The dust has now settled on the Celtics’ Eastern Conference Semifinals loss to the New York Knicks, and all eyes will be on coach and Johnston native Joe Mazzulla as the team moves forward and tries to pick up the pieces after a devastating defeat.
To make matters worse, star Jayson Tatum did, in fact, rupture his Achilles and could be out for the entire 2025-26 season. Guys like Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holliday could be on the chopping block with their big contracts, and even Jaylen Brown will be recovering from a torn meniscus.
Time for Mazzulla to be the difference maker.
This is not the first time that Mazzulla has been tested and has even faced some national criticism. The team fell in the conference finals his rookie year and many wondered if it was too much, too soon for the young head coach. Well, he and the revamped roster turned around to win the title last season before this year’s bitter end.
The primary complaint of those watching when it comes to Mazzulla is his devotion to the 3-ball. He has been very vocal over the past three years that his system is focused on hitting 3-pointers at a high volume, and even if the shots aren’t falling, to keep shooting anyway as things will settle back toward the mean.
Last season, the system worked like butter. This year, especially throughout the playoffs, it fell flat. The Knicks sold out to prevent the 3-ball and the Celtics struggled to win with Plan B. They just didn’t have the horses to attack the rim, especially once Tatum went down.
Should Mazzulla have scrapped the 3-ball? Should he have been more aggressive attacking the basket? Should he have forced his guys to buckle down on defense and turn it into a dogfight? The answer to all of that is yes, but in the moment, coming off a dominant championship, it’s hard to go against what had worked.
After the 2023 loss, Mazzulla had a pass because it was his first season with a roster that had some critical deficiencies. Year 2, well, you know how that went.
This is the first time that we will get see what Mazzulla is truly made of. He’s in an interesting spot.
His first year was an impossible situation. Taking over a flawed roster on the heels of a controversial firing (I am referring to former coach Ime Udoka). His second year was the total opposite as he was handed one of the best rosters ever assembled. Although he is wise beyond his years and developed a system that worked, he was given the most talented team in the league to work with.
Next year he will be forced to lead the team beyond the sum of its parts. The roster is almost certainly going to have significant turnover and the pressure will be on Mazzulla to keep things rolling after the recent upset.
What’s uncommon about Mazzulla’s trajectory is that it goes against the typical ceiling versus floor debate. We usually get to see a young coach’s floor early on and then see them rise to their ceiling. Last year showed us what Mazzulla’s ceiling is. He’s a championship-caliber coach at his best.
Next year will be about maintaining a high floor. There are coaches out there that sink when the roster takes big shots, there are guys that can’t cut it when they don’t have the same tools as other loaded teams.
The Celtics won’t be the best roster in the league next year. Heck, they may not even be a top-5 roster by the looks of it.
If Mazzulla can return and bring the Celtics to the playoffs and on another deep run, then there will be no doubt that he is among the NBA elite. We all know that he’s a qualified NBA head coach, you don’t win titles if you aren’t. But next year will show us just how good he really is.
I believe he is a good coach, I believe he is one of the best young minds in the league, and I believe he will learn from this loss. Let’s see what adjustments he makes and how far he can bring a B-level roster.
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