"People Are Gonna Say The Targets On Our Back But I Hope It’s Right On Our Forehead Between Our Eyes" - Psycho Joe Is Already In Midseason Form And Ready To Defend His Title

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There are a lot of reasons to be excited about the return of the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics. Their roster is stacked, they finally get to play a season without the weight of the world on their shoulders to finally get over the hump and win a title, they play a revolutionary style of basketball in Mazzulla Ball that produced one of the most dominant seasons in NBA history (fact not opinion, look it up), and most importantly it means a return of Psycho Joe and his completely unhinged quotes that only he can pull off. 

If we're being honest, that might be what I'm most excited for. Nobody on the 2024 Celts was validated more than Joe Mazzulla in my opinion given how much shit he had to take since he was given the job two years ago. Nobody wanted to believe he was ready, everyone said he was just a temporary hire until the "real" coach was brought in, his style didn't work, he's mean to the media blah blah blah.

Meanwhile, all Joe does is win. A 121-43 (.738) record in the regular season and a 27-12 (.692) record in the postseason with a title to his name, nobody has cemented themselves as "the guy" more than Joe Mazzulla.

Which is why it's no surprise that as we ramp up to the start of the season, Mazzulla is already in mid-season form when it comes to his unhinged quotes. The best part of course is that Mazzulla is completely serious at all times and means every word he says, which to me makes it even funnier.

That's the Psycho Joe we know and love! I'm certain there has not been a moment since the final buzzer sounded on June 17th that Joe Mazzulla hasn't been completely locked in while preparing for the Celts title defense. I mean, the guy is even double checking fan's #11 jerseys to make sure it's Payton Pritchard and not Kyrie Irving for crying out loud

That's called attention to detail folks. A key factor to any championship winning coach and how you make sure you leave no stone unturned. I laugh every time I see that video clip because it's so on brand and so perfectly Psycho Joe, there's truly no one like him.

Now let's talk about that target quote. Without a doubt, outside of health this is going to be the biggest thing the 2024-25 Celts will have to deal with on their journey back up the mountain. They are once again the "hunted" and will be the biggest game on every team's schedule (again). I love the fact that Joe is running head first into that pressure, just like he did during last season. He's not afraid, he welcomes the challenge and every bit of pressure that comes with it. In my opinion, it's partially what makes the Celts so dominant. They don't run from the grind, they run towards it and embrace it. When you have a head coach talking like that, it's impossible not to be jacked up and want to play hard at all times. Shit, I'm jacked up and I'm just blogging about it!

All I know is the calendar needs to hurry the hell up and get us to the end of September already when the Celts camp opens. It's been a fun summer enjoying the title and watching every edit/highlight/documentary series over and over for the last 70+ days, but I'm ready for Psycho Joe to be back in our lives on a daily basis on the climb towards Banner 19.