Joe Mazzulla’s love of animal metaphors is unparalleled.
Mazzulla leaned into another in his podcast with Celtic writer John Karalis – a must watch for any Celtic fan – talking about how he doesn’t want the Celtics to defend their title but rather attack it (hat tip Real GM).
“The phrase ‘defend title’ is a very passive-aggressive term. If you look at the animal kingdom, some of the strongest animals don’t defend, they are the most aggressive, and they attack the most. Whether you’ve won or not, your mindset can’t change, You have to understand what’s happening in winning and losing, commit to the details every day, and stay aggressive. You’re not defending something, you’re attacking a new goal.”
It’s an interesting way of saying that every season is different, even if the team is basically the same. Mazzulla was in vintage form during this podcast and added this in the first part of his interview with Karalis:
“People will say the target is on our backs, but I hope it’s right on our forehead between our eyes.”
Boston goes into this season the goal of every other team, no matter where you put it.
The Celtics are the clear title favorite to open the season, coming off a 64-win season and a title. Mazzulla tries to defend against complacency, but Steve Kerr and USA Basketball helped by benching Jayson Tatum for games at the Paris Olympics and snubbing Jaylen Brown – the Jays return with a chip on their shoulder. Boston will be without Kristaps Porzingis for the first few months of the season after surgery to repair a rare ankle injury (torn retinaculum and dislocated posterior tibial tendon), but the Celtics have the depth to win regular season games without him, and when they really do. need him is the playoffs. Boston returned the best seven players from its title team and will set the bar for Philadelphia, New York, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Denver and every other team dreaming of hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy next June.
One thing is a sure bet for next season, Mazzulla will motivate his team in the most interesting ways.
