Mazzulla has on-brand answer to how he interacts with rival coaches originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla knows that you never want to give your opponents any kind of advantage, whether it’s large or small.
So don’t expect him to go out of his way to be best friends with opposing head coaches during the NBA season.
Mazzulla is cordial and respectful with his fellow coaches around the league, but he told reporters Friday that he doesn’t go out of his way to be friendly with rival coaches because “it’s very important not to give away psychological tells.”
That includes Charles Lee, who was an assistant coach on Mazzulla’s staff with the Celtics last season before leaving over the summer to become the Charlotte Hornets’ head coach.
“I told Charles when he left, ‘I’m not talking to you during the season. I’m not waving to you at the national anthem. I’m not doing that. You’re an enemy,'” Mazzulla said, as seen in the video player above.
“So he breached NBA rules and came into the assistant coaches locker room and forced me to give him a hug. That could easily be a psychological tell that knocks you off your game competitively. So he knew what he was doing.”
Fortunately for the Celtics, they won both games of their back-to-back against the Hornets in Charlotte back on Nov. 1 and Nov. 2.
Most NBA players are good friends, and many of them will hug or embrace in some fashion after games. Head coaches do it, too, especially when they’ve known each other for a long time or worked on the same staff at one point.
We probably won’t see Mazzulla be friendly like that very often, however. And, frankly, it’s a perfectly reasonable way to go about things. There’s always time to catch up and be friends in the offseason.
The Celtics have begun their title defense strong with a 10-3 record, good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference behind the 13-0 Cleveland Cavaliers. Mazzulla and the C’s will be back in action Saturday night when they host the Toronto Raptors at TD Garden.