“We call our offense, the Killer Whale Offense. We attack seals ’cause killer whales like how they hunt seals and we study how killer whales attack as a unit,” Boston Celtics player Jaylen Brown said recently about the team. “We’ve built our offense kinda off of killer whales”. This quote perfectly summarizes the mindset Mazzulla has instilled in the Celtics. The championship season is behind them, and so is the celebration. That’s the philosophy Mazzulla adheres to. However, the Celtics aren’t preparing to defend their title in the upcoming season. Confused?

Seems like the Celtics coach is highly inspired by his soccer friend Pep Guardiola. Much like the Manchester City manager, Mazzulla believes in constant improvement and doesn’t like talking about the past. He has made that clear to everyone in the organization and the billionaire owners are not above that law. This was recently disclosed by the franchise’s majority owner, Wyc Grousbeck.

In a conversation with Celtics Insider Adam Himmelsbach in Abu Dhabi, Wyc Grousbeck was asked if the franchise’s 18th title made it easier for him to consider stepping down. Grousbeck had long been waiting for the championship. Addressing the question, Grousbeck said, “Well, [coach Joe Mazzulla] won’t let us go there.”

Sharing a piece of Mazzulla’s mentality, Grousbeck added, “We got banner 18. But Joe is like, ‘We’re not even going to mention that going forward.’ Coaches are not going to wear championship stuff. We’re done with that. I’m trying to take the cue from Joe, because he’s a great coach. But, yeah, it’s super-satisfying.”

Grousbeck further compared their championship victory in 2008 to that of 2024, admitting that the latter was an 11-year battle that was more challenging. Given the financial dispute that the Celtics are going through, it won’t be long before the ownership transfers from the Grousbeck family. At least, the title win makes the departure worthwhile. Despite the front office issues, Mazzulla has successfully maintained the team’s focus in the preseason games.

Joe Mazzulla sees a lot of work that needs to be done before the 2024-25 season begins

Though the preseason games don’t affect the overall numbers, Joe Mazzulla feels these games are crucial. According to the HC, the matchups before the regular season would help them improve the areas that need some polishing.

Even after snatching two wins against the Nuggets, Mazzulla stated, as per Himmelsbach, “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.”

For others, it could be overwhelming, winning two against Nikola Jokic and Co. But Mazzulla is a different breed. It is this mindset of his that led the Celtics to a championship win in his supposed second season as head coach.

After a successful journey in Abu Dhabi, Mazzulla and his Boston men will return to the TD Garden to face the Philadelphia 76ers. The way Mazzulla is planning his strategies, the Eastern teams would have a hard time surpassing the reigning champions on the table. After all, there are some killer whales on the loose.