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Psycho Joe Mazzulla Playing Machine Guns During Practice To Replicate A Warzone Is Both Extremely On Brand And Why He's One Of The Best To Ever Do It

Nic Antaya. Getty Images.

With a new NBA season fully underway, you never know what you might get on any given night. Maybe it's a crazy game, maybe it's a historic performance, maybe it's random beefs between players or media. It's part of what makes each season so much fun.

But one thing you can aboslutely bank on is that at some point, we're going to get some sort of hilarious Joe Mazzulla moment/story. Not only does he own the best winning percentage as a head coach in NBA history (255-186, .729), not only is he the youngest NBA head coach to ever win an NBA title, but he's also a content machine. Every year we get more and more insight into his brain and how Joe Mazzulla operates, and each time it never fails to deliver.

This year? I'll allow Derrick White to tell you

I have no idea how this helps you in an NBA basketball game, but it's not for me or any of us to understand. There's always a method behind the madness of Psycho Joe Mazzulla, and I can't say I am even the least bit surprised that he unleashed this tactic during practice. Talk about mental toughness. Can you still perform your duties even in a warzone? Can you stay focused on the task at hand despite machine guns blaring all around you? It's an unorthodox approach, but I can't say it's not an interesing way to get some mental toughness reps in. Just because it's outside the box doesn't mean it's not effective, and it's also extremely on brand for Joe Mazzulla

“I was like, ‘Yeah, that sounds like Joe.’ … I laughed. I thought it was hilarious. But it was funny because we’ve been preaching ‘war zone’ for so long, and everybody knows Joe likes to fight and all this dangerous stuff. So it was cool to have that. It brought more energy to the practice.”

Haters and losers of which there are still many with probably think this is Joe just being a hardo and that this whole act is played out blah blah blah.

What these people fail to realize is that none of this is a bit. We're now starting Year 4 of the Joe Mazzulla Era, and aside from being responsible for the most wins in the NBA, the most playoff wins in the NBA, and an NBA title since he took over, he's also been his true, authentic self with all of this stuff since the day he got the job. People think this is an act, but it's pretty clear by now that this is just how Joe's brain is wired, and I got one am grateful for it. It's no surprise that once the Celts made the move from a nice guy in Brad Stevens and a creepy weirdo in Ime Udoka to finally embracing a local kid who just so happens to be a complete basketball and overall psycho, the team finally got over the hump and reached the top of the mountain. Call me crazy, but none of that seems like a coincidence. 

You may not like his style, you may not like his mentality or his approach, but you can't argue with the production and the results. Clearly, the players are completely bought in, clearly this type of training is carrying over to the games, and at the same time, it's providing us fans with tremendous content. Seems like a win for everyone involved. 

Now, if he could also figure out a way to get Derrick White out of his absolutely brutal shooting slump to start the year, then we'd really be cooking. 

P.S.

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