Head coach Joe Mazulla is open-minded when it comes to giving the Boston Celtics every competitive advantage possible and that includes emulating coaches from other professional sports and their strategies as well.
After defeating the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night by a final score of 117-98, which improved the Celtics’ home record to 20-0 this season, Mazulla explained to reporters in the post-game conference that he sometimes incorporates elements of Jerrod Mayo’s playbook into the Celtics one, on top of expressing his admiration for the new Patriots head coach, who was appointed in the wake of Bill Belichick’s departure from the team after 24 seasons.
โHeโs been around a long time, heโs coached there, played there, I donโt need to give him any advice,โ Mazzulla said when asked about Mayo. โHe does have my support and I canโt wait to go over there and sit with him, and just learn from him.โ
When asked if he was a fan of professional football, Mazulla professed that he was and admitted that he incorporates play designs from football, particularly defensive ones, into some of his schemes for the Celtics as well.
โYou take a look at their defensive schemes, and their ability to pass guys off, thatโs something that I pay attention to a lot.โ Mazzulla explained. โI think teams are getting really creative in their pre-snap motions, which is kind of a way of manipulating matchups.โ
โLike what Miami does with their pre-snap motion to kind of gain a little bit of momentum before the ball is snapped,โ Mazzulla continued. โWe want to find those small ways.โ
Of course, the conversation with Mazzulla about football circled around back to Jerrod Mayo once again.
โI love Jerod (Mayo),โ Mazzulla said. โLove the times I got to go over and visit, I got to spend time with him in the linebacker room, in the defensive room with him and Steve (Belichick).โ
Mazzulla’s visits with Mayo are the catalyst for Joe Muzzulla how he incorporates elements of new Patriots’ coach’s plays into his basketball methodology.
โWe use some of the wide receiver routes for our plays.โ Mazzulla admitted.
What do you think of the thoughts shared by Joe Muzzulla on Jerrod Mayo and how he incorporates elements of new Patriots’ coach’s plays into basketball? What do you think of the new generation of coaches for the Celtics and the Patriots that we’re bearing witness to? Let us know in the comments.
