NBA FINALS: CELTICS VS. MAVERICKS

June 9, 2024

Joe Mazzulla

Boston Celtics

Game 2: Pregame

Q. Obviously you guys did a great job defending in isolation, forcing them to play in isolation in that Game 1. What would you credit to the effort across the board you got from pretty much everybody on the team, and your ability to force the other team to play in that style?

JOE MAZZULLA: Yeah, first it starts with our transition defense. If we don't get back and make it five-on-five, it's hard to be able to do that great.

And then the ball pressure, and then just the individual pride, taking on the pride of guarding you and then the guys off the ball, being able to do both, shift and get after shooters.

Team defense, the most important thing.

Q. When it comes to getting the maximum amount out of this group, do you feel that you had the natural skill set to do that in terms of messaging, approach, details? Or were there some adaptations that you had to make from your personal style in order to get the most out of this group's potential?

JOE MAZZULLA: I feel like we got a group of guys that really want to win. Been around a long time, and they want to do it together. When you have a locker room that has ownership and takes it upon themselves to hold each other accountable, you've got a chance.

The guys want to win and make that decision, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to win. That's the most important thing.

Q. The group did have perhaps some blind spots here and there that you addressed. How did you go about doing that and getting buy-in in regard to addressing blind spots?

JOE MAZZULLA: I mean, we still do have blind spots. We're always going to have blind spots. I think it's just recognizing those and understanding how we can leverage them by using the guy next to us to be better.