Mazzulla, Brown define what it means to play ‘Celtics basketball’

Mazzulla, Brown define what it means to play ‘Celtics basketball’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Following Sunday night’s 114-97 win over the Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics’ head coach Joe Mazzulla took to the podium to discuss how his team is finally starting to find its intended identity.

“I think we’re starting to play what I would call ‘Celtics basketball,'” Mazzulla said. “From a mentality standpoint, from a toughness standpoint, from a defensive standpoint, and identity — Reflecting on what it means to play like the Celtics, and I think this week we’ve shown that.”

The Celtics had a tough schedule this past week. After beating the Cleveland Cavaliers twice, the Celtics then beat the Orlando Magic on the second night of a back-to-back and defeated them again on Sunday night. With Al Horford resting on the second night of back-to-backs this season, and Kristaps Porzingis dealing with a lingering calf issue, Boston’s bench stepped up in a major way to contribute to the four wins.

Every player in the organization stayed ready with a next-man-up mindset and focused on playing team-first basketball — something that Mazzulla has preached since the preseason. With the rest of the team following their lead, Celtic veterans Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown quickly bought in.

So how would one define ‘Celtics basketball’ coined by Mazzulla? Brown defined it by their tone on defense and playing with pace.

“I think we’ve got to set the tone on defense, first and foremost,” Brown said of what Celtics basketball is. “I think we’ve got to let that lay the foundation for our success. I want to continue to push myself and also our teammates. And I think playing with a pace. I think those two are going to lead us in the right direction.”

While the Celtics aren’t necessarily emphasizing forcing turnovers, being near the bottom of the league in opponent turnovers per game with 12.8, they are doing a fantastic job of forcing teams to take bad shots. At 44.8 percent, the…