Joe Mazzulla reveals why Celtics kept hacking Mitchell Robinson

“Just process over results,” Mazzulla said via SNY Knicks on X (formerly Twitter). “You just always stick to the process of what you think gives you the best chance to win on that possession and to win in that game.”

This hasn’t been an unusual thing in the series. In Game 1, Robinson was flattered that the Celtics kept fouling him. He deemed it a sign of respect, which makes sense.

However, Game 3 proved to be the ultimate test. They weren’t fouling because of his intimidating rim presence. They were fouling because of the sub-40% he shoots from the free-throw line in the playoffs.

Joe Mazzulla’s ‘Hack-a-Robinson’ seemed to work for the Celtics

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’s what transpired for the Celtics on Saturday. Their offense was clicking, but what worked before continued to work again.

He made only four of his 12 free throw attempts. It’s a shocking number. Still, Boston made it a point to prevent easy baskets.

Despite his earlier comments, it’s clear that Mazzulla had a vision. He saw the numbers, the nerves, and other likely elements that went into his decision to foul Robinson regularly.

If the Knicks hope to gain more traction, they could use a more fruitful shooting performance at the line from the center. If not, Mazzulla could keep using the same system, over and over again.

At the end of the day, Game 3 was a blowout defined by many things. One of them, though, was how to limit New York, and that starts with putting Robinson on the line, as opposed to other players.