Joe Mazzulla Dishes On Celtics’ Surge In National TV Games originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Boston Celtics are rolling towards the playoffs, and it looks like another deep run could be in the cards for them over the next few weeks. For the first time this season, though, the C’s are receiving some serious national attention, thanks in large part to the return of Jayson Tatum. And yet, while more attention could create more distractions for the team, that’s not something head coach Joe Mazzulla is concerned about.

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For much of the season, the Celtics have been viewed as one of the biggest overachievers in the league. With Tatum back, though, many folks believe that Boston suddenly may be able to emerge as the last team standing in the Eastern Conference. That has led to a surge in nationally televised games, but Mazzulla isn’t particularly worried about all the attention his squad is receiving currently.

“The biggest thing I’ve learned in my time is there’s no such thing as ignoring the noise,” Mazzulla said to reporters. “There’s a balance and an understanding of, like, what impacts winning, what doesn’t impact winning. We should focus on the things that impact winning, and anything and everything can be a distraction, whether it’s good or bad.”

Mazzulla has developed a reputation for being one of the most unique minds in the NBA, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that he doesn’t care about the national attention Boston is receiving. At the end of the day, Mazzulla is focused solely on winning, and that mindset has been picked up by the rest of his team.

So far, things have gone quite well for Mazzulla this season, but the stakes are going to get raised pretty quickly for the Celtics once the playoffs roll around. After suffering an ugly loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, the C’s will look to get back in the win column on Wednesday night when they square off against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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