"I don’t want to kill you, I need you" - Joe Mazzulla reveals how The Joker's quote from The Dark Knight helped Jayson Tatum
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla and Jayson Tatum watched Warner Bros' Batman: The Dark Knight movie to help the young star manage expectations and pressure. This might sound strange given that it has nothing to do with basketball. However, with the team's NBA Finals win, it's hard to deny the results.
Over the years, the pressure has continued to mount in Boston. Fans question whether or not Tatum and Jaylen Brown can win alongside one another. After several years of coming short of raising banner 18, fans and analysts like Kendrick Perkins began to doubt the duo.
They were pitted against one another, with some calling for the front office to break up the All-Star duo. Throughout the postseason, Mazzulla defended the pair, shutting down rumors that there was tension in the locker room between the two stars.
Behind the scenes, he worked to help the pair manage pressure and expectations as they sought to capture an elusive NBA Championship. According to Pardon My Take, Mazzulla took a unique approach with Tatum:
“We’re watching the scene where Batman goes into the interrogation room with Joker… Batman goes ‘Why do you want to kill me?’ And the Joker starts laughing at him like ‘I don’t want to kill you, I need you. You complete me’…
"It was the coolest moment of good and evil have to coexist. Differences have to coexist in order to bring the best out of each other.”
Looking at the future of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum after winning their first championship under Joe Mazzulla
After several years of coming close to winning a title, the duo of Brown and Tatum have now cemented their place in NBA history with a championship win. The duo has had a dominant regular season and NBA Finals win.
The talk of the front office needing to break up the pair seems to have been silenced. Brown is under contract through the 2028-29 season. Meanwhile, Tatum is on a guaranteed deal through the end of next year, with a player option for the 2025-26 season. So it seems unlikely that the duo will split up.
Boston will enter next season with all five starters, and three of their roleplayers set to return. Players like Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis still have several years left on their respective contracts.
With the Celtics core finding success together, it's no surprise that the team sits as heavy favorites to win the 2024-25 NBA Finals on FanDuel. The big question is whether, after next season, Tatum will opt out of his player option in hopes of resigning on a larger deal.
Mazzulla also has two years left on his contract. The team will likely run things back with their group for at least one more year, with Brown and Tatum at the helm.