Despite once being the midseason favorite to win NBA Coach of the Year, there’s no denying Joe Mazzulla has had his share of struggles in his first year as an NBA head coach. In fact, his dip to third in the Coach of the Year voting seems to encapsulate the ups and downs he experienced as the season progressed.
The problem: Some of those issues have carried into the playoffs. Sure, this sort of thing is only natural for a rookie head coach. But, that doesn’t make it any easier to accept when he’s in charge of a team with championship aspirations.
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“Joe’s learning, just like all of us,” Marcus Smart said after Boston’s Game 6 win. “I know he’s been killed a lot, rightfully so. He needs to make some adjustments, and he did that. That’s all you can ask for, just continue to be the best he can be. It takes everybody — it’s a full team effort.”
Even a player or coach who’s been a part of multiple title runs can learn something in the next one, but that statement from Smart still isn’t the easiest one to hear. Last year’s Celtics team proved this group needed a firm voice running the show from the sideline. A boss, not a co-worker.
But, last year’s experience should’ve given these players an understanding of what’s expected of them. It may have taken longer than Boston would’ve liked, but that embarrassing Game 5 and the adversity they faced in Game 6 may have been exactly what the Celtics needed to fully embrace how they need to adjust.
Because in the end, a head coach can have some big moments and elevate players in varying ways — like what happened with the Celtics last season — but it’s still the players who have to finish the job.
“When you think about it in the grand scheme, we’re teaching him, as well, and we’re teaching ourselves,” Smart said. “We get to learn more about ourselves. It allows Jayson (Tatum), it allows Jaylen (Brown), it allows me to be more vocal on the court and to go figure things out, and we’re doing it together.
“It’s not going to be perfect. Joe’s not perfect. He was put in a very tough situation this year, and he’s doing the best he can. That’s all we can ask for. We’re going to continue to go out there and work our tails off for him just like he’s going to go out and work his tail off for us.”
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