Joe Mazzulla’s Celtics Keep Mindset After Bucks Hire Doc Rivers

With a 34-10 record, the Boston Celtics sit at the top of the Eastern Conference in prime position for another deep playoff run.

Talented teams around the conference continue to make moves to improve their own chances, most recently with former Celtics coach Doc Rivers taking over at the helm for the Milwaukee Bucks, who currently trail Boston by 3 1/2 games.

While the perception may be that other teams are chasing the Celtics in the Eastern Conference, Joe Mazzulla believes that his capable team has just as much to prove as every other contender.

“I don’t think they’re competing with us,” Mazzulla told reporters at shootaround on Wednesday, per NBC Sports Boston. “First of all, we haven’t won. I don’t know why anyone is competing with us. We haven’t won a championship since 2008. We’re certainly not the standard. We’re chasing people as much as people may say they’re chasing us. We don’t even look at it like that.”

Boston has had consistent success in recent seasons, appearing in the conference finals in four of the last six seasons. Until the Celtics finish the job with a championship, Mazzulla sees no need for other contenders to be “chasing” them.

The Celtics look to continue the momentum of a strong season on Thursday night in an Eastern Conference Finals rematch in Miami against the Heat.