[NBC Sports Boston] Mazzulla: Josh McDaniels drew up ‘pre-snap motion’ plays for Celtics
January 6, 2026
[NBC Sports Boston] Mazzulla: Josh McDaniels drew up ‘pre-snap motion’ plays for Celtics
9 comments
During his weekly interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s *Zolak & Bertrand,* the Celtics head coach revealed that Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels spent some time with his team prior to a Dec. 19 game against the Miami Heat — and dove into some Xs and Os for Mazzulla’s benefit.
“He came to a game a couple of weeks ago, and he actually drew up a couple of pre-snap motion plays for us, for me to kind of visualize and see how we could use them as sets,” Mazzulla said Tuesday. “But his mind is amazing.”
How exactly can McDaniels’ pre-snap motion plays help Mazzulla coach his basketball team?
“It can definitely translate (to basketball),” Mazzulla responded. “(McDaniels) was kind of explaining some of the stuff that they do. Did you guys see the answer Kirk Cousins gave about how the quarterback position has changed, and how reads have changed? I mean, it’s very similar. That’s kind of where basketball is as well.
“There’s obviously game plans and details that you have to develop, but over the course of the game, defenses, offenses, spacing, coverages — things are changing so much that you have to be able to adjust on the fly.
” … “I think that it’s the pre-snap stuff and the ability to recognize whether they’re disguising man or zone (coverage) and how you go about making the defense tell that, so you know beforehand, and then having to read in real-time — that’s right where basketball is.”
Mazzulla saw certain other teams playing football on defense and really said “alright, bet”
INJECT THIS DIRECTLY INTO MY VEINS
Joe “Joe Mazzulla” Mazzulla
He is evolving and honest I think the league should be worried haha. The combo of his relentless lifelong learner commitment paired with Brads relentless devotion to development is unparalleled in the league imo. This is perhaps the most potentially powerful coach/prez duos in the league at this point with no end in sight!
The joke about Tatum being only 19 sometimes gets lost with people when it comes to Mazzulla but honestly this guy is so young and no where near his coaching prime. It will be fascinating to see if he continues to develop into the Celtics own Coach Pop or hits a ceiling that inevitably results in a coaching change.
Unhinged + genius = thinking outside the box
Cool insight by Coach:
“I think that it’s the pre-snap stuff and the ability to recognize whether they’re disguising man or zone (coverage) and how you go about making the defense tell that, so you know beforehand, and then having to read in real-time — that’s right where basketball is,” Mazzulla added.
One of the reasons this is truly the best sports city – all the pro athletes and coaches go out of their way to help out root on the other sports as much as possible. It’s really just one HUGE team.
Next thing we know Marco Sturm will be an assistant coach and Joe will be running a “neutral zone” trap down the court
![[NBC Sports Boston] Mazzulla: Josh McDaniels drew up 'pre-snap motion' plays for Celtics](https://www.rawchili.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/DMhRJHmugp3G7bs7UodJOdjMhptPQgebk4nu-woNLk.jpeg)
9 comments
During his weekly interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s *Zolak & Bertrand,* the Celtics head coach revealed that Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels spent some time with his team prior to a Dec. 19 game against the Miami Heat — and dove into some Xs and Os for Mazzulla’s benefit.
“He came to a game a couple of weeks ago, and he actually drew up a couple of pre-snap motion plays for us, for me to kind of visualize and see how we could use them as sets,” Mazzulla said Tuesday. “But his mind is amazing.”
How exactly can McDaniels’ pre-snap motion plays help Mazzulla coach his basketball team?
“It can definitely translate (to basketball),” Mazzulla responded. “(McDaniels) was kind of explaining some of the stuff that they do. Did you guys see the answer Kirk Cousins gave about how the quarterback position has changed, and how reads have changed? I mean, it’s very similar. That’s kind of where basketball is as well.
“There’s obviously game plans and details that you have to develop, but over the course of the game, defenses, offenses, spacing, coverages — things are changing so much that you have to be able to adjust on the fly.
” … “I think that it’s the pre-snap stuff and the ability to recognize whether they’re disguising man or zone (coverage) and how you go about making the defense tell that, so you know beforehand, and then having to read in real-time — that’s right where basketball is.”
[Read more here](https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/joe-mazzulla-josh-mcdaniels-pre-snap-motion-plays/758660/).
Mazzulla saw certain other teams playing football on defense and really said “alright, bet”
INJECT THIS DIRECTLY INTO MY VEINS
Joe “Joe Mazzulla” Mazzulla
He is evolving and honest I think the league should be worried haha. The combo of his relentless lifelong learner commitment paired with Brads relentless devotion to development is unparalleled in the league imo. This is perhaps the most potentially powerful coach/prez duos in the league at this point with no end in sight!
The joke about Tatum being only 19 sometimes gets lost with people when it comes to Mazzulla but honestly this guy is so young and no where near his coaching prime. It will be fascinating to see if he continues to develop into the Celtics own Coach Pop or hits a ceiling that inevitably results in a coaching change.
Unhinged + genius = thinking outside the box
Cool insight by Coach:
“I think that it’s the pre-snap stuff and the ability to recognize whether they’re disguising man or zone (coverage) and how you go about making the defense tell that, so you know beforehand, and then having to read in real-time — that’s right where basketball is,” Mazzulla added.
One of the reasons this is truly the best sports city – all the pro athletes and coaches go out of their way to help out root on the other sports as much as possible. It’s really just one HUGE team.
Next thing we know Marco Sturm will be an assistant coach and Joe will be running a “neutral zone” trap down the court