‘Mazzulla’ Documentaries: C’s Trainer Can Relate to a ‘Misunderstood’ Dog Breed

‘Mazzulla’ Documentaries: C’s Trainer Can Relate to a ‘Misunderstood’ Dog Breed originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston

We learned more about Joe Mazzulla, the coach of the Boston Celtics, last year, but what about Joe Mazzulla, the person?

Since the start of the 2023-24 NBA season, the NBC Sports Boston video team has spent time with Mazzulla to learn what makes him tick. In Part 1 of our documentary series “Mazzulla”, the second-year coach showed how he developed his competitive spirit. In Part 2he offered a fascinating insight into his unique daily mindset.

Part 3 of the series showed a side of Mazzulla that Celtics fans haven’t seen. The 35-year-old opened up about his faith, rediscovering his identity and feeling misunderstood. Later, he took our team to some of his favorite spots for Italian food in Rhode Island.

The latest episode begins with a flashback to November 28, 2023. The Celtics had to defeat the Chicago Bulls by at least 23 points to advance in the NBA season tournament. They repeatedly sent Bulls big man Andre Drummond — a terrible free throw shooter — to the line as they gained more than 30 points in the fourth quarter. There has been debate over whether the “Hack-A-Drummond” strategy it was unsportsmanlike, but it made sense under the circumstances.

Still, Mazzulla admits it didn’t sit well with him.

“After the game, I wasn’t happy. I felt a certain way about it. Because at the end of the day, you’re affecting another human being,” he said.

“One of my fears as a person who speaks openly about your faith is that you don’t always reflect what people think you should reflect as a Christian. I was talking to Father T about this, and he said, ‘The fact that you think this is a good thing. He’s like, ‘You should be worried when you make decisions like that and you don’t feel anything at all.”

Mazzulla played college basketball at West Virginia. When his playing career ended, he was forced to reevaluate his identity.

“All my affirmation and all the search, I put it into basketball. I put it into being a basketball player,” he said. “And I lost that identity when I got injured and missed a season, and I lost it again when I thought I was going to play overseas and missed the basketball game.

“It made me ask who am I? Who is Joe Mazzulla the basketball player versus Joe Mazzulla the person?

Mazzulla introduced our video team to the family dog, a Rottweiler named Nike. He believes Rottweilers are a misunderstood dog breed and can relate.

“I would say last year, during my first season, I felt (misunderstood),” he said. “In this box, who am I? Who should be the coach of the Boston Celtics? I think whenever you become a coach and a leader, you have to find a space where, how can you make it yours? I really don’t I had time to do that and I didn’t think it was the time or the place in the first year, the expectations we had, the way we did it, it was ‘actually, it wasn’t about me trying to be myself, it was more about what I he thought the players and the organization needed it.

“That’s one of the reasons I fell in love with the Rottweiler, because I think they’re so misunderstood from the standpoint of how they’re seen by people, but how they really are, especially around the people they love.”

Also in the episode, Mazzulla shows off a rosary made from the original Boston Garden parquet and welcomes our video team to the chapel of his home.

Check out the video player above to watch “Mazzulla: Part 3” in full and Visit our YouTube page to check out parts 1 and 2.