Joe Mazzulla proves he’s 10 steps ahead of everyone with latest comment

The Boston Celtics won two straight games in Abu Dhabi against the Denver Nuggets. That’s two more than they won against Denver all of last season, as the Nuggets were the only team in the NBA who Boston failed to earn a victory against. And even though it was only the preseason, the Celtics looked great on all fronts.

Al Horford didn’t appear in either of the two games, and Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. only played in the first of the two. Both sides’ stars showed face in the second game, likely to cater to the international audience, but they were all sat down by the second half.

Regardless, the Celtics got a chance to go up against the Nuggets, and that’s a win in Joe Mazzulla’s book.

Joe Mazzulla lives in the past, present, and future all at once

After the Celtics’ second win over the Nuggets, Mazzulla spoke about the experience of playing the 2023 champs. He’s excited that Boston was able to get some extra film of them playing against Denver. (H/t Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe)

“I think Denver put us in some tough situations and exposed some things we can work on the rest of the preseason because of their personnel and the tactics they have, they’re constantly testing us,” Mazzulla said. “So it was really good to get that on film.”

In a meaningless preseason game that won’t matter in a week’s time, Mazzulla was already thinking about months down the road. He knows the Nuggets are a threat in the West. He knows the Celtics have another chance to get out of the East. He knows the history between the two teams.

Preseason or not, these games mattered to Mazzulla. Any chance he gets to learn about his team and the teams they may face is an opportunity to him, and in this case, he’s thinking 10 steps ahead.

The NBA Finals are months away. The regular season hasn’t even started yet. But he wants to remember these games.

“Preseason is an opportunity to commit to the fundamentals and compete, and I think we’ve done both of those,” Mazzulla said. “And then just iron out the things that we know lead to winning and losing.”

Nikola Jokic didn’t play much. Neither did Jamal Murray. But they both played enough minutes where Mazzulla got a chance to look at them. He saw how they responded to the way the Celtics guarded them, the moves they made against Boston’s backup bigs, and everything in between.

Mazzulla is already thinking about potential Finals matchups. He leaves no stones unturned, and he's 10 steps ahead of everyone around him at all times.