Joe Mazzulla spent the majority of his first year as coach of the Celtics looking like a player’s coach first and foremost. It was an understandable trait for the 35-year-old who was handed the interim role just days before training camp after Ime Udoka’s suspension. For a title contender, Mazzulla was going to need the buy-in of his stars to survive and succeed. Ultimately, he earned their trust and that of the team as a whole, gaining the full-time gig midway through last season.
Mazzulla spent much of last season catering to his stars on a variety of fronts even after he was given the full-time job. He left in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for long stretches even in Boston blowout wins to help them pile up big numbers. A benching of either star or any top rotation player virtually never happened, whether it be for performance or effort. Mazzulla defended his players through thick and thin, sometimes to a fault during some ugly postseason stretches.
This season though, Mazzulla has looked far more comfortable with his role and we’ve seen some of that already with his coaching. He’s trying more things, getting more creative with defenses and becoming more unpredictable as a coach with his schemes. The net result has been positive for Boston through an 11-2 start.
On Sunday night, he took another important coaching step against the Grizzlies, showing a different side when it came to handling his top talent. After a sluggish start to the third quarter where Brown drew a technical foul for complaining to officials well after a play and Tatum was lacking hustle on a tranition defensive possessions, Mazzulla made a rarely seen move. He pulled his two stars together along with Jrue Holiday for the final 7:10 of the third quarter. That’s a move Mazzulla has rarely made in his career and certainly not one he’s done in a close game on the road ever.
“One, to develop a group, another identity, to be able to play some basketball without those guys,” Mazzulla told reporters about the reasoning for his choice. “I didn’t think we were playing very well so I wanted to find a lineup that could kind of go on a run for us. First night of a back-to-back so I didn’t want the minutes to be too high. …I thought it was an opportunity to find a better rhythm, find a better lineup and look to go on a little bit of a run there.”
While Mazzulla wouldn’t single out any of his stars directly after the game when asked about the move, the overall tone of his comments throughout his postgame press conference spoke volumes.
“I think they played harder than us for sure,” Mazzulla said. “…We were undisciplined. We didn’t execute defensively. … We got lucky to win that game. I didn’t think we deserved to win the game because of a lot of stuff that we did.”
That sort of talk is far more direct than anything we heard from Mazzulla last year and it was accurate for Boston’s effort Sunday night. From a talent standpoint, they were miles ahead of the Grizzlies’ roster on Sunday night but they showed inconsistent effort, got caught up in questionable officiating and made several poor decisions that nearly cost them the game.
Mazzulla was also spotted getting fiery in the team huddle during the second half which left an impression on Kristaps Porzingis.
“He’s a real competitor,” Porzingis told reporters. “He has an edge to him. He wants to win everything, he wants to be the best, he wants to push us to be the best. He definitely showed some emotion and I think we needed that in that moment.”
Ultimately, the Celtics played the Grizzlies even in the seven surprise minutes Brown and Tatum spent together on the bench in the third quarter with Holiday. However, that choice was an important step in Mazzulla showing his comfort level as head coach this year. He’s going to have to get more creative and test his players more this year during off nights and this was a noteworthy step in that direction on Sunday night when it comes to accountability. The Celtics didn’t play great but they played much harder in the fourth quarter following those benchings. Boston escaped with their sixth straight win in dramatic fashion but these choices within the game should pay dividends for Mazzulla down the line as he tries to build championship habits and the consistent effort needed from everyone to get there.
