A lot has changed for Joe Mazzulla since the last time the Celtics were in the NBA Finals
Two years ago, Mazzulla was an assistant coach. Now, he's leading the Celtics' high-speed pursuit of Banner 18.
Joe Mazzulla has a more hands-on role now than he did the last time the Celtics were in the NBA Finals, two years ago.
Mazzulla, who was an assistant coach at the time, told reporters Tuesday that he couldn’t remember what his mind-set was like heading into that series against the Warriors, and that his role in the Celtics’ preparation for those games wasn’t big.
“I didn’t really have a role in it because it wasn’t my scout,” Mazzulla said. “We just did things differently.”
Still, Mazzulla was there and able to observe what the series looked and felt like. The Celtics coach pointed out one lesson that stuck with him.
“The thing I remember the most is that going into winning games during the regular season is no different than what goes into winning a playoff game,” Mazzulla said. “And just because it’s the Finals doesn’t mean you need to focus on anything other than executing the details that are important.”
The Celtics fell short, losing the Finals in six games. Throughout this season, Mazzulla has stressed the importance of winning the margins, finding quality shots, and outhustling opponents. His approach has not changed heading into this series against the Mavericks.
“There were plenty of quote-unquote adjustments [in the 2022 Finals] and all that stuff, and at the end of the day we didn’t rebound the basketball, we didn’t make shots down the stretch, and we lost some of the margins,” Mazzulla said. “So I was able to look at it from behind the bench and say everyone is trying to make this out to be such an emotional thing and situation, but it really comes down to the details.”
“The team that plays the hardest, the team that executes, the team that makes more plays, the team that dominates the margins, that’s the team that wins. It’s the same no matter what, and we’ve got to fight to keep that mentality.”
Looking forward to it
Kristaps Porzingis is expected to make his first appearance since April 29 during Game 1 on Thursday night.
He acknowledged that his time with the Mavericks did not work out, but he’s excited about the matchup and happy the Mavericks are having success.
“I think it’s great. I played there for 2½ years, and I’m happy for everybody in Dallas in a way,” Porzingis said. “A lot of great relationships I have there. I think they deserve it, to have some success like they’ve had this season. It’s going to be fun going against my old team, going back to Dallas, playing some games there. Looking forward to it.”
Making the calls
On Tuesday, the NBA announced referee assignments for the Finals.
These dozen officials were chosen based on performance during the previous three rounds of the playoffs, the league said in a release: Tony Brothers, James Capers, Marc Davis, Scott Foster, John Goble, David Guthrie, Bill Kennedy, Courtney Kirkland, Kevin Scott, Josh Tiven, James Williams, and Zach Zarba.
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