After earning nearly a week off between the Eastern Conference Semifinals and the start of the Conference Finals, the Celtics took a few days to rest before returning to the practice floor at the Auerbach Center on Sunday afternoon. Upon returning, they aimed to ramp things back up and prepare to re-enter the fight that is the NBA playoffs with an increased focus on intensity and toughness.
“You want to get some mental and emotional rest, but you also want to stay in the fight. You also got to stay engaged and locked in mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically because there’s a fight coming up,” Joe Mazzulla said.
“It’s going to be a long one. And we’re just coming out of a fight. So it’s like that space in between bouts – how do you recover, but at the same time, how do you not let your guard down? How do you stay in the fight? How do you stay ready, stay engaged, and do the things that are important that go into winning, that go into being prepared? Just like the team, the staff has got to do both.”
Similar to the first and second rounds, the Celtics had to wait to learn their next opponent. It wasn't until Sunday evening that the matchup was set, as the Indiana Pacers knocked off the New York Knicks, punching their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals and setting up a date with the Celtics at TD Garden on Tuesday night.
As the Celtics awaited their opponent, they benefited from valuable time off, a reward for efficiently handling business in the earlier rounds.
Boston faced two injury-plagued squads en route to the Eastern Conference Finals and didn’t fumble the opportunity, cruising past the Jimmy Butler-less Heat and the Jarrett Allen and Donovan Mitchell-less (for two games) Cavaliers, each in five games.
The uncertainty also allowed Mazzulla and the Celtics to focus on themselves, particularly on the mental aspect of the game, which is a key in Mazzulla’s philosophy.
Since day one, Mazzulla has ingrained the idea of playing with the right “mindset” as the cornerstone of the team’s success. The bench boss is always open to his team experiencing adversity, aiming to put them in uncomfortable, high-pressure situations that test their resilience and ability to make the right plays under unique circumstances.
Mazzulla’s coaching style is distinctive. It is built on principles like humility, toughness, passion, and togetherness — all of which fall under the mindset umbrella.
“It’s fun. It’s different,” Jrue Holiday said. “I feel like some coaches, sometimes, it can be like methodical, it can be boring, but Joe definitely brings a spark and some like weird energy, that I think kind of keeps us engaged and gets us going.”
“Different” might not even quite capture it. Holiday, who has seen a lot in his 14 years in the league under five other head coaches with four different teams, finds Mazzulla incomparable.
“You go with it. You go with the craziness,” Holiday said. “He honestly makes you lock in because it’s so different. You definitely have to pay attention to the things that he says. Sometimes, he might talk kind of fast, and he might talk through something, and you kind of be like, ‘Wait, wait, wait, slow down.’ But I think really locking in like that helps me because it really makes me go back and be like, ‘Alright, what did he say? This is what we want to do.’”
Mazzulla has the Celtics locked in at a different level, as evidenced by their historic 11.6 net rating during the regular season — ranking fourth all-time in NBA history, trailing only Michael Jordan’s 1995-96 (13.4) and 1996-97 (12.0) Chicago Bulls and the 2016 (11.6) Golden State Warriors. In the postseason, they’ve posted a 12.8 net rating, the highest since the 2016-17 Warriors, with all but one of their eight wins coming by double digits.
While critics might attribute Boston’s success to the exceptional talent on the roster, it’s Mazzulla’s philosophies and approach to the game that have truly steered their achievements.
“He’s crazy. Anybody who knows Joe knows he’s crazy, and that’s pretty much it,” Holiday added. “I think it’s, I don’t know, maybe controlled madness. It’s definitely his way of preparing us, and I feel like preparing himself, and I think it’s been working.”
Mazzulla is always seeking teachable moments. He wants his team to be challenged and learn from those experiences, understanding the why and how of situations and figuring out the best ways to handle them in the future.
“I’ve definitely learned a lot from him,” Payton Pritchard said.
“Joe really studies the game [and] studies the mental side of things a lot. And I think that’s our biggest growth this year. How do we prepare mentally for the battle ahead, staying in the moment and not losing ourselves? That’s what I’ve learned the most from him, and I think he’s done a really good job with that stuff.”
In the NBA playoffs, the mental aspect is just as crucial as the physical. Historically, the Celtics have often struggled with themselves, losing focus, energy, and resilience, thereby making the game harder than necessary and succumbing to themselves. However, this year is different, largely due to the shift in mindset, which starts with Mazzulla.
“We’re so talented, and I think our biggest step has been, how do we mentally bridge that gap with our talent? If we become mentally as strong as we are talented, then we’re really dangerous,” Pritchard added. “So, I think that’s what we’ve really been harping on, and we’ve been growing on.”
The Celtics have been honing their mental toughness all season, a trait commonly seen in championship-winning teams. Now, with only eight victories separating them from basketball’s pinnacle, they stand on the brink of glory, and Mazzulla’s influence should not be overlooked.
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