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Jimmy Butler's history with Celtics HC Joe Mazzulla dates back to college
More than 12 years ago, Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler defeated Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla in one of the final college basketball games for both players.
(Okay so he ended them in the big east tournament so forgive me pls. It’s not the same, but it’s the same. Pls.)
— jeremy taché (@jeremytache) May 22, 2023
Despite playing in team-high 36 minutes during the Big East tournament second-round tilt, Butler (then a junior) produced a meager nine points to go with two rebounds and two assists on 2-for-5 shooting. NBA veteran and former Big East Player of the Year Jae Crowder (a freshman at the time) came off the bench that game for Butler's Golden Eagles and had four points and a game-high nine rebounds and three steals.
As a senior, Mazzulla tied for a game-high with 40 minutes played that day and scored eight points with a game-best five assists. Despite holding a seven-point halftime lead, Mazzulla's Mountaineers saw Butler and company outscore West Virginia 38-25 after intermission to take a 67-61 victory.
After losing to Louisville in the Big East quarterfinals, Marquette entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 11 seed and upset both No. 6 Xavier and No. 3 Syracuse, before falling to No. 2 North Carolina in the Sweet 16.
Mazzulla and the Mountaineers earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and after beating No. 12 Clemson in their first game, they lost to No. 4 Kentucky in the round of 32. In his final college game, Mazzulla scored a team-high 20 points.
Since their college careers ended, Butler has racked up six All-Star nods and has earned five All-Defensive honors.
Mazzulla held numerous assistant coaching jobs in the college game -- plus a gig with the Celtics' G League affiliate (the Maine Red Claws) -- before joining Boston as an assistant in 2019. The 34-year-old was appointed as the Celtics' interim leader after Ime Udoka's suspension was handed down and he was named the full-time leader and given a contract extension in February.
Butler's Heat will try to close out Mazzulla's Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday night.
More must-reads:
- Heat embarrass Celtics in Game 3 behind historic night from Gabe Vincent
- Watch: Jimmy Butler calls a timeout for the Celtics
- The 'Basketball Association of America (BAA)' quiz
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Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb sends strong message after tempers flare at training camp
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Aaron Rodgers Declares Steelers Are Super Bowl Contenders With Bold Comments
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Insider shares promising update on Jets QB Justin Fields' toe injury
New York Jets fans understandably panicked when it was learned on Thursday morning that quarterback Justin Fields was carted off the practice field with an apparent lower right leg injury. NFL Network's Ian Rapoport (h/t Kevin Patra) later reported that "the initial diagnosis is that Fields suffered a dislocated toe," which isn't his big toe. ESPN's Rich Cimini offered more positive news regarding the situation, claiming that a source revealed "that the injury is not considered significant and that the quarterback should not be sidelined for long." The Jets signed Fields to a two-year, $40M deal with $30M guaranteed in March to be their starting QB after he spent last summer competing with Russell Wilson for the Pittsburgh Steelers' Week 1 gig. Fields went 4-2 as Wilson spent the first six weeks of the 2024 season recovering from a lingering calf problem before Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin started Wilson from Week 7 through the wild-card round of the playoffs. The Jets can escape Fields' contract as soon as next offseason, meaning backup Tyrod Taylor theoretically could give first-year head coach Aaron Glenn something to think about by performing well in Fields' absence. Gang Green opens the regular season with a home game against the Steelers on Sept. 7. "I think the most important part is, if anything does happen to Justin, I don't think there's any drop-off as far as what we want to do when it comes to play," Glenn said on Thursday about having to turn to Taylor temporarily. If Fields' injury is worse than feared, the Jets could give the Cleveland Browns a call about the status of Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett. Cleveland is expected to carry rookie signal-callers Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel on the active roster through September, meaning either Flacco or Pickett could be deemed surplus by the end of the preseason.
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