If you want to know what Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla thinks of most players in the NBA, that information has helpfully been collected all in one place.
Twitter user @groovyk8 posted Thursday that she was trying to brush up on Suns knowledge using the online study tool Quizlet when she found an account apparently belonging to Mazzulla. The profile photo of the Joseph Mazzulla account shows the Boston interim coach with his family in the gym at Fairmont State, where he was previously the coach. The account featured flash cards with the names of players and the tendencies of their games, along with notes about opposing team strategies.
Mazzulla’s account was deleted after the tweet went viral, but a Reddit user archived its contents before it was scrubbed.
Much of the information appears to be outdated—based on the fact that Montrezl Harrell is listed as a member of the Lakers, it looks like it’s from the 2020–21 season—and it’s unclear how Mazzulla used the flashcards. (Was he just studying himself or was this information being used to quiz players ahead of games?) But the scouting reports do contain plenty of interesting nuggets for NBA fans. It’s a rare look at how NBA teams prepare to stop their opponents and exploit their weaknesses. For example, most fans would have no idea what to tell a defender trying to limit LeBron James’s impact on a game, but here’s what the scouting report says about him:
ALERT TO LEAKOUTS. LOOKS FOR PULL UP 3’S IN TRANSITION. RIGHT SHOULDER IN THE POST. CANT LET HIM GET A RHYTHM. BASELINE FADEAWAY JUMPER. ALERT TO TOP CUTS WHEN OTHERS ARE POSTING.
The scouting reports also contain some brutally honest evaluations of players. Kyle Kuzma “is not passing.” Russell Westbrook is a “terrible 3 point shooter.” Kendrick Nunn is “looking to score and create for himself, not others.”
Even if it’s just one team’s scouting reports from two seasons ago, fans never get to peek behind the curtain in this way. I can think of worse ways to spend my weekend than scrolling though these scouting reports.
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