Joe Mazzulla’s unique style has Celtics on the cusp of a title

DALLAS — After the Boston Celtics’ Game 3 win in the NBA Finals, where they took a dominant 3-0 lead over the Dallas Mavericks, Derrick White detailed one of Joe Mazzulla’s philosophies.

Mazzulla believes that the closer you are to winning, the closer you are to losing. That on the precipice of victory, the final step, is when complacency sets in.

When the Mavs cut the Celtics’ 21-point lead down to two late in the fourth quarter on Wednesday night, his ideology shined through. And White thinks Mazzulla probably enjoyed it.

“He’s a sicko, so probably,” White said with a laugh.

White’s instincts were correct. While Mazzulla didn’t just like it when the Celtics blew their lead in Game 3, he used it as motivation.

“The Mavs went on a big run [at the] start of the fourth there, and he came in and said, ‘That was great. That makes us hungrier,’” Sam Hauser revealed during his media availability on Thursday.

“So, I think he didn’t even focus on the win. He just focused on that, which is cool. It keeps all of us grounded and knowing that we have more work to do. He kind of spins it into that, which is great.”

Mazzulla shows clips of UFC fights, soccer games, and NFL wide receiver routes as ways to translate the game of basketball into different modes of communication, but that only scratches the surface of his uniqueness.

Fans get to see the Mazzulla presented on the podium— the coach who wants to blow leads, rid his team of entitlement, and hone in on the fact that winning can’t be expected.

“I just think he says a lot of things that people don’t usually say, but they have great meaning behind them, and they resonate with our team,” said Payton Pritchard.

Behind the scenes, Mazzulla’s well of quotes, sayings, and philosophies runs deep.

Whether it’s refusing praise…

“He won Coach of the Month, and I was like, ‘Hey, congratulations.’ And he just looked at me and said, ‘Nobody cares,’” White recalled.

…or strengthening his teams’ resilience on the court…

“He said this the other day: ‘There’s no fouls in a war. You either die, or you don’t.’ Something like that,” Hauser recalled. “That was a good one.”

…Mazzulla always finds a way to communicate his mentality to his team.

The Rhode Island native even brought in a special forces amputee who returned to battle to help get across the importance of perspective. Knowing what matters, what doesn’t, and how to appreciate everything you have in life while still fighting to push forward.

“The first Special Forces amputee, he had him come in and talk to us throughout the season, even before I got here,” Xavier Tillman said. “But we got a chance to hear from him. His name was Nick.

“And his conversations were so mind-blowing, and it was so cool to get your mind off basketball and to still find a way how to wrap it all together as far as the compassion that you need to have, and the gratefulness that you need to have, and just the opportunities to play. And the love and appreciation you need to have for your brothers on the court.”

Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

The quirks of Mazzulla’s coaching style know no bounds. He’s used killer whales, Jaylen Waddle plays, and everything in between to help prepare the Celtics for their current championship run.

And his constant weirdness makes his first-ever chat with Tillman all the more ironic.

“My first conversation with him, the first thing that stuck out to me, he said, ‘Don’t be weird,’” said Tillman, who joined the Celtics at the trade deadline. “I loved hearing that. It was so authentic, and it made me like sit back like, ‘How would I be weird?’

“In my perspective, it was more so like, me, I take basketball really seriously, and it kind of made me want to not take myself so seriously. Like, you come in, you clock in, you give your best effort, you make or miss shots, but don’t be weird.”

Every coach is different. Some master the Xs and Os of the game, utilizing every inch of on-court knowledge they can to constantly direct their squad. Some are more apt at building strong relationships with their players, forming a bond that makes guys want to run through a wall for them. Some meet somewhere in the middle.

But Mazzulla doesn’t like the middle. He’s an Xs and Os guy and a motivator, and he pours his heart into both. And most importantly, he’s true to himself.

“He’s really himself. He’s like authentic to himself,” said Pritchard. “We all appreciate that. Like he’s not trying to be somebody he’s not. So, I think that’s kind of like the sicko side of it. He’s different, but we respect that.

“Then the basketball genius, you can learn a lot from him as to how he sees the offensive side of things, the play calling, the game management, all that. He’s elite in that. I’ve personally learned a lot from him, and I think our whole group has.”