second round.”

These comments somewhat imply the Celtics want to fight the Magic, but in reality, he is probably just saying the team needs to match their physicality in more of a metaphorical fight rather than a literal fight.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla had a similar stance to that in his response when asked by the media about Brown's comment.

Joe Mazzulla on Jaylen Brown’s comments:

“I don't know that he said it out of frustration as he did out of the perspective of doing what it takes to win.”

“If the environment calls for upping the physicality, then that’s what we have to do.”

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— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) April 26, 2025

“I don't know that he said it out of frustration as he did out of the perspective of doing what it takes to win. If the environment calls for upping the physicality, then that’s what we have to do," he said.

Part of the beauty of this Celtics roster and a big reason why the team won the title last year is that they can play in multiple ways. They have size and strength across the board to match Orlando's physicality, so they need to do that if they want to close out the series as soon as possible.

However, the Celtics do need to be careful about playing right into the Magic's hands. If they get too physical trying to match Orlando, that could lead to them losing the mental game and also some foul trouble. Worst case scenario, more injuries for either team occur, as they try to be more physical.

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The Celtics entered the series as heavy favorites, so they need to try and get out of this series unscathed the rest of the way. If they start picking fights and encouraging the Magic to increase their physicality even more, that could lead to disaster for the Celtics.

That means they need to find the right balance. They can't be too soft and allow the Magic to dictate the intensity, but they also can't raise the intensity too much and start literally fighting the Magic players.

Fortunately for Celtics fans, the team has plenty of playoff experience, so they should believe in the team finding that balance to close out this series.

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This article first appeared on Boston Celtics on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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