Joe Mazzulla likes to keep the media on their toes. But the Boston Celtics coach took that mindset to a whole new level Tuesday.
As Mazzulla was wrapping up his post-practice press conference at the Auerbach Center, a reporter mentioned that members of the media were planning to play a pickup game at the facility that was sponsored by Junior Celtics Academy and New Balance. At which point Mazzulla dropped a plot twist.
“You’re not playing against each other — you’re playing against the coaches,” Mazzulla replied.
Sure enough, Mazzulla and his coaching staff — a group that includes ex-Celtics player Phil Pressey and a host of former Division I players like Amile Jefferson (Duke), God Shammgod Jr. (Fairmont State), Tony Dobbins (Richmond), DJ MacLeay (Bucknell) and Da’Sean Butler (West Virginia) — took the court at the Auerbach Center for a 12-minute scrimmage against the local media.
As you might expect, Mazzulla’s staff showed no mercy, winning by a final score of 57-4 — yes, you read that right — while raining 3-pointers and putting relentless defensive pressure on the media squad.
So, why did Mazzulla feel the need to have his coaching staff tee off on the clearly overmatched media?
The Celtics head coach joined 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak & Bertrand on Wednesday to share his side of the story, explaining that the goal was to have the media and coaches interact in a different environment where they were (in theory) equals.
“The truth really behind it is, there’s very few times — it’s like with us … when we go out to eat, we level the playing field,” Mazzulla said. “We’re all kind of on the same page, everyone’s guard is down, and there’s not a distance, you know? Again, it’s unfortunate that people don’t get the whole context of the day, but we all got to be in a competitive environment together.
“The coaches played the first game and the point was to win, absolutely. And then (the media) played against each other for two quarters, and then the staff got to coach, and we all just got to be on the same playing field. You know how it goes. The only thing that would have made it better is if we all went out for a beer after.”
Of course, the final score would suggest Tuesday’s bloodbath was anything but a “level” playing field. But to Mazzulla, the simple fact that coaches and media were on the court together playing by the same rules was a beneficial experience for all parties.
“The more we can be on the level playing field of, we all have our guard down, we’re all in a competitive environment — I learned so much about all the beat writers,” Mazzulla said.
“It was a lot of fun, because I got to see a side of them that you don’t always get to see. Like, I saw that they really love the game and they’re way more competitive than you would imagine. It was cool watching them be in that competitive environment, and then we had a 20-minute hangout session after the game. It was like, ‘Oh, we’re all the same.'”
And while most of the video evidence on social media shows the Celtics coaches dominating, Mazzulla insisted the media offered plenty of resistance.
“It was just cool because you got to see how competitive these guys and girls are, and how much they like the game,” he added. “Like, a guy got an offensive rebound and one guy shoved him to the ground because he was pissed at him. (People are) throwing F-bombs because they turned the ball over. Like, we’re all the same when we get into a competitive environment.”
That “competitive environment” wasn’t kind to the media Tuesday, but it sounds like they’ll have a chance at redemption, as Mazzulla admitted the unique scrimmage was “something that I want to do more.”
Check out the video below for highlights from the game and more commentary from Mazzulla:
