Longtime NBA coach equates Boston Celtics to modern-day dynasty

Longtime NBA coaching veteran-turned-television analyst Sam Mitchell equated the 2023-24 Boston Celtics to the late 2010s-era Golden State Warriors -- sharing that he laughs at teams that think they can compete with the Cs in shootouts.

“It reminds me of Golden State when they were winning,” Mitchell said (h/t Boston.com). “Everybody tried to outshoot them, and I’d sit back and laugh. How are you going to outshoot two of the greatest shooters ever?

“They know who they are and what they are, and they don’t deviate. The thing about it, in order to beat them, you’re going to have to create a different style of play. I could see Boston losing two games going through the whole playoffs until they get to the Finals."

Back in early March, CBS Sports' Colin Ward-Henninger declared the 2023-24 Celtics an all-time team after surpassing the 2016-17 Warriors in net rating. Boston is now No. 4 all-time in net rating as of this writing.

"Remember a couple weeks ago when Kristaps Porzingis was like, 'Don't worry if we're not beating everybody by 30 anymore?' Well, the Celtics started beating everyone by 30 again," Ward-Henninger prefaced before saying, "Actually, they beat the Warriors by 52 on Sunday, their 11th straight win and their THIRD by 50 or more points this season -- which no NBA team has ever done. Boston's net rating for the season is now higher than the Kevin Durant-Steph Curry 2016-17 Warriors. Fans should just worry about the playoffs later and just enjoy this all-time great regular-season team."

Joe Mazzulla a hero for getting so much out of 2023-24 Boston Celtics

Sure, people like LeBron James could claim that the Celtics essentially stole Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday in offseason trades -- though calling Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams III and potentially Marcus Smart a "bag of Lays potato chips" is a wild mischaracterization for what Boston gave up in those deals --, but what Joe Mazzulla has been able to accomplish with this group is nothing short of heroic.

Let's not forget that Mazzulla stepped into the head coaching role a week before training camp in 2022 and brought the team to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. He didn't get the Cs over the hump and many called for his job.

How did he respond, you may ask? Well, this season, he has brought a group largely unfamiliar with each other to historic heights; integrating two former All-Stars (Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday) to a lineup with two All-NBAers (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown) and a near-star in Derrick White to near-perfection.

Coach of the Year isn't enough when it comes to accolades Mazzulla deserves for his coaching job this season.