Joe Mazzulla has extremely confident take on NBA Finals pressure

Dec 16, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla watches from the sideline as they take on the Orlando Magic at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla certainly does not seem concerned about whether his team is ready for the added pressure of the NBA Finals.

Mazzulla on Wednesday was asked how he would go about making sure the Celtics stick to fundamentals and do what they need to do on the bigger stage and under the “brightness of the lights” of the NBA Finals. The Celtics coach certainly did not seem too concerned about that factor.

This certainly couldn’t age poorly, right?

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla:

"Unless they change the light bulbs in the arena, they won't be any brighter than they were last series."

The C’s are -225 to win the series…pic.twitter.com/vWTkyVndqd

— ClutchPoints Betting (@CPBetting) June 5, 2024

“Unless they change the lightbulbs in the arena, they won’t be any brighter than they were last series,” Mazzulla said. “It’s just sticking to the details and the things that matter. The truth of the matter is, if you don’t box out, if you don’t sprint back on transition, if you don’t pass the ball in a two-on-one, if you don’t take away the other team’s tendencies, if you don’t know who you’re guarding, recognize the spacing, if you don’t talk, you don’t play hard, you’re not going to win. Focusing on the most simple things — the truth of the matter is, you have to do those things. You got to do them at a high level. Obviously, the stakes are higher, but that just means the details are more important.”

Mazzulla’s point is well-taken, but that quote about the lights not necessarily being any brighter might age poorly if the Celtics play flat against the Dallas Mavericks. The Celtics are coming off an Eastern Conference Finals sweep of the Indiana Pacers that, while competitive, might not be as tough a test as the one they are about to face.

Much of the Celtics’ core played in the NBA Finals two years ago, but they lost in six games to the Golden State Warriors. Mazzulla clearly thinks they have learned something since then. Perhaps the confident quote is going to calm down the favored Celtics, though Mazzulla has been known to use some other tactics to do that, too.