Inside The Celtics

Joe Mazzulla Named a Finalist for Coach of the Year

Joe Mazzulla helped the Celtics finish with the second-best record in the regular season. Now comes the playoffs, where the team that lands the last counterpunch almost always prevails.

Bobby Krivitsky

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
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Joe Mazzulla went from sitting behind the Celtics' bench a season ago to the youngest active head coach in the NBA. The 34-year-old Johnston, Rhode Island native made that leap under trying circumstances, getting thrust into his current role right before training camp.

Despite the turmoil Boston was dealing with, the absence of Robert Williams, and losing Danilo Gallinari before the campaign started, the Celtics began the season 20-5.

Their head coach's consistent and steady approach helped them then and when they lost 5/8 games shortly after the All-Star break.

Boston finished the campaign 57-25, the second-best record in the Association, and ranked in the top five in points scored (117.9) and allowed (111.4) per game.

That's made Mazzulla a finalist for the NBA's Coach of the Year award.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown earned Coach of the Year honors from the National Basketball Coaches Association. Mazzulla also received votes for that hardware.

Brown, who helped the Kings ascend to third in the Western Conference, finishing the regular season with a 48-34 record, will likely win the NBA's Coach of the Year award, too, for his role in helping end the longest active playoff drought among the four major professional sports leagues in North America.

But that doesn't take from what Mazzulla's meant to the Celtics. At an impromptu press conference ahead of Boston's 120-114 win against its first-round playoff opponent, the Atlanta Hawks, in the regular-season finale, the team's president of basketball operations, Brad Stevens, expressed the following about the Celtics' bench boss.

"He was gonna be really good. That's been pretty obvious for a long time. He's been consistent in his own approach, win (or) lose. He comes back, and he works the next day; he wants to grow, (and) he wants to improve. He demands that of the team. I think he does a good job of picking what the emphasis needs to be in the big picture, and also in those small moments, the snippets of time, the snippets of games when something is waning a little, he does a good job of figuring that out and making that a priority to improve."

Stevens later stated multiple times about Mazzulla, "He's been a great strength for us."

Mazzulla proved himself in the regular season and got rewarded by having the franchise remove the interim tag from his title, naming him the 19th head coach in Celtics' history.

Now, he has a chance to prove himself in the playoffs, where the team that throws the last counterpunch almost always prevails, as he tries to play his part in the defending Eastern Conference champions returning to the NBA's brightest stage and raising Banner 18 to the TD Garden rafters.

Further Reading

Jaylen Brown Provides Update on Injured Shooting Hand, Opens Up About Playing Hometown Hawks

Newest Detail About the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement Has Direct Impact on Celtics' Negotiations with Jaylen Brown

Despite the Familiarity of Title Contention, Jayson Tatum Doesn't Take Celtics' Success for Granted

The Celtics Are Pushing Robert Williams to Take His Offense to the Next Level

Joe Mazzulla and Brad Stevens Discuss How the Celtics' Head Coach Has Grown in His First Year at the Helm: 'He's Been a Great Strength for Us'

Jayson Tatum is Ready for the Challenges that Await the Celtics in the Playoffs: 'We've Not Been Waiting for it But Working for it'

Jaylen Brown Shares What Winning the Red Auerbach Award Means to Him: 'I've Put My Everything Into This Team, I've Put My Everything Into This City'

Jaylen Brown on His Relationship with Jayson Tatum: 'We’re a Part of Each Other’s Destiny'

Published
Bobby Krivitsky
BOBBY KRIVITSKY

Bobby Krivitsky's experiences include covering the NBA as a credentialed reporter for Basketball Insiders. He's also a national sports talk host for SportsMap Radio, a network airing on 96 radio stations throughout the country. Additionally, he was a major-market host, update anchor, and producer for IMG Audio, and he worked for Bleacher Report as an NFL and NBA columnist.

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