(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
After years of being an assistant coach, Joe Mazzulla was given the keys to the kingdom last season and tasked with leading the Boston Celtics.
During his first season as the team’s head coach, Mazzulla led them to the Eastern Conference Finals with a 57-25 record.
It seems like the entire roster quickly got behind Mazzulla’s leadership.
Speaking with Jay King, Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum touched upon the way that Mazzulla has altered the team.
“I give Joe a lot of credit. I see the growth…He’s helped change the culture a little bit in a lot of ways, honestly,” Tatum said.
Tatum noted that all players have “bought into” the changes initiated by Mazzulla.
But the four-time All-Star did admit that Mazzulla’s practices are “hard as s—.”
Jayson Tatum: “I give Joe a lot of credit. I see the growth. … He’s helped change the culture a little bit in a lot of ways honestly.”
Said the players are all bought into the changes Mazzulla has implemented.
However: “Practice has been hard as shit,” Tatum said. “I ain’t…
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) October 18, 2023
Mazzulla entered his position as head coach in a very unique and complicated way.
His predecessor, Ime Udoka, was suspended from the team for a whole season because of an inappropriate relationship with a female staffer.
At the time, Mazzulla was promoted to interim coach.
But as the team continued to win, the Celtics moved further away from Udoka.
They eventually fired him and brought in Mazzulla to permanently replace him.
The Celtics had gone all the way to the Finals the season before Mazzulla took over.
Therefore, he was really just trying to maintain the culture they had built, and perhaps add to it.
The Celtics team we saw in 2022-23 looked a lot like the one we had seen the year before, for better and for worse.
Mazzulla was able to keep their ship steady and now he is trying to push them further ahead.
He is obviously working the team hard and sticking to a strict plan.
It sounds like the entire roster is on board and ready to find more success in 2023-24.
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