{"id":149102,"date":"2025-10-17T17:02:50","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T21:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/?p=149102"},"modified":"2025-10-20T13:55:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T17:55:49","slug":"joe-mazzulla-celtics-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/?p=149102","title":{"rendered":"For Joe Mazzulla, Even Bonding is a Battle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Joe Mazzulla has no chill.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That&#8217;s not an insult by the way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019ve followed the Celtics even a little bit these past few seasons you\u2019ve witnessed several examples of Mazzulla\u2019s trademark intensity and insatiable competitive drive. It&#8217;s what makes him one of the best coaches in the NBA and one of the reasons <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HGBexpBAxxc\">Banner number 18<\/a> hangs from the rafters at TD Garden.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether it\u2019s getting all over a ref in a meaningless preseason game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or using a coaches challenge up 30 late in the 4th quarter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or trying to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=JbwZfOLrVPw\">block an opposing player&#8217;s 3 point attempt<\/a> after the whistle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/veuZ5kIBgGM\">berating reporters<\/a> who ask questions he doesn\u2019t feel like answering.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Every interaction is viewed as combat. Kill or be killed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That mentality crossed over into a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/joe-mazzullas-media-game-blowout-a-reminder-why-we-cover-the-celtics\/\">\u201cfriendly\u201d scrimmage<\/a> versus the media earlier this week at the Auerbach Center in Boston.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The concept was great (even if <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/yh40jTvMdcM\">hijacked and altered by Mazzulla<\/a> at the last minute.) A chance for media members to play alongside Celtics coaches &#8211; led by the Celtics head coach and a collection of assistants with past NBA and D-1 college experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fun!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The execution? Not so much.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What ensued was a &#8211; to be expected &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/4_t_0ZPikOM\">57-4 bludgeoning.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When news of the score trickled out social media enjoyed a good collective belly laugh about it.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This game is traditionally media vs media. But this year Joe Mazzulla made the media face coaches presumably to embarrass them.<\/p>\n<p>Diabolical. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jsFt4vjiji\">https:\/\/t.co\/jsFt4vjiji<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; John Zannis (@John_Zannis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/John_Zannis\/status\/1978185114124161228?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But then details of the game started to emerge.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 57 points were scored in only 12 minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There was a shot clock.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And, an 8 second count to cross half court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And, the group of former NBA and D-1 players &#8211; at Joe Mazzulla\u2019s frantic urging &#8211; pressed and trapped the hapless and hopeless scribes full court the entire game. First person accounts estimate that the media team only crossed half court 4 or 5 times.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>And, the ref assigned to the game swallowed his whistle despite some exceedingly physical play on the part of the coaches.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oh, and the journos got punked in the presence of Celtics stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum and team President Brad Stevens who chuckled from the balcony as the media team got rolled.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Bwxh4B97eUg\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are we having fun yet?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/getyarn.io\/yarn-clip\/7558799a-bd0c-44ac-86cf-db0464efafec\/gif\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/y.yarn.co\/7558799a-bd0c-44ac-86cf-db0464efafec_text.gif\" alt=\"&quot;Are we having fun yet?&quot;\" width=\"854\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After Mazzulla and co dismantled the media things mellowed out. The coaches and journalists spent a few moments palling around and then the media took part in the game they expected to play in versus one another. A much more competitive 27-23 affair.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By all accounts the reporters who played almost unanimously seem to have enjoyed the entire experience, beatdown included. Even though this isn\u2019t what they initially signed up for.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This was more akin to being invited to a barbecue and being told when you arrive, \u2018We\u2019re going to eat later, but first, we\u2019re going to hunt you. We&#8217;ll give you a 30 second head start. Go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"HIGHLIGHTS: Joe Mazzulla &amp; Coaches BLOWOUT Celtics Media by 53 Points!\" width=\"788\" height=\"443\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YmgduuuPkWI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Participants actually enjoyed it so much several scribes wrote glowing pieces about it afterwards, and have publicly declared that they look forward to the next opportunity to take on Joe and his coaches, vowing to do better next time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thank you sir, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qdFLPn30dvQ\">may I have another?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mazzulla for his part, promised that he intends to stage another game like this during his first public appearance the following day. A <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/UF22I78qUCY?si=6VaggL4JTLvD2hYt\">scheduled interview<\/a> with broadcast partner 98.5 the Sports Hub with \u201cZo and Beatle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Celtics coach was however somewhat surprised that the hosts didn\u2019t share his enthusiasm for the public flogging the press received as Marc Bertrand and Scott Zolak chided Joe about his decision to humiliate the media or as Zolak &#8211; a former professional football player &#8211; said \u201cput them in their place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c(It\u2019s) kind of the world we live in today,&#8221; Mazzulla responded. &#8220;Where one tweet doesn&#8217;t tell the whole story, or you missed the context of what the point of something like that is. The intention of it wasn&#8217;t to get out, but that&#8217;s kind of the world we live in.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s unfortunate that people don\u2019t get the whole context of the day but we all got to be in a competitive environment together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No Joe.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This was NOT a \u201ccompetitive environment\u201d any more than the African Savana is a competitive environment for a Zebra. Nor was it a \u201clevel playing field\u201d as Mazzulla also suggested.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bertrand then followed by asking the Celtics 3rd year coach the only question that really matters.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why was the beating necessary to achieve the desired goal? To which Mazzulla &#8211; channeling his inner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7Mk1nykjnYA\">Hanz and Franz<\/a> &#8211; quipped that maybe Bertrand doesn\u2019t have \u201cany competitive juices\u201d flowing through him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8216;Don\u2019t call me a bully you wuss!&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or, maybe you\u2019re just a little Girly Man.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWell I could go down to the playground and beat a bunch of 4 year olds,\u201d Bertrand clapped back. \u201cIf that\u2019s what gets you going Joe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Honestly, a grown adult vs 4 year olds would probably have been more competitive than this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mazzulla continued to stress the bonding aspect of the exercise during his <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/9wqIwlu79kY\">media availability the following day<\/a>, spending more time on what happened after the beating than the impetus for it, which still remains unclear.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cYesterday was very, very important,\u201d Mazzulla said Wednesday before hosting the Toronto Raptors in a preseason game. \u201cIt will be laughed at and joked about, but it means a lot more to humanize (the coaches and media.) We have too many interactions where it&#8217;s the coach and you. Like, everyone\u2019s doing their job.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I mean yeah, that&#8217;s kind of how it goes.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;I felt like after yesterday we all had our guard down, &#8220;Mazzulla continued.&#8221; And we were all in the competitive arena together. And that meant a lot to lower everyone\u2019s guard and bust balls and do all that stuff. So, it was cool to see everybody in a natural environment. And, sometimes, we\u2019re coming from a competitive arena, and you\u2019re not in a competitive arena \u2014 you\u2019re just doing your job. And that\u2019s where things get misinterpreted. But for all of us to be in the same arena, I think that says a lot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How exactly does 57-4 humanize the media? They were human before Joe, whether you realized it or not.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also, please tell me how does the media get to \u201cbust balls\u201d back after the beating they took?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Hey Joe, remember that time where you trapped me with the shot clock winding down to zero, I pooped my pants, dribbled the ball off my knee and crashed to the ground in a heap trying to grab the ball before it rolled out of bounds?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=nhkNYjljbMs\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Boom Roasted!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Newsflash. Sports media and the people they cover are never on a level playing field. Not off the court and certainly not ON it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even the smartest, most knowledgeable writers on the beat bring a middle school level understanding of basketball to each Q &amp; A session relative to the multiple PHD\u2019s Mazzulla, his assistants, and the players possess. Same goes in other sports as well, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/shorts\/tw3f7rnMn1s\">Taylor Kyles notwithstanding<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These guys are on a different level, and we already know it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The power dynamics in each media session are heavily tilted in Mazzulla\u2019s favor. Perhaps even more so now. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You shouldn\u2019t need to humiliate people in an effort to humanize them. That humanity should already exist through a mutual understanding and respect that each person is here trying to do a job.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While I understand that the relationship between sports media and the people they cover can sometimes come off as adversarial, the reality is the majority of Celtics coverage is overwhelmingly positive and supportive.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ve made no secret in the past that I think Joe Mazzulla can be somewhat of a bully. Not the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=agZKF7U5s8A\">first coach<\/a> in these parts to play that role either.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His tense exchanges with the media linger with some reporters long after they walk out of the press room. And before they return, they ruminate over how to approach the next interview without asking the type of question that will draw Joe\u2019s ire and get them posterized or worse, they don\u2019t ask those questions at all.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maybe now that Joe has &#8220;humanized&#8221; the reporters who cover him on a daily basis he\u2019ll mellow out and the back and forth between the two sides will be less combative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Or perhaps Mazzulla did this to soften them up in the hopes that they won\u2019t come at him as hard in the future. If so, well played.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Full disclosure. I had emailed the Celtics about my intention to play in this game when it was just media vs media. I wasn&#8217;t entirely sure whether I was going to go through with it more having to do with general laziness and the fact that I haven&#8217;t run full court in years. When I caught wind that the coaches were going to play I was glad to have sat it out. NBC Sports Boston play by play announcer Drew Carter said on the game broadcast Wednesday night he did the same thing, claiming he didn\u2019t \u201cwant to get blown out or choked out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Call me a coward, but I didn&#8217;t feel like being the butt of a joke. And that\u2019s before I knew Mazzulla was going to go full Psycho Joe on the brave souls who went through with it anyway. Though knowing what we know about Joe, I guess there was really no other way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Was it textbook bullying by Mazzulla? I\u2019m not sure. Even if it was bullying behavior it may not have been the intent. Just Joe being Joe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I liken it more to fraternity hazing. Or breaking a horse.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Was there however a better way to bond and get on the &#8220;same level&#8221; as the people who cover the team which didn\u2019t involve physical domination and public humiliation?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Absolutely. So, so, so so, SO many better ways.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Have the coaches play alongside the media to make the sides more even. How about bowling or mini golf, or axe throwing. You know, something where you can still compete but are actually on a level playing field and\/or doing it together.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s something that Tuesday&#8217;s game did not accomplish. The two sides didn&#8217;t do anything together.<\/p>\n<p>When given the opportunity to create a true bonding experience, Joe Mazzulla chose violence.<\/p>\n<p>It was us vs you. And it was ugly.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mazzulla said the other day, \u201cThe only thing that would have made it better is if we all went out for a beer afterwards.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A beer with Joe Mazzulla? Sure, I\u2019d be down with that. Just replace the word &#8220;afterwards&#8221; with &#8220;instead.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Is there a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xFH-y-gJn6w\">Red Lobster nearby<\/a>? My Treat!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joe Mazzulla has no chill. That&#8217;s not an insult by the way. If you\u2019ve followed the Celtics even a little bit these past few seasons you\u2019ve witnessed several examples of Mazzulla\u2019s trademark intensity and insatiable competitive drive. It&#8217;s what makes him one of the best coaches in the NBA and one of the reasons Banner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":149103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3537,48,3538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-149102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-home-featured-banner","category-nba","category-nba-featured-banner"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>For Joe Mazzulla, Even Bonding is a Battle - CLNS Media<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Joe Mazzulla and his assistants bludgeoned a group of media in a scrimmage designed to be a bonding exercise\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clnsmedia.com\/?p=149102\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"For Joe Mazzulla, Even Bonding is a Battle - 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