The NBA schedule can be downright grueling at times. It’s the world’s most explosive run-and-jump athletes pounding their muscles and joints into the hardwood 82 nights a year.
Much has been made of the schedule bordering on injury-inducing, especially in the case of back-to-back games, a challenge that every team faces multiple times per season.
One could even say that the era of load management and star-resting bloomed in reaction to back-to-backs. Every team’s been “guilty” of it … who wouldn’t want to protect their players?
Hidden behind the more headline-grabbing narratives of the NBA’ back-to-backs problem is the competitive challenges presented by having to play a pair of high-octane NBA games within 48 hours.
A lot of times, you’ll see an NBA squad lose its legs at some point during the second leg of a back-to-back, if they ever manage to summon any energy at all in the game.
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This is what makes the Boston Celtics so impressive in the Joe Mazzulla era. Since Mazzulla became Boston’s head coach on September 22, 2022, his Celtics are an impressive 35-11 on the second night of a back-to-back.
The most recent example came on Saturday night as Boston defeated the Toronto Raptors behind 33 points and 10 assists from Payton Pritchard. Even more impressive, the win came on the road. The night prior, Boston had pulled off a gritty win over their rivals the Miami Heat at TD Garden.
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Any fan would have understood if the Celtics came out lethargic in Toronto after using all of their physical and emotional might to take down a feisty Erik Spoelstra squad the night before.
Mazzulla’s no-excuses approach is what keeps Boston away from this mindset, even if his attitude often borders on psychoticism (within the lines).
“Sicko Joe” never backs down from a challenge, and his players have adopted the exact same approach. The more brutal the test, the more the Celtics seem to enjoy it.
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To keep things real, it’s worth nothing that this characteristic is most heavily attributed to the current, 2025-26 iteration of the Celtics, who have been playing with a chip on their shoulder all season long, silencing doubters.
The Celtics teams of the last few years — overflowing with top-end talent — had a tendency to rely on that talent and either let weaker teams run with them, or worse, lose a lot of games to short-handed teams due to overlooking the game.
It’s surprising, given the above, that Mazzulla’s back-to-back record is as good as it is. Now the question becomes, can the current Celtics hold onto their gritty, us-against-the-world mentality even after All-World superstar Jayson Tatum re-joins the squad?
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Can this team continue to share the ball and play with absolute manic desperation on defense, like they’ve been doing all season long?
That’s the question on every Celtics fan’s mind these days.
Featured image via Jim Dedmon/Imagn Images
