Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is a lunatic, and although it might not be very nice to call someone names, he fits the distinction perfectly.

Boston’s players would even tend to agree.

Mazzulla’s tactics might not be for everyone, but they clearly worked for the C’s. Boston finally captured Banner 18 on Monday, and amid the celebration, the 35-year-old coach revealed he actually tore his meniscus in March following back-to-back losses to the Atlanta Hawks.

Mazzulla, asked about the injury in an appearance on Barstool’s “Pardon My Take” podcast Wednesday, revealed the story behind it and his hilarious plan moving forward.

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“I just went out on the mats, punished myself and just pounded my body until it couldn’t take it anymore, and ended up just tearing my knee,” Mazzulla said. “It ended up being a great experience for me. I had to do, like, six hours of treatment in order to coach the next game without too much of a limp because I could not walk.

“I’ll tell you what, it was one of the best things that happened to me for the rest of the season because it put me in this fight-or-flight mentality where I just could not relax. I had to constantly train to keep it pain-free, had to constantly get physical therapy. My physical therapist has been great. It was just awesome. I’ve been thinking about maybe getting hurt every All-Star break.”

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It’s pretty clear that Mazzulla was joking about intentionally injuring himself, but the rest of his story was extremely authentic. If you’ve followed the Celtics at all over the past two years, you know how much of an outside-the-box thinker he is and that he likely did enjoy the fight-or-flight mentality.

If it means more banners, Celtics fans will be fine with a happily miserable Mazzulla roaming the sideline for many years to come.

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Featured image via Peter Casey/USA TODAY Sports Images