Fun isn’t a distraction for the Celtics, it’s an important part of their basketball identity

Jayson Tatum and Derrick White wore headbands on Wednesday night against the Brooklyn Nets. It was a small, meaningless decision that all of Boston Celtics Nation noticed.

“JT said he wanted to wear a headband, so I said, ‘I’ll ride with you,’” White told Abby Chin of NBC Sports Boston at halftime.

The Celtics absolutely clobbered the Nets, earning a 136-86 victory and heading into the All-Star break on a high note. Oshae Brissett threw down a windmill dunk, Payton Pritchard enjoyed a fourth-quarter scoring explosion, and Luke Kornet sang some Whitney Houston on the bench.

Vibes were high in TD Garden. Boston was having fun.

But it’s easy to have fun during a blowout.

At 43-12, the Celtics own the best record in the league with a 4.5-game cushion between them and the Minnesota Timberwolves. They’ve been the top dogs in the NBA, but that’s expected of them. Greatness comes with the territory in Boston, and anything less is unacceptable.

Mentality has been at the forefront of Boston’s success. Focusing on the day-to-day rather than the season at large has helped the Celtics maintain their focus. But having fun is just as crucial.

“I think that it’s a concept that I think is important,” Joe Mazzulla said on Wednesday night. “Sometimes fun can be looked at as a distraction, but I think the ability to have fun and build togetherness and compete at a high, high level is important for the guys.

“And so, it builds a level of connection. But regardless if those guys wore headbands or not, they’re going to compete every night, so that’s really all that matters, as long as they do it together.”

During their recent win over the Washington Wizards, the Celtics found themselves down at halftime. The Wizards have won nine games this season.

Washington was running in transition as Boston lagged behind, clearly out of sorts just a few games prior to the All-Star break. With no rhythm and no defensive pressure, Mazzulla took it upon himself to ignite a spark.

He did his best stand-up routine.

“I told a couple of jokes in the third quarter,” Mazzulla said.

Down by eight points to one of the bottom-feeders of the East, Mazzulla tried to make his team laugh. By the end of the third quarter, the Celtics flipped an eight-point deficit into a 13-point lead, coasting through the fourth quarter despite a late Wizards run.

They won a game that could have gone sideways in the blink of an eye, and it all stemmed from their ability to play freely. Rather than focusing on the score and pressure that comes with being the Celtics, they tried to have fun.

“Whenever we’re not maybe like just running through the other team, we’re almost like, ‘Ugh, like, this is closed, like, this is a game.’ We’re kind of like, our energy is a little bit down,” Kristaps Porzingis said.

“I think, in that moment, it made sense for us to be like, ‘Yo, this is basketball. We’re not going to be perfect every game. We’re not going to be up all the time.’ And so, it made sense to just ease up the mood and just kind of go out there, have fun, [and] play hard.”

Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

Basketball is a game. From toddlers playing on baby Nerf hoops to shooting around in your backyard pretending to hit a buzzer-beater (and magically resetting the shot clock when you miss).

Even in the NBA, where people are paid millions to don an organization’s colors and help them compete for a title, it’s all just a game. And it’s meant to be fun.

“Yeah, I mean, obviously we’re all locked in, and we know what the big goal is, but I mean, it is a game,” Derrick White explained. “Something that we’ve done since we were little kids. And I think, for most people, you play better when you’re having fun. Competing, but having fun with it. So, that’s always a good reminder.”

Boston fans are some of the most critical in sports, and it’s because they care. They want nothing more than to see their favorite team succeed. But at the end of the day, players are human. Perfection is an impossibility, and happiness should not be exclusive to blowouts.

“I mean, 82 games is a lot of games,” White said. “That’s not even including the playoffs, especially if you go deep. So, if you don’t have fun with it, you’re not enjoying it, you’re not bringing that joy to the game, it’s going to be a long season for you.

“So, obviously, there are going to be ups and downs. You’re playing well, you’re making shots, and that’s easy to have fun [with]. But when times are bad, and you’re missing shots or whatever it might be, still having fun, finding the joy in the game, I think that’s really important.”

So, rather than allowing pressure to dictate their feelings, the Celtics are focused on the opposite – one headband and joke at a time.