Mazzulla: Finals no brighter than ECF 'unless they change the light bulbs'
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla is a day away from his first-ever NBA Finals appearance, but he and his squad don't feel any added pressure from being on basketball's biggest stage.
"Unless they change the light bulbs in the arenas, they won't be any brighter than they were last series," Mazzulla told reporters on Wednesday, "It's just sticking to the details with things that matter."
"Obviously the stakes are higher, but that just means that the details are more important," he added.
Mazzulla is in his second year leading the Celtics after taking over from Ime Udoka following the team's Finals loss in 2022. He boasts a 121-43 regular-season record and a 23-11 postseason mark.
Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, and Derrick White, along with a handful of bench pieces, played in the 2022 loss to the Golden State Warriors. Jrue Holiday also has Finals experience having won a title with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021.
Tatum, the team's leading scorer, shares his coach's mentality of staying focused in the coming days.
"Just staying present in the moment, I'm not thinking about what it would mean for my legacy, or anything like that," said Tatum, "Just excited to play some basketball after this long break, and go out there and try to get the job done."
The Celtics and Dallas Mavericks are set to begin their series on Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. ET.