When Joe Mazzulla woke up this morning, one question was on his mind: How do the Celtics win Game 4?
Mazzulla, a native of Johnston, Rhode Island, just 60 miles from the TD Garden, wasn’t dwelling on what leading his childhood team to an NBA championship would mean to him personally. His sole focus was on winning Game 4.
“It would mean everything in the world to me to win Game 4,” Mazzulla. “And do it with the process of execution, details, focus, mindset, and toughness.”
These five principles—execution, details, focus, mindset, and toughness—have brought the Celtics to the brink of their 18th championship. Throughout the season, they have adhered to a disciplined, business-like approach, staying true to these principles without skipping steps, and they have no intention of deviating from this path now.
“Maybe in recent years, we took things for granted at some points or were happy to make it to certain rounds, where, now, we’re not satisfied,” Jayson Tatum said. “Even now, up 3-0, nobody is celebrating or anything. We still feel like there’s a lot more that we can do. There’s a lot more that we want to do. From that standpoint, just not being complacent and everybody just wanting more and being true to that.”
It would take a historical catastrophe for the Celtics not to raise Banner 18. In NBA history, teams that win the first three games of a best-of-seven playoff series (any round) have a series record of 156-0. In the NBA Finals, teams that win the first three games have a series record of 14-0—but that doesn’t mean the Celtics are popping bottles just yet.
“It’s [Game 4] the next game on the schedule,” Mazzulla said. “You can’t get to where you want to get to unless you win the next game. The best thing we’ve done is, regardless of what the next game is labeled, we’ve played the same way. The process towards winning has been the same, and that has to continue. This is round four of seven. We’ve got it to be able to stay in the fight as long as it takes.”
Game 4 is there for the taking for the Celtics. The Larry O’Brien Trophy is in the house at the American Airlines Center, and as long as the Celtics stick to the approach that got them here, there is no reason it shouldn’t be going back to Boston with them.
“We’ve talked about it all year, everything that goes into winning a preseason game, a regular season game, Game 4 in the next most important game,” Mazzulla said. “I woke up this morning saying, ‘How can we win Game 4?’ It comes down to the details, the execution, the toughness, and the mindset that you have to have. Every game is the same. The process to winning has been the same throughout the year – controlling the margins and finding ways to impact the game with your execution and your toughness.”
Boston has the opportunity to write the perfect ending to a historic season. A sweep in the NBA Finals would punctuate a season of sheer dominance that will be remembered in NBA history forever.
You’ve heard the historical numbers all season long. Now, only one matters—18—and it will be achieved as long as the Celtics stay true to themselves.
“We’ve continued to do this. We’ve been doing this all season,” Al Horford said. “This is just the point of the season that we’re at. We’re not allowing ourselves to think ahead. We’re just trying to lock in on what we have to do. The job is not done yet.”
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