Boston Celtics: B/R calls Cs one of NBA Week 1’s biggest winners
It’s been a strong start to the 2022-23 season for the Boston Celtics, who covered the spread in victories against supposed Eastern Conference contenders Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat, then outpaced a young Orlando Magic team on the second night of a back-to-back with their two starting big men (Robert Williams III, Al Horford) out of the lineup.
Boston has not shown the same point-prevention prowess of the 2021-22 Ime Udoka-coached team yet, giving up an average of 113 points per game through their first three contests of the 2022-23 campaign. Still, they’ve averaged 8 more points than the competition, showing off a new and improved offense predicated on speed in the transition game.
It’s been about as good of a start as one could have expected considering the late-offseason coaching change following the suspension of Udoka for a year — one that could result in a lifetime banishment from the NBA as a head coach.
Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey was high on the Boston Celtics after three games, calling them one of the 2022-23 NBA season’s first week’s winners in his latest assessing the winners and losers thus far:
"“Danilo Gallinari’s torn ACL, Robert Williams III’s knee surgery and a seasonlong suspension for head coach Ime Udoka had the Boston Celtics entering the regular season on what felt like shaky ground, but they’ve put a lot of that to rest in their first three contests.”“At the very least, it looks like Boston will be comfortable under interim coach Joe Mazzulla even while awaiting Williams’ return.”“The East has other top-level teams that will push the Celtics, but it’s safe to say they should stay in the contenders’ tier for the foreseeable future.”"
Continued winning for the Boston Celtics should help Joe Mazzulla remove the interim label
One thing we continue to highlight here at Hardwood Houdini is the potential removal of the ‘interim’ label for the current head coach of the Boston Celtics, Joe Mazzulla. Through three games, the Cs are looking like one of the top teams in the Association, making Ime Udoka’s absence an afterthought.
Should the Cs continue winning at their current rate, it’s going to be difficult denying Mazzulla the job on a permanent basis.