Category: Joe Mazzulla

Derrick White Called Coach Mazzulla a 'Sicko' After Boston's Game 3 Win
13 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Derrick White Called Coach Mazzulla a ‘Sicko’ After Boston’s Game 3 Win

The Boston Celtics had a little scare in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. After a Derrick White three-pointer put Boston up 91-70 with 11:07 remaining in the fourth quarter the Dallas Mavericks went on a 22-2 run to make it a one-point game with 3:37 left in regulation. It must have felt like watching a train crash in slow motion for everyone in Boston, but according to White, there's one person might have enjoyed it: head coach Joe Mazzulla.

White, who had 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots, talked to the press after the game and was asked about how Mazzulla acted down the stretch as the lead disappeared. As Mazzulla said before the game, “The closer you think you are to beating someone, the closer you are to getting your ass kicked." White confirmed that Mazzulla probably enjoyed it because it would allow him to keep telling the team that they have to stay focused.

"Yeah, Joe is consistent the whole time," said White. " And I mean, he's probably so happy that it happened like that so he can just continue to tell us that. He just stays consistent. He just makes the right calls and we trust him completely. Yeah. Seemed pretty true today."

Asked a followup about whether Mazzulla was really enjoying it White said, "He's a sicko, so probably."

The ultimate compliment for any coach. With a 3-0 lead in the Finals, Mazzulla currently has a 121-43 record in the regular season and won 26 of the first 37 postseason games he's coached. Whatever he's saying or doing, it seems to be working. No matter how sick in the head he may seem.

Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Derrick White, Joe Mazzulla
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Joe Mazzulla, Celtics Deploy Interesting Tactic to Prepare for Adversity
13 Jun 24 Jimm Sallivan

Joe Mazzulla, Celtics Deploy Interesting Tactic to Prepare for Adversity

When the Boston Celtics jumped out to a 91-70 lead at the start of the fourth quarter against the Dallas Mavericks during Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night, many watching believed the game was over.

The Mavericks seemed spent, and the Celtics were firing on all cylinders offensively for what seemed like the first time in the series.

Then Dallas started getting stops, the crowd got back into the game, and the Mavericks were all of a sudden delivering on the offensive end to the tune of a 20-2 run that eventually cut the Boston lead all the way down to one.

Boston closed the game with a 13-6 spurt following Luka Doncic's sixth foul with just over four minutes to play, and closed out Game 3 staring adversity square in the face - something that Celtics teams of the recent past may not have done. So how does Boston prepare for moments of intense adversity? It's an interesting approach, according to Celtics star Jayson Tatum.

"Joe [Mazzulla] does a great job of showing us clips and things from different sports," Tatum began. "He's a big UFC fan, showing us fights of people that...I don't know the terminology of UFC, but put him in a chokehold and s---. Like they're about to tap out, and to see the guy or woman relaxing because they know they're about to win and you give the other person life. Just trying to translate that to the game of basketball where the closer you are to winning, the closer they are to surviving. Basically just trying to remind us in a group that we've still got a long way to go. We still have to play the right way. We still gotta win. They're not going to quit and we should expect the best from them from here on out."

The Celtics take a 3-0 series lead into Friday night's Game 4, as Boston looks to raise banner No. 18, while the Mavericks will fight to keep their season alive.

Boston Celtics, Jayson Tatum, Joe Mazzulla
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