Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla Refuses To Get Carried Away After Celtics Fifth Straight Win

The Boston Celtics extended their current win streak to five games on Sunday, Dec. 8, with a 121-113 win over the Toronto Raptors. Joe Mazzulla’s team has now won eight of its last 10 games and sits third in the Eastern Conference, four games behind the pace-setting Detroit Pistons.

During his postgame news conference, Mazzulla refused to get too excited regarding his team’s recent performances. Instead, he preached remaining level-headed and approaching the season game by game.

“No, it doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t show you anything,” Mazzulla said. “There are ebbs and flows along the way in the league. At the end of the day, we have a clear identity of who we are, and the season presents opportunities and challenges — and tests of how long you can stay the best version of yourself. And when you don’t, how quickly can you get back? We’ve got a big practice coming up on Wednesday, and that’s the next big test — how we can approach that day. It’s the only thing that matters.”

The Celtics came into this season with low expectations on their shoulders. Between Jayson Tatum’s Achilles tendon injury and the amount of talent that left the franchise over the summer, Boston wasn’t expected to be a contending team in the East. Instead, this was supposed to be a gap year.

Nevertheless, Mazzulla’s team is finding its identity. The Celtics are playing hard on both ends of the court, especially by crashing the offensive glass and limiting easy buckets on defense. That production is backed up by the data, too. The Celtics are second in the NBA in offensive rating (122 points per 100 possessions).

There’s still some work to do on the defensive end, though. Boston is currently 17th in the NBA in defensive rating, allowing 114.8 points per 100 possessions. However, with the improvements this team has made over the first month and a half of the season, it would be foolish to count them out.

Mazzulla’s approach is clearly working. He holds everyone accountable and keeps their feet firmly on the ground. If the Celtics can continue showing their current level of growth, this could become a memorable season, regardless of how things unfold once the playoffs get here.