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Joe Mazzulla Reveals Valuable Lessons From Celtics' Previous Playoff Runs originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
After clinching the two seed in the Eastern Conference with their historic rout of the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, the Boston Celtics can take a moment to catch their breath before the NBA Playoffs start next weekend.
This will be the Celtics' 12th straight postseason appearance and their fourth in a row under Joe Mazzulla, who's learned a lot from the previous three, including Boston's championship run two years ago.
Following Friday's win, Mazzulla revealed his biggest lessons and takeaways from the last three postseasons, two of which ended in crushing defeats.
"There's no difference between a preseason game, regular season game, playoff game. The biggest difference is people don't really watch the regular season and they watch the playoffs," Mazzulla said during his postgame press conference. "Obviously the intensity, the physicality is much different, but you can't be blinded by the margins and the details and you have to understand the process of possession basketball."
Mazzulla's right that the playoffs are much different than the regular season. The stakes are higher, the fans are louder and the play is more physical. Games tend to be lower-scoring as a result, heightening the importance of every possession.
Fortunately for the Celtics, Mazzulla seems to have prepared them well. They play hard on every possession, lead the league in fewest turnovers and pay close attention to detail, which should serve them well in the playoffs.
It also helps that several of Boston's players, like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, have even more postseason experience than Mazzulla. They've been here before, know what to expect and have already proven that they can handle the pressure and win it all.
The Celtics enter the playoffs as favorites to win the Eastern Conference, so time will tell if they can live up to those lofty expectations.
More NBA: Celtics Clinch Two Seed, Tie NBA Record In Historic Rout Of Pelicans
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