Speaking on a radio show in Boston, the Boston Celtics head coach told hosts Scott Zolak and Marc Betrand: “I wish you could bring the fighting back…what’s more entertaining than a little fight?”

Mazzulla thinks it’s unfair that sports like baseball can have brawls involving entire teams and that hockey can have brawls with players literally brandishing sticks, while the NBA looks into any hard contact and severely punishes fights.

“I just don’t understand why some sports are allowed to clear the benches. They have sticks and guns, we don’t. We just have a ball,” Mazzulla argued. “The other sport has one of the harder surfaces and plays with pucks and sticks and we’re not allowed to throw a little bit?”

Mazzulla clearly likes it when things get a little physical. After the Celtics hired him as head coach ahead of the 2022-23 season, Mazzulla started training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He’s always trying to be more aware, like when he told “Pardon My Take” last season that he always studies exits wherever he is and refuses to use revolving doors because they make him vulnerable to attacks.

That’s the kind of mentality that can keep a defending champion like the Celtics from getting complacent. Can the team really relax on the field when its head coach makes substitutions, works with officials and prepares plays, all while scanning the crowd for potential assassins?

Much of the NBA’s opposition to fighting, which includes harsh penalties for leaving the bench during an altercation, stems from a 1977 fight, when Kermit Washington hit Rudy Tomjanovich with a punch that broke his face, kicking him out of the NBA for five months. .

The sheer size of the players, coupled with the NBA’s image-conscious approach, means the league likely won’t follow Mazzulla’s pro-fighting suggestion. Nor are they likely to adopt the coach’s idea of ​​”power plays” in the NBA (Mazzulla clearly had hockey on his mind), to make intentional fouls more punishing for the defense.

“There should be a power play where if there is a foul or technical foul you have to play five on four for five seconds or three passes,” Mazzulla added.

The spirit of the idea may be correct, but much like Mazzulla’s idea of ​​opening limited brawls, the power play idea might be too much for the league’s overworked officials. Considering how long a simple replay review takes, managing a power play might be more trouble than it’s worth.

Meanwhile, Mazzulla’s team battled its way to a 4-0 record, creating chaos on the field and stability at the top of the Eastern Conference.