Perhaps Joe Mazzulla simply needed amusing.
Perhaps he needed to embarrass us as punishment for asking the identical annoying postgame questions for the final three years.
Perhaps he needed to offer some post-practice leisure for the massive group of gamers — together with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown — who had been watching from the lounge that overlooks the Auerbach Heart’s two courts.
No matter his motive, Mazzulla selected to place his personal diabolical spin on the Celtics’ preseason media recreation Tuesday afternoon. Moderately than dividing the taking part media members into groups and having them play towards one another — because the C’s and different Boston professional groups have achieved prior to now — Mazzulla turned the scrimmage right into a showdown between the Celtics media corps and the Celtics teaching employees.
“I don’t wish to break it to you, however you’re not taking part in towards one another,” the pinnacle coach revealed, about 90 minutes earlier than tipoff, as he wrapped up an in any other case unremarkable courtside information convention. “You’re taking part in towards the coaches.”
These coaches included Mazzulla, the previous place to begin guard on a West Virginia workforce that reached the Ultimate 4. And Da’Sean Butler, his teammate on that Mountaineers squad. And Amile Jefferson, who performed with Tatum at Duke and later hung out with the Orlando Magic. And ex-Celtics guard Phil Pressey. And DJ MacLeay, who performed 110 video games at Bucknell and stands 6-foot-7. And Tony Dobbins, who had an extended profession abroad after taking part in at Virginia Tech and Richmond. And God Shammgod Jr., who’s lower than a decade faraway from a standout profession at Fairmont State.
All of these guys are of their mid-40s or youthful. Most are of their 30s, together with 37-year-old Mazzulla, the NBA’s youngest lively head coach. If you happen to put the Celtics’ employees up towards any of its counterparts across the league, I’d like its possibilities in a pickup recreation.
On expertise, expertise and athleticism alone, that group may have sleepwalked its technique to victory over a media aspect that … effectively, lacked all three of these issues. However they didn’t take it simple on the parents who’re paid to put in writing and speak about basketball, not play it. (Sadly, there have been no players-turned-analysts, a la Brian Scalabrine or Eddie Home, readily available to stage the taking part in area a bit.)
At Mazzulla’s fixed urging, the coaches performed with unrelenting depth, particularly on the defensive finish. They pressed full-court for the whole recreation. They trapped. Mazzulla yelled out calls, scrapped for rebounds and celebrated turnovers — and there have been so, so many turnovers.
Most of Staff Media’s “possessions” lasted about three seconds. What number of official scoring possibilities had been there? Perhaps 10, tops. Even fewer photographs that got here remotely near discovering the online. The variety of made baskets by media members was simpler to recall: a grand whole of two. There was a transition layup by Bobby Krivitsky of Hardwood Houdini and a putback by Boston.com’s Khari Thompson. That was all.
If nothing else, it was a very up-close take a look at the hyper-aggressive observe tempo the Celtics have been hyping up for the reason that begin of coaching camp. Fortunately, no reporters got here away with Payton Pritchard-esque neck wounds.
On the different finish, Mazzulla and his lieutenants simply discovered mismatches down low and wide-open appears from three with no need to run any form of offensive system. Shammgod Jr., son of the Windfall School legend, was particularly deadly from exterior, draining back-to-back 3-pointers at one level that made it 28-0 lower than six minutes in. Pressey additionally buried a number of. The 6-foot-9 Jefferson threw down a number of dunks. Mazzulla saved pushing, pushing, pushing.
The lead reached 35 factors. Then 40. Then 50.
Lastly, towards a completely gassed media protection, Shammgod Jr. obtained a go simply inside halfcourt and launched a high-arcing emblem three that swished via as time expired.
Celtics workforce reporter Taylor Snow captured a video of that game-ending buzzer-beater, adopted by a gradual pan over to the scoreboard. The ultimate rating: Coaches 57, Media 4. In a recreation that, mercifully, solely lasted 12 minutes.
It was that dangerous, and truthfully, it may have been worse.
Celtics Coaches vs. Celtics Media
(look forward to the ultimate rating) pic.twitter.com/q5SeqH0jVu
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) October 14, 2025
If public ridicule was Mazzulla’s aim, he bought his want. As of early Wednesday morning, that video had been considered greater than 3.5 million occasions on X.
The Celtics’ gamers appeared to take pleasure in themselves, too. Because the reporters gathered for a postgame huddle, a smiling Brown known as down from above, asking which of us “need(ed) to do media” — player-speak for who would volunteer to come back to the rostrum and reply questions on our abysmal efficiency. Happily, no such press convention occurred.
After the 57-4 beatdown, the Celtics held a official, reporters-vs.-reporters media recreation (each had been sponsored by the Jr. Celtics Academy), and Mazzulla watched the entire thing from the sideline, shouting occasional commentary and tweaking the clock late to engineer a extra thrilling ending. That matchup was much more aggressive, with Staff White edging Staff Inexperienced 25-22.
Let’s skip the undercard subsequent yr.
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