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Jayson Tatum Sheds Light on Coach Joe Mazzulla’s Unique UFC-Inspired Motivation Behind Celtics' Resilience in NBA Finals
Jayson Tatum unveils coach Joe Mazzulla's UFC-inspired strategy that keeps the Boston Celtics focused.
As the Boston Celtics inch closer to their 18th NBA championship title, coach Joe Mazzulla is leaving no stone unturned.
Jayson Tatum, the star power forward of the Celtics, opened up about what goes on inside the locker room, revealing the orchestrated play that die-hard fans see from the sidelines of the hard court.
Tatum sat for the post-game presser after leading the team to a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals. He said, “Joe does a great job of showing us clips and things from different sports or he's a big UFC fan, and you know, showing us fights of people that I'm not, I don't know like the terminology in UFC but put them in a chokehold and sh*t.”
While acknowledging the champion mentality of the 35-year-old head coach, JT added:
“Like they're about to tap out and you just see the guy or the other woman who's winning relaxing because they feel like they're about to win.
“And then you get the other person life just trying to translate that to the game of basketball that, you know, the closer you are to winning the closer they are to surviving and basically just trying to remind us in a group that we still got a long way to go, we still have to play the right way, we still gotta win,” he added.
Coach Joe Mazzulla backed Jayson Tatum with Neymar Jr. analogy
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla recently came to the defense of his star player, Jayson Tatum, amid the media scrutiny surrounding Tatum's performance in the NBA Finals.
Mazzulla drew a unique comparison by likening Tatum's media pressure to that faced by Brazilian soccer star Neymar. Addressing the Brazilian media, Mazzulla highlighted the intense scrutiny faced by Neymar and the parallel expectations placed on Tatum in American sports media.
While jumping to the other side of the press conference, Mazzulla cross-examined the reporter and asked,
“Who do you think had the hardest adjustment to the media and the criticism because like the lens with which Brazilian soccer players are looked at is very similar to how American athletes are looked at by their media, right?”
“Who do you think has dealt with the most and how do you think that they've handled it because I feel like playing for the Celtics and representing the country or Brazil for its national soccer team, and then you see Enric coming up and like he's gonna face that soon. So like, how do you think that's handled in your country?” he added charging up against Tatum’s criticism.
Additionally, he also emphasized the unfairness and relentless demands of the American sports media landscape, Mazzulla expressed his belief that Tatum's versatile contributions are undervalued due to the focus solely on scoring statistics.
Despite Tatum's slightly lower scoring output, Mazzulla highlighted Tatum's all-around impact on the game, emphasizing his vital role in facilitating the Celtics' winning performances.
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