When the Boston Celtics reached the NBA Finals two years ago, Joe Mazzulla was in his third year as an assistant coach. At that time, he was mainly an onlooker, seated in the second row.
"I didn't really have a role because it wasn't my scout," Mazzulla recalled after practice on Tuesday. "We just did things differently. So, I didn't have much of a role in it. I was more of just a natural observer."
Fast forward two years and a lot has changed.
This time, the 35-year-old will be the one calling the shots as the Celtics aim for their first championship in 16 years, becoming the youngest head coach to do so since the late, great Bill Russell in 1969. Although his role has transformed dramatically, one lesson has stayed with him as he prepares for another NBA Finals.
"The thing I remember the most is what goes into winning a regular season game is no different than what goes into winning a playoff game," Mazzulla said. "Just because it's the Finals doesn't mean you need to focus on anything other than executing the details that are important."
"There were plenty of quote-unquote adjustments [in the 2022 Finals] blah, blah, blah, and all that stuff, and at the end of the day, we didn't rebound the basketball, and we didn't make shots down the stretch, and we lost some of the margins. So I was able to look at it from behind the bench and say everyone is trying to make this out to be such an emotional thing and situation, but it really comes down to the details. The team that plays the hardest, the team that executes, the team that makes more plays, the team that dominates the margins, that's the team that wins. It's the same no matter what, and we've got to fight to keep that mentality."
This isn't just Mazzulla's approach for the NBA Finals – it's only amplified on this stage.
All season long, the bench boss has emphasized the importance of playing with the right mindset, with the belief that the recipe for winning games doesn't change regardless of the circumstance—whether it's preseason, regular season, postseason, or the NBA Finals.
His coaching ethos centers on controlling what's within their grasp—the margins of the game and its intangible aspects: effort, intensity, and focus. Put simply, play the game the right way, and success will follow suit.
Their performance throughout the season backs up this approach. With an impressive 76-20 record across 96 games, they've outscored opponents by 1,071 points, marking the fourth-highest point differential in league history.
"I think it's huge," Jrue Holiday said on Mazzulla's emphasis on the mental side of the game. "I think he knows that we have the character and the mentality to take what he says and go out and apply it. I think Joe also knows that we're not gonna get rattled. We're gonna go out there, we're gonna play, and we're gonna play as hard as we can and try to execute the best we can and see where the cards lie. So, I think we've done a good job of just going out there and trying to execute the best we can, and I think, especially toward these last couple (of) games, doing it as a team."
While the exceptional talent on Boston's roster certainly contributes to that success, the emphasis on the mental side of the game and just playing the right way has made all the difference for Boston.
"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," Payton Pritchard said.
"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."
As the Celtics prepare for the grand stage, they are keeping it simple. They're not getting swept up in the excitement of the NBA Finals. Their primary focus is just on playing their game the right way. Mazzulla understands this routine well; he's seen how success follows naturally when they stick to what they know, even on the biggest stage.
