Joe Mazzulla delivers honest 'blood' admission about Celtics' home floor
10/22/2024 11:47 PM
The Boston Celtics showed no signs whatsoever of a championship hangover with the way they ran the New York Knicks off the court in their 132-109 opening night win. Joe Mazzulla has been waxing poetic all offseason long about how the Celtics, instead of embarking on a title defense, should be in attack mode, maintaining their place as the hunters of the league despite being the most hunted team in the association.
This was a performance befitting of a ring and banner ceremony, and Mazzulla knows better than anyone how important this night is for such a historic Celtics franchise. He was more animated than usual before he received his ring from NBA commissioner Adam Silver, even kissing the TD Garden’s parquet floor as a gesture of reverence for the legends of the game that paved the way.
“That was a moment for me to express myself. The parquet is where the blood, sweat, and tears of the greats [are shed]. I don’t get to go out there on the court and dive for loose balls like I’d love to. That was the way to express the gratitude that I have for our team, for the people that have come before, and for what it means to be a Celtic,” Mazzulla said in his postgame presser, via ClutchPoints Celtics beat reporter Daniel Donabedian.
Joe Mazzulla explains why he kissed the parquet floor and how much he wishes he could dive on the floor for loose balls: pic.twitter.com/Z7LZMaTyRc
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) October 23, 2024
Boston has always been a passionate sports city, and Mazzulla simply used this moment to bask in how much the Celtics’ 18th championship win means to Beantown.
“There’s no place better than the city and the team and just being in the arena with the people. … I told the guys to pay attention mostly to the team, but also, passing on to Bob Cousy to Cedric Maxwell to Ray Allen, and KG, and Pierce. One of the best things about the Celtics is the people that come before you,” Mazzulla added.
Celtics aren’t about to relent an inch in their title defense
Honoring the greats that made the Celtics franchise the most successful in NBA history was a theme for the team all night long, and they showed in the way they dominated the Knicks that they’re not about to fall into the trap of being complacent in their title-defense season.
Them being this on-point (nearly setting a record for most threes by a team in a single game in NBA history) to start the year shows that they are not taking the journey leading to a championship for granted. Some opt to save their best for when it matters the most, flipping the switch when the stakes ramp up, but the Celtics stamp their class on opening night and show that they are still the team to beat.
Joe Mazzulla is the perfect coach for this Celtics team. The mentality he instills in his player is top-notch and this has taken them into heights they haven’t yet reached. It’s only Game 1 out of 82, but the Celtics show that the road to the Larry O’Brien trophy still runs through them.
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