Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said he’s kicked his gum-chewing habit over last 20 games
"Bazooka Joe" appears to be no more.
It’s been quite the week for Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla.
Mazzulla and the Celtics agreed to a contract extension on Thursday that officially named him the head coach, shedding the interim tag. On the same day, he took off for Utah to coach in the NBA All-Star Game as the Celtics hold the best record in the league entering the break.
He also recently kicked a habit.
As he prepares to coach in Sunday’s All-Star Game, Mazzulla revealed that one of his signature traits is no more, at least for now.
“I haven’t chewed gum in the last 20 games and no one has said a word,” Mazzulla told Sirus XM NBA Radio’s Just Termine on Friday. “No one has noticed it.”
Mazzulla’s affinity for chewing gum during games has been mocked and celebrated by Celtics fans since he became the team’s interim coach at the start of the season. He even earned a nickname because of it, being called “Bazooka Joe” for his rapid gum chewing.
Celtics players have even noticed Mazzulla’s gum-chewing tendencies. When Damon Stoudamire stepped in for a pair of games for an injured Mazzulla in late December, he remarked that the only difference with Mazzulla out was that “Joe wasn’t chewing the [expletive] out of some gum.”
There is a reason why Mazzulla kicked the habit. He said he’s focusing on his breathing patterns, and chewing gum during a game kept those patterns unbalanced.
“I’m changing up my breathing patterns, trying to just work on my focus and awareness during the game,” Mazzulla said. “I felt like the gum chewing was messing up my heart rate variability and I wasn’t getting the breaths that I needed to be as focused as I was. So it was more of a crutch than it was a positive. So I completely eliminated it.”
Mazzulla will coach Team Giannis in Sunday’s All-Star Game though it doesn’t look like his All-Star gum-chewing ability won’t take part in the action.
Following Sunday’s game, Mazzulla’s Celtics will have a few days off before the regular season resumes again on Thursday. The team will take on the Indiana Pacers. The Celtics hold just a half-game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks for the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
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