From down 0-3 to heading back to Boston for Game 7, Joe Mazzulla has fought off critics all week as he leads his Boston Celtics to potentially the greatest comeback in NBA history.
If there were to be any coach to lead a team from down 0-3 in a postseason series, Joe Mazzulla would be it. The way he dealt with the beginning few weeks as Boston Celtics head coach set the standard as someone who knows what it is like to be thrown in the fire.
“I just didn’t have them ready to play.”
That is what the Boston Celtics head coach said to reporters postgame on May 21 after the Miami Heat rolled over his team en route to a three-game series lead on their home floor. In every answer during that press conference, Mazzulla placed the blame on himself. Whatever you want to say about those answers, the former West Virginia guard wore the Game 3 loss on his chest. A few days later, he had his players as prepared as they could be, leading them with a calming presence and sheer relentless competitiveness.
Mentally, to be down 0-3 has to be catastrophic no matter what the players say in public. Mazzulla, while he shouldn’t be given all the credit, has to be recognized for the kind of leadership he has shown at such a young age through a situation like this. The way he has carried himself with fingers being pointed at him all week has been something special. In a city like Boston that demands so much, Mazzulla has proved with an inexperienced staff his ability to lead a team through the depths of destruction.
"They're just resilient."
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 28, 2023
Joe Mazzulla talks Celtics coming back after being down 3-0 pic.twitter.com/cbraogCTnS
Never once has the first-year head coach taken credit for anything. Just a few months ago, the 34-year-old Rhode Island native was thrust into the job just days before training camp. No time for preparation whatsoever as a team with championship aspirations now had a new leader at the helm who had only been at the top of a coaching staff for a Division II program in West Virginia. Having to deal with the emotions of his players and the fact that his fellow assistants now work under him had to be a difficult hill to climb. Mazzulla climbed it, and just like that, he nearly has his team at the top of a mountain that seemed far too steep to climb when the buzzer sounded on May 21 in south beach.
Joe Mazzulla brought his Boston Celtics back after calamitous series
After all he had led his team through both on and off the floor, Mazzulla’s group was minutes away from being swept out of the postseason against the last Eastern Conference team to secure a playoff berth. Some said it was time to let the lease go on Mazzulla who has been given the head coaching position and extension before he even proved anything. Before he had even stepped foot in the playoffs, Brad Stevens gave the 34-year-old the keys to the most storied franchise in the history of the league for good.
There is still a task to be done on Monday night, and there is nobody the Boston Celtics want on the sideline more than Mazzulla. Of course, he is learning along the way, just like any young head coach who enters the league, but you cannot ignore his brilliant guidance when his team needed it the most. The players are the ones executing on the floor, but as this series has unfolded, you can see the growth of Mazzulla game by game.
Not only is he beginning to understand when and where to call quality timeouts, but his rotations have also made a lot more sense in the last three contests. His desire to compete day in and day out is quite clear, and when his team was moments away from elimination, that was when Mazzulla realized he had to make adjustments to his game. His team has 48 more minutes to play, but even if the Cs fail to win this series, Boston cannot deny the evolution of their young head coach throughout this series when everyone wanted him sent home packing.