When Joe Mazzulla was introduced because the Boston Celtics interim head coach in September, many had no thought who the 34-year-old was. But, I did. Back in 2008, his 13 factors, 11 rebounds, and eight assists efficiency in 31 minutes off the bench despatched my Duke Blue Devils house within the second round of the NCAA Tournament. People are conscious of who Mazzulla is now, as he’ll coach Team Giannis on Sunday on the 2023 NBA All-Star Game in Salt Lake City — making him the third first-year coach since 2000 to take part within the weekend’s huge recreation.
And to make issues even higher, on Thursday, the Celtics stripped the interim tag from him and formally made him their nineteenth head coach in franchise historical past. “As he has shown, Joe is a very talented coach and leader,” mentioned Brad Stevens, president of basketball operations. “He has a unique ability to galvanize a room around a mission. We are thankful for the work he has done to help get us to this point, and excited that he has agreed to lead us into the future.”
Beast of the East
The Celtics entered the All-Star break in first place within the Eastern Conference with a 42-17 report. At this level final season, beneath former head coach Ime Udoka, Boston was in sixth place at 34-26. They ultimately caught hearth as they blazed their solution to the NBA Finals earlier than blowing a 2-1 result in the Golden State Warriors who ultimately received all of it in six video games.
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To totally perceive why it’s so shocking that Mazzulla is doing so properly in his first season, it’s important to return to what was occurring when it was introduced that he was taking on — pandemonium. When ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that “Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka is facing possible disciplinary action – including a significant suspension – for an unspecified violation of organizational guidelines. Discussions are ongoing within the Celtics on a final determination” in September, no person knew what that was as we had extra questions than solutions. What occurred subsequent was a public relations catastrophe by the Celtics that shall be taught in faculties for years, as rumors ran rampant about who Udoka might have been concerned with whereas the blowback on his household turned a sports activities story right into a popular culture cleaning soap opera.
“It’s a lot going on,” Jaylen Brown mentioned on the time.
“Literally no one knows anything right now,” added Marcus Smart.
Udoka was ultimately suspended for your complete 2022-23 season for violating workforce coverage in an alleged “consensual relationship” with a workforce staffer. No one knew what the Celtics have been going to do with him after this season till Thursday’s announcement meant that Udoka was formally achieved in Boston.
Things are going properly now in Boston beneath Mazzulla, as they’ve a shot to return to the NBA Finals and enter the weekend with two All-Stars on their roster, in comparison with one final season, in Jayson Tatum and Brown.
“It’s one of the best locker rooms I’ve been around,” mentioned Blake Griffin, who joined the workforce this season and is lower than a yr youthful than Mazzulla. “We had some really close teams in L.A., but this team is right there if not more. Everybody comes in with a purpose every day, everybody works really, really hard. Everybody genuinely cares and enjoys seeing another person succeed. We’ve managed to keep that throughout this season, throughout highs and lows.”
A couple of months in the past, nobody knew what the Celtics would appear like as we came upon that the chief of the locker room was doing inappropriate issues behind closed doorways. A couple of months later, Joe Mazzulla is hoping to depart Utah with a win on Sunday and a return journey to the NBA Finals in June.