In an interview with GQ Sports, one of the questions posed to Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum was his favorite thing his head coach, Joe Mazzulla, has ever said to him.
The soon-to-be four-time All-NBA First Team selection had already offered high praise for Boston's bench boss, calling him "the best coach in the NBA, even though he'll never admit that."
When it was time to discuss his favorite message from Mazzulla, Tatum conveyed, "He always tells me that he loves me." The six-time All-Star shared, "He'll say it on practice days or in the middle of a game during a timeout. It'll be the third quarter of a playoff game, a very intense atmosphere, and he'll say, 'Just want you to know I love you, man.'"
Why Joe Mazzulla delivers that message in the heat of the moment
Saturday at the Auerbach Center represented a chance to ask Mazzulla why, for instance, in the middle of a playoff game, he believes it's important to deliver that message.
"Just perspective," he told Hardwood Houdini. "You can get so caught up in thinking that what you're going through at that moment is the most important thing, and what we do here is -- it's not the most important thing. It is an important thing at that time, and then when it's done, it's done.
"So, maintaining a level of perspective. At the end of the day, you have to. We're all on a journey together. However long that lasts: one game, a week, [a] month, a couple [of] years. [You] can't take that for granted. So, it's good to keep that perspective."
It's the type of approach that captures Mazzulla having his finger on the pulse of each individual on his team, knowing who needs what message and when to deliver it.
It's a simple message that can calm someone down in the heat of battle, helping them focus and perform at their best. It can serve as a timely confidence booster that empowers even an All-NBA fixture. And it's an example of how more than Xs and Os influences the outcome.
In an iconic rivalry clash pitting Boston against New York in a playoff environment oscillating between Garden venues with rich histories and electric atmospheres, there may be multiple moments where Mazzulla voices that message to Tatum and the rest of his team.