John Karalis, of the Locked On Celtics Podcast, interviewed Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla. Many subjects were discussed in the two-part interview, from killer whales to Broadway shows, but a main point of emphasis was how the Celtics would respond to the target on their back coming off a championship season. Mazzulla said, “People are gonna say the target is on our back, but I hope it’s right on our forehead in between our eyes. I hope I can see the red dot.”
Joe Mazzulla and Adversity
From this interview, it is clear that Joe Mazzulla not only welcomes adversity but also embraces it. The Celtics are looking to win back-to-back championships for the first time since the Golden State Warriors in 2016-17 and 2017-18. Since then, there have been six different NBA Champions, and in the past five years, no defending champion has advanced past the second round. But Mazzulla is not looking past anything.
Karalis spoke to Mazzulla about the Red Sox game that he and fellow Celtics players attended. Karalis joked that Mazzulla would use tactics from the baseball game, and Mazzulla replied that he “just finished clipping that game up.” Mazzulla explained that “there’s a routine, fundamental infield fly ball, and the Blue Jays let it fall. And that’s the beginning of the demise of the run.” The Red Sox came back from a 6-2 deficit to win that game, all because of a fly ball. Mazzulla took that as a way to show that fundamentals and communication can be the difference between winning or losing.
With this attention to detail that Mazzulla displays, as well as his embrace of adversity, it is clear that he will not allow the Celtics to ease up after winning a championship. This is a good thing for Boston, as Jaylen Brown and other players have also shown their motivation to prove doubters wrong. Brown was snubbed from Team USA, while fellow star Jayson Tatum spent multiple games on the bench. If Mazzulla embraces the challenge, as he says in this interview, and the players are motivated, it will be a positive for the Celtics and their chances of repeating.
Joe Mazzulla’s Strategies
During his first two years as the Boston Celtics head coach, Joe Mazzulla has proven himself to be effective and innovative. He is very detail-oriented, and, willing to take anything and apply it to basketball. As previously mentioned, Mazzulla took a lot from the Red Sox vs Blue Jays game that the Celtics attended. He also has spoken about killer whales. Mazzulla has said that he appreciates how they hunt together in pods to make a kill, and how the teamwork aspect can be brought to basketball. These points may be unconventional, but during the Celtics playoff run, Mazzulla proved his knowledge on the basketball court as well.
In the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, the Celtics defense was integral to their championship win. Mazzulla opted to play strict one-on-one defense, avoiding double teams on Mavericks star Luka Doncic. This allowed Doncic to get many shots up, defended by players like Jaylen Brown or Derrick White. But it also took away other Dallas perimeter shooters. This made it so Luka had to single-handedly keep the Mavericks in the game and series, and the Celtics could take advantage, winning in five games.
Now, with the Celtics adding new players to the fold like Lonnie Walker IV and rookie Baylor Scheierman, it will be interesting to see how Mazzulla strategizes and uses these players and the changes he makes in the new season.
Final Thoughts
Joe Mazzulla is welcoming the target on the Celtics’ back, or, in his words, between their eyes. With his attention to detail and motivation, we will see if this mentality leads the Celtics to more success.
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