Joe Mazzulla Shares Crucial Component to Celtics' Preparation

The Boston Celtics have reached their sixth Eastern Conference Finals in eight seasons. They're currently awaiting their opponent for Round 3, as the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers continue to battle for the privilege to advance.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla didn't go into much detail, but did touch on what his team has to do to prepare for both teams.

"Both are really good teams, both present different challenges, and we just have to be ready to take those on," he explained to reporters on Friday.

Boston's bench boss spent plenty of time discussing the ways that his team has managed to stay prepared throughout the year, pointing to studying trends around the NBA as a way to remain sharp.

"One of the things that I think we enjoy doing together is studying the league," Mazzulla added. "Like, studying wins and losses. Studying why a team wins, why a team loses, why a team calls a timeout, why a team doesn't call time out, why a team goes on a run, what stops a run, what are the keys towards winning a game. A lot of the times throughout the year, we wouldn't just watch ourselves, we'd watch a segment of another game around the league and say, 'Hey here's what's going on around the league, here are the trends.'"

The C's second-year head coach added that he expects teams to be "extra creative" when they play his squad in the postseason. He credited the Celtics' open-mindedness for helping the group stay ready for different strategies from the opposition.

The first two opponents Boston's faced, the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers, have each tried to knock them off of their game by forcing the Celtics to attempt fewer threes. They've still managed to lead the league in long-range attempts in the playoffs, but they're down four per contest from their regular-season average.

Boston was able to combat this, winning both series 4-1. Specifically against Cleveland, the Celtics did a great job of imposing their will in the paint. They did a better job of not only hunting mismatches but actually taking advantage of them when they got them. Rather than settling for fadeway jumpers, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown attacked the basket.

Once the defense began to react to that, then both stars were able to rack up the assists by kicking to open shooters, like they did in Game 5, a victory that included Brown distributing a playoff career-high seven assists.

Whether it's Indiana or New York, Mazzulla is going to ensure that the Celtics are as prepared as possible for whatever challenges await them.

Further Reading

Trivializing Celtics' Success in Tatum-Brown Era a Take Not Measured Properly: 'Doing

Past Hardships Brought Out Best in Al Horford in Career Night: 'You Saw His Gift'

Simple Changes Spark Stifling Second Half Defense in Celtics' Game 4 Win vs. Cavs

Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown Still Shaking Off Criticism While Growing as Leaders

Jrue Holiday Delivers 'Masterclass' in Game 3 Win vs. Cavs

Jayson Tatum Breaks Out of Scoring Slump That Never Defined Him: 'Underappreciated'

Derrick White Discusses Joining Elite Company in Game 1 Win vs. Cavaliers

Kristaps Porzingis Discusses Target Date to Rejoin Celtics' Playoff Run: 'Doing Everything I Can'