For a coach that’s won an NBA title and entered the year with the league’s highest winning percentage of any head coach (which he’s maintained), Joe Mazzulla had plenty of doubters to start the season. Many felt that the Boston Celtics’ man in charge had little to do with his team’s success through his first three seasons at the helm -- he was the beneficiary of a well-constructed roster to them.
With Jayson Tatum’s expected absence and the departures of Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet, Mazzulla was finally going to fail. There was no way he’d be able to ride math to another successful season, right?
Wrong.
Boston finished second in the East for a second-straight year and continuously improved as the games went on.
After an outstanding performance from Boston’s Stay-Ready crew in the team’s 56th win of the year, Mazzulla did what he always does. He refused to take credit.
“I think it says nothing about me,” he refuted. “It says everything about the team. They're the ones that have to go out there and do it. It just proves that we have really good players, proves that we have a system, proves that we have a locker room that cares about winning.”
It’s more than just Xs and Os. It’s culture. The Celtics as an organization, Mazzulla included, have cultivated an atmosphere centered around the one central goal of victory. It sounds like a no-brainer, but in the NBA it’s not always the case.
No one’s worried about individual numbers, praise, or accolades over the betterment of the team -- including Mazzulla, who loathes the idea of winning NBA Coach of the Year.
“I don’t need it,” Mazzulla said when prompted on the honor last month in Atlanta. “I think it’s a stupid award. They shouldn’t have it. And it’s more about the players. It’s more about the work that the staff puts in. It’s just that simple. I really don’t ever want to be asked or talk about it again. It’s just that dumb. So, the players play. It’s about them. Staff works their ass off. I’m grateful to have them.”
Regardless if he thinks the award is stupid or not, there's a real chance that the 37-year-old may live out his nightmare of giving an acceptance speech.
Mazzulla is right, though. The players are the ones who have to show up everyday and give their best. They have to work to sharpen their skills so they can be ready when their respective numbers are called.
They still have to be put in position to succeed, though. Without the proper usage, certain guys would be underqualified for their roles or asked to bite off more than they can chew. Everyone would look bad.
Mazzulla has mastered people as much as he's mastered personel
Instead, everyone looks great all the time. That’s not an accident. It’s a testament to the preparation and attention to detail Mazzulla and his staff bring on a nightly basis, and the confidence that they instill into everyone who puts the uniform on.
“I think it’s the culture that [Mazzulla] tried to create at the beginning of the year and in training camp,” Luka Garza credited after his 27-point, 12-rebound performance against the Magic. “Just knowing that everyone on this roster is going to be used and needs to be ready. I think this was a great example tonight of guys taking advantage of that opportunity. A lot of these guys, we’ve been doing it all year, in terms of not knowing when our time is coming but being ready when it does.”
Garza, who’s been perpetually confident this season despite his fluctuating role, is a great example. He leaves fans wanting more almost every time he plays thanks to his relentless motor on the offensive glass and his ability to reliably knock down threes as a stretch big.
Whether he played the last game, missed a week, or was out of the rotation for a month, he gives 110% every time he sees the floor.
“Knowing the opportunity is coming, I think, gives you a little more confidence versus a situation where you might lose hope or don’t think you’re gonna play. But, seeing how he coaches and has gone to different guys in different situations. You know it’s coming.”
Boston’s winning culture not only affects the readiness of the role players, but the team’s ability to root for one another, regardless if certain guys may be competing for minutes. For example, Garza and Neemias Queta have developed a strong bond throughout the year. Regardless of which is on the floor, the other is cheering them on from the bench.
As were the regular starters on Sunday. Queta, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Sam Hauser, Hugo Gonzalez, and Payton Pritchard all lined Boston’s bench in street clothes as the eight available players shocked the Magic.
“Just as it was important the guys playing today, the other guys being out there, you know, for the game, sticking with those guys was just as important,” Mazzulla pointed out. “I think it proves the type of locker room that we have, type of players that we have.”
The Rhode Island native may not be responsible for the players who are on the roster, but he is absolutely behind the unselfish, team-first culture that runs throughout the locker room. Boston would not be in the position that they're in if it wasn't for Mazzulla and staff, regardless if he wants to acknowlege it or not.
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