Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla says basketball fans have been robbed of the entertainment value that hard fouls and scuffles bring.
Mazzulla was speaking with hosts on Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub radio who were discussing potential rule changes to make the NBA more exciting.
During the interview with Scott Zolak and Marc Bertrand, Mazzulla asked a question that likely has never been asked before:
“How come in baseball they’re allowed to clear the benches?”
The point of his question was to imply that there should be some form of fighting permitted in basketball, as well, resulting in penalties.
“I think the biggest thing that we rob people from as an entertainment standpoint is you can’t fight anymore,” he told the hosts. “I wish you could bring back fighting.”
Basketball has a history of scuffles and rough play, particularly in the late 1980s and early 1990s, an era that featured very physical players like Dennis Rodman and Isiah Thomas.
The radio hosts pointed out that the NBA rarely ever features any hard fouls anymore, adding that there isn’t a “fear” of physical repercussions for modern players like that there has been in the past.
Mazzulla added, “I mean, you want to…
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