The Knicks had one of their most successful seasons in recent memory last season, and yet, the front office wasn’t content. They made a controversial decision to fire Tom Thibodeau and hire Mike Brown to be their next head coach. The move was met with skepticism and criticism, with many accusing the organization of being too short-sighted and ambitious.
Fast forward a year, and Brown has the team firing on all cylinders, fresh off one of the most dominant runs through the Eastern Conference that we’ve ever seen, en route to their first NBA Finals berth since 1999.
Nobody would have blamed New York for appreciating their success in recent years and running things back with Thibs. But they weren’t satisfied or content. They believed that there was more meat on the bone and that the team was capable of more, and they were quickly proven to be correct with this magical playoff run that has fans in New York four wins away from immortality.
Celtics can’t get complacent with Joe Mazzulla
This is a great lesson for the Celtics, who won a title in 2024, but have had two disastrous playoff exits in the two years since. I’m not calling for Joe Mazzulla to get fired, but I also don’t think his job should be guaranteed going forward. He needs to learn, grow, improve, and keep proving that he’s the best person for the job.
Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and this roster aren’t getting any younger, and their window to win championships is rapidly shrinking. Mazzulla can’t keep skating by on past results, and the Celtics can’t be satisfied just because they raised one banner. This team is capable of more, but time is running out.
Mazzulla has done enough to earn another chance, but he needs to change his playoff ways immediately, and one more ugly playoff exit should officially have him on the hot seat, at the very least.
Complacency not good enough for Celtics in East any longer
It’s also clear watching the Knicks that they, and the league as a whole, have caught up to the Celtics. It felt like the team would be running the East for years, but they were quickly humbled with just one playoff series win in the last two seasons.
They don’t need to tear it all down and completely rebuild, but nobody should feel safe either. There’s still meat on the bones with this Tatum-era Celtics team, but they can’t waste time figuring out what works and what doesn’t.
Brad Stevens and company need to take emotion out of it and make the decisions that are best for the team and give them the best chance to win. Maybe they determine that Mazzulla and his staff are the best options, but if there’s any doubt, they need to reassess the situation before it’s too late.
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