The reigning champion Boston Celtics enter the 2024-25 season with sky-high expectations. Joe Mazzulla wouldn't have it any other way.
During Monday's practice -- Boston's final tune-up before Tuesday's regular-season opener -- the Celtics head coach was asked whether he feels pressure to maximize his opportunity with his current group of players. He shared an incredibly on-brand, thoughtful response.
"Zero. No pressure," Mazzulla answered. "We're all going to be dead soon, and it really doesn't matter anymore, so there's zero pressure. You're either gonna win or you're not. And when you win, you try to forget about it a week later and when you lose, you try to forget about it a week later.
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"So it's not pressure, it's an opportunity. We have an opportunity here over the next few years, however long that we're together.
"I've said this in the past, you have an opportunity to carry the organization forward, to double down on the tradition and history of what this organization has. And what else would you expect than someone expecting you to win all the time? I wouldn't want someone expecting me to lose all the time. That would be debilitating. So we have an expectation to win, we have great character and great talent, and we just have to work to maximize that and we're gonna rely on the players to do that."
Does Joe Mazzulla feel pressure heading into the season?
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) October 21, 2024
"Zero. No Pressure. We're all gonna be dead soon & it really doesn't matter... you're either gonna win or you're not." pic.twitter.com/DHNFSeEeLB
Mazzulla understands the C's enter the new season with a target on their backs. Following a near-flawless championship campaign, they can expect their opponents to bring their A-games each time they take the court.
In addition, they will be picked apart for any struggles they experience throughout their title defense. But if the players follow their coach's lead, they'll be immune to the scrutiny that comes with such high expectations.
"A Boston media member or somebody expecting me to win, they don't have a weapon. They're not gonna come after me if we don't win," Mazzulla told reporters. "They're saying words. So like, they don't mean anything. They're just words. You're just saying them because you have to say them. You're contractually obligated to write a 500-word article after. They're just words, you can't do anything. So (pressure is) just a made-up word. We don't have pressure. If we lose, we aren't losing our life.
"We're not surgeons, we're not in the military, we coach basketball for a living. No one's putting more pressure and expectations than we are on ourselves. We have a responsibility and we have ownership. I ask guys all the time, would you rather have someone expect you to lose or win? Like, if you came up here and were like, 'I really expected you to lose that game,' I would be pissed. But if you come up to me like, 'You should've won that game,' it's like, yeah, that's what we signed up for. So I think it's just the perspective of how you look at it."
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Words have power, though. Right?
Not in Mazzulla's mind.
"No they don't. If you let them, if you allow words to take your personal power, then yes. So I don't allow words to take my personal power," he said. "That's just important. Words don't have power. They only have power if you allow them to. That's what I try to teach my kids is, I don't give a (expletive) what someone says to you, did you allow that to have an impact on you? Like, he didn't put his hands on you, he didn't touch you, he didn't do anything. He said something to you. So now you have a choice to decide how you're going to interpret that.
"So it's not pressure. There's nothing anyone in this circle can do to me that's gonna impact my identity and who I am as a person or a coach. We're either gonna win or we're not, and 40 years from now, none of you are invited to my funeral and that's it."
Mazzulla has had his fair share of quotable statements since taking over as Boston's head coach, but they don't get much better than that.
The Celtics' title defense will begin Tuesday night when they welcome the New York Knicks to TD Garden. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET with coverage starting at 6 p.m. on NBC Sports Boston with Celtics Pregame Live.
