LeBron James gets candid about Celtics' Joe Mazzulla

May 13, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James looks at his wife Savannah James in the second quarter of game four of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports | David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has come a long way since last spring. It was then that many were calling for his firing after the Cs fell behind the Miami Heat 0-3 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Though they didn't advance, the Celtics still battled back to tie the series.

The current season has gone far better than that Conference Finals did. Boston ripped off a 64-18 regular-season record, then lost just two games on their way to the NBA Finals. Mazzulla has been a massive part of that.

His consistent attention to the team's mindset has allowed them to remain engaged, despite having to deal with a tremendous amount of outside noise.

He's also proven to be a big math guy. His love of threes and numbers have allowed the Celtics to maximize their talent.

The following is a link to a video that contains the use of explicit language.

During a recent episode of the "Mind The Game" podcast, LeBron James and JJ Redick discussed Mazzulla and his coaching style. Redick pointed out that Joe had elected to foul while up six points at the end of Game 1 against Indiana to ensure that the score would remain a two-possession difference (oddly enough it didn't because Indy got a rebound off of a missed free throw).

James could not have been more impressed.

"This Joe Mazzulla guy is a f----- genius, bro," He told Redick. "The more and more I talk to you the more and more I like this Joe guy."

It's pretty fun that James, a 20-year NBA veteran is pretending like he has no idea who Joe Mazzulla is here, but his praise is welcome.