How Joe Mazzulla delivered his Celtics predators to a basketball apex

How Joe Mazzulla delivered his Celtics predators to a basketball apex originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

“That’s a Komodo dragon?”

Joe Mazzulla has arrived for our Media Day chat in late September, and before we can even explain the shenanigans we have planned — projecting images to spawn conversation with players and coaches on an otherwise tedious day — he’s the one asking questions.

Four different animals, including a killer whale and, yes, a Komodo dragon, are projected on a screen in the theatre we are filming in, and Mazzulla is eager to explain the correlation between the 2024-25 Celtics and apex predators.

“You take a look at this ridiculous narrative that people use, because it’s so easy, of ‘hunted versus the hunter,’ right?” said Mazzulla. “And I think so many times in society, we try to make things either/or. But it’s a both. And you’re never not just one.

“If you take a look at a lion, people may think of a lion as never hunted. But if they let their guard down, if they find an oasis to where there’s hippos and they let their guard down and they’re going to drink, a hippo is going to try to attack it.

“So, there’s a situation of, yes, you may feel like you’re the toughest or the best or the most fiercest, but at any point in time, if you’re not vigilant, you could die. And so I think there’s just a lot of great lessons that can be learned from it.”

And does Mazzulla have a favorite apex predator?

“Killer whales,” he responds immediately. “I think that they are the epitome of the apex predator, right? But, at the same time, they have the humility to make sure they hunt in packs. So that kind of goes to, when you’re trying to build a team, it’s like, ‘I know I’m the best, but I need people around me in order to be even better.’

“So when you see nature live that out — I know I could go kill that seal on my own, but I need the pod to come with me so we could do it tactically. And the tactical approach towards taking down their adversaries is a rather detailed one. Like, there was one the other day where they purposely beached themselves to act like they’re being stranded and…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/joe-mazzulla-delivered-celtics-predators-124255597.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-10-22 12:42:00

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