Getty Interim head coach Joe Mazzulla, Boston Celtics
Joe Mazzulla has made quite the impression as the Boston Celtics‘ interim head coach, having won 18 of the team’s first 22 games. Apparently, one Celtics star believed he was the man for the job from the beginning following Ime Udoka’s suspension. According to NBA Insider Jeff Goodman, Jayson Tatum was the one who pushed for Mazzulla to as Udoka’s replacement.
“Tatum was the key to Mazzulla from the sources I’ve talked to,” Goodman said. “It was Tatum who basically went to bat for Mazzulla. Then when Tatum goes to bat, it’s a whole lot easier for those other guys to go to bat…When your best player Tatum goes to bat for you, everybody kind of falls in line, and then you have success, and it’s like, ‘You know what? This is working!'”
Goodman added how well-liked Udoka had been by the other Celtics.
“Ime was Marcus Smart’s guy, so that was a tough one. We saw some of the comments that Marcus had afterward, and I’m sure he was upset. I think they all liked Ime,” Goodman said.
Though the Celtics have the NBA’s best record under Mazzulla, he still has the interim tag by his position until the Celtics decide otherwise.
Smart’s Thoughts on Udoka’s Departure
When it had been reported that the Brooklyn Nets were planning to hire Udoka, as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Marcus Smart spoke with Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe on November 2 to give his thoughts on Udoka departing for the Nets.
“Obviously, we wish he was here,” Smart told Himmelsbach. “We have no control over that. It definitely sucks. I guess it was deemed that whatever happened was enough for him not to be the coach here, but I guess not enough for him [not] to be a coach anywhere else, obviously.”
Smart also expressed his disbelief at the ‘slander’ Udoka got shortly before he was planning to be hired by the Nets.
“His name got slandered and slaughtered, and it was, ‘He’ll probably never coach again,’” Smart said. “And a couple of months later, now he’s possibly going to be the coach of one of our biggest rivals?”
The Udoka hire ultimately fell through, as the Nets went with Jacque Vaughn instead. Udoka remains suspended by the Celtics organization until further notice.
Mazzulla Wins Season’s First Coach of the Month Award
On December 1, the NBA announced via Twitter that Mazzulla had been named as the season’s first Eastern Conference Coach of the Month Award alongside Monty Williams of the Phoenix Suns, who the Western Conference Coach of the Month Award.
This is the second consecutive month that a Celtics coach has been named as the Eastern Conference’s Coach of the Month, dating back to last season, as Udoka himself received the award in March/April. That was also the second consecutive month in which Udoka received the honor, as he was named Coach of the Month in February as well.
President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens received the award three times during his time as the Celtics’ head coach: April 2015, February 2016, and November 2017.