For three years, we’ve oversimplified Joe Mazzulla.
“Mazzulla Ball” is a term of affection, but really, it’s a dumbed down catchall for his coaching style and often misinterpreted as “shooting a bunch of threes” or beating teams with math. Even he might streamline his offensive approach to just creating 2-on-1 and 3-on-2 advantages.
After an uncharacteristically feisty postgame presser following the Celtics’ 138-107 blowout of the visiting Cavaliers, Boston’s head coach spoke in more detail about his approach this season.
“It’s us working together on coming up with how we can push each other to be our absolute best and at the same time, how can we develop an identity that gives us a shot to win every single night and a process towards that throughout the season,” Mazzulla said.
Heading into Media Day and training camp, there were more questions than answers. Who would start at center? How would the team make up for Jayson Tatum’s absence? Could any of the unproven new guys replace the production of five rotation players of a championship roster?
Mazzulla has spoken highly of everybody over the last two weeks, resisting the idea of singling out someone as a missing piece or a surefire contributor. Instead, he’s continually preached the collective. For the Celtics to be consistently successful, everybody has to be doing everything all at once.
“The game has changed so much. It’s not static rules-based basketball anymore,” Mazzulla explained. “It’s reads-based and if a team plays a coverage on one possession, it’s almost guaranteed that they’re going to change their coverage on the next possession and you have to be ready for that.”
After being able to rely on veterans like Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Kristaps Porzingis, this year could the most intricate puzzle for Mazzulla to solve. Despite the team having lower expectations — don’t tell Joe that — fans won’t blame the players if they hit a five-game losing streak in January. Sports talk radio and Kendrick Perkins will point their fingers at the bench boss.
But Mazzulla is up for the challenge.
“It makes it more difficult for us in the short term, but the idea is to make it more difficult for our opponents in the long term because if we can find the structure within the chaos and get that, it’ll be difficult for the environment and the opponent over the course of the entire season,” Mazzulla said.
“The structure behind it is how flexible we can be, how quickly can we have an understanding of ‘hey, this is the advantage that we have in this four-minute segment?’ Most sub patterns are in that 6-7 minute segment, so it’s ‘hey, this is what makes the most sense now.’”
A handful of players have popped so far in the first three preseason games, including free agents Josh Minott and Chris Boucher. Credit Mazzulla. Don’t credit Mazzulla. It’s not about that for the youngest coach in the NBA.
After starting with the franchise as an assistant coach in Maine nearly a decade ago, Mazzulla has treated everybody that steps foot on the parquet with the same level of respect and accountability. It’s a simple mindset for the basketball philosopher.
Because that, truly, is Mazzulla Ball.
“It’s a form of love and love is interpreted many different ways depending upon what you’re trying to do,” Mazzulla waxed poetically after Monday’s practice. “Love can be graceful. Love can be harsh. Love can be a feeling. Love can be an action. It can be a bunch of things. It’s just coming together on that.”
