Joe Mazzulla On Celtics’ Unequivocal Mindset Following In-Season Tournament

From the moment the NBA announced its plan for the inaugural In-Season Tournament, Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla expressed his mindset approaching it.

Even though Mazzulla said he respected the tournament, he said the Celtics were simply trying to win every game.

“It’s like I said from the beginning, if we’re going to use all of our emotional energy to do this one thing and we still have 61 games left, what’s going to be our motivation after that?” Mazzulla asked, per the team. “Are we frustrated that we didn’t get a chance to win a championship? Yes, but we have to see the things that go into winning a championship are the things that go into winning on a Monday night in the middle of January when no one really wants to play.”

Mazzulla added: “We’re really fighting for that mindset and that identity that is that can things be important all the time. Yeah, pissed off that you don’t get a chance to win at it but we have to fight for that mindset all the time.”

At 16-5, the Celtics are the best team in the Eastern Conference but that doesn’t mean Mazzulla is still trying to infuse the winning mindset at practice and in games to capture the ultimate goal … the NBA championship. Something the second-year coach believes can be a hard fought battle.

“I’m sure there’s moments of where it’s hard and there’s moments of where it’s like you want to do it, this is what you have to do,” Mazzulla explained. “I think it’s just looking at that. In an 82-game season, you’re going to have things that you need to go back to and remind our guys of what you’re doing and so it’s constantly just staying in that mindset of like are we playing hard? Are we getting better at the things that we’re emphasizing and just trying to keep that balance of things?”

The Celtics look to build on their perfect home record when they welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers to TD Garden on Tuesday night. Boston is 10-0 at home while Cleveland is 7-3 on the road this season.