There’s no debating that the NBA is a players' league. Coaching is important, of course, but without elite talent, it can only get you so far. We’ve seen all-time great coaches unable to find success when the talent isn’t there, like Gregg Popovich in his last few years with the Spurs, and we’ve seen coaches who aren’t thought of so highly able to get all the way to the Finals thanks to loaded rosters.
At the same time, the league is so competitive and full of talent at the moment that one could argue coaching makes more of a difference than ever. Games are won and lost on the margins, so every little edge that a team loses or gains throughout the course of 48 minutes can have an impact.
And that’s where Joe Mazzulla has excelled this season, with his attention to detail and making sure that the Celtics are grabbing every single piece of low-hanging fruit to maximize their advantages.
Mazzulla is winning on the margins
On a recent episode of the Zach Lowe Show, Zach took a few moments to pay tribute to Joe and explain some of the little things he’s doing. He brought up two recent examples from Boston’s win over the Cavaliers last Sunday to prove Joe’s minute-to-minute brilliance.
The first example was when the Cavs strategically tried to hide their center, Thomas Bryant, on Hugo Gonzalez so that Bryant could defend the basket instead of sticking to Luka Garza, who has been hot from outside. On the very first possession, the Celtics adjusted to that adjustment and had Hugo come up and set a screen to involve Bryant in the action immediately.
It led to Cleveland’s defense over-rotating, and a wide-open three-point look for Jaylen Brown. This is something that most coaches would probably spot, but the fact that the Cs didn’t even waste a single trip up the floor without adjusting is impressive.
The second example Lowe brought up from the game was at the end of a quarter when the Cavs were essentially holding for the last shot. They had Evan Mobley, a 62% free throw shooter this season, set a screen, and as soon as he was involved in the action, Boston intentionally fouled him.
Celtics' coaching should be huge edge in playoffs
The quick-thinking decision was clearly long thought out ahead of time and planned to happen exactly as it did. They chose to send an iffy free-throw shooter to the line for the Cavs’ final possession of the quarter, and created a whole offensive possession for themselves that otherwise wouldn’t have existed.
This is exactly the kind of calculated move and foresight that sets Joe apart from his contemporaries. The idea that he’s already making these kinds of moves in random regular-season games should make fans even more excited for the playoffs, when Joe and his staff will be able to scheme, gameplan, and make adjustments.
The Celtics have elite players and a deep and talented roster for sure. But adding Mazzulla and his staff to the mix is what can bring this group to the next level. It’s what has made them so successful this season, and it’s one of the biggest reasons they are now being considered favorites to win the Eastern Conference.