It’s been a great season for the Boston Celtics so far. They’ve been one of the most dominant teams in the NBA, and it’s not hard to see why. Their team is almost identical to the one that won a title last year, and they have another year of growth and chemistry behind them.
Now in his third season as the head coach of the Celtics, Joe Mazzulla is still leading the way in the best way he knows how. But as Boston continues to jack up their three-point volume, teams around the league are doing the same. The Celtics’ success is inspiring other squads to mimic them.
But Mazzulla (apparently) isn’t watching.
Joe Mazzulla claims to not watch NBA games
After Celtics practice on Wednesday, Mazzulla revealed that he doesn’t really watch NBA games casually. He was asked about declining NBA ratings but noted that he’s actually a part of the problem.
“I add to that,” Mazzulla said. “I don't watch NBA games, so I'm just as much a problem as anyone else is.”
Why? “I don't like watching the games.”
At a glance, this could be a red flag or siren for anyone who takes the statement at face value. An NBA coach who doesn’t watch games? He doesn’t like the sport he coaches?
In reality, the reason why Mazzulla doesn’t watch games is much more tame.
“I'm around it all the time,” he said. “Rather watch something else.”
Mazzulla obviously watches film. He studies matchups, tendencies, and everything a coach could possibly study when it comes to basketball. He knows more about the NBA and its players than most fans could ever dream of.
But when he has any sort of free time or downtime, he’s not flipping on an NBA game to watch casually. In the same way that regular people don’t want to take their jobs home with them, Mazzulla would rather relax when he has the chance.
That said, it’s probably very rare that Mazzulla has time to casually watch TV or do anything of the sort, especially during the NBA season.
Nobody should doubt Mazzulla’s commitment to the Celtics. He’s one of the most hardcore coaches in the NBA, and one look at his log of quotes over the last three years would unveil that fact. But he doesn’t like to watch NBA basketball in his free time… apparently.
There’s no way Mazzulla doesn’t watch NBA basketball. He absolutely watches film, and he’s even admitted to watching games in the past. He said it in the playoffs this past year.
But maybe it’s not hard to believe that he doesn’t want to watch any more than he has to for work.