The Boston Celtics reportedly were all-in on Joe Mazzulla's leadership stype, but the roster did not agree with his shift away from a defensive identity that got the team to the NBA Finals in 2022, according to Jay King and Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
“His leadership is second to none,” a Celtics source said, via King and Weiss. “From speakers to events, he hit all the buttons to galvanize the group. Throughout the season, the things he did to call out (Jayson Tatum) and (Jaylen Brown) all the time, he was super hard on them. When they needed to be called out, he was the first to call them out. When the role players needed to be called out, he called them out too. He shot it straight how he saw it and didn't care about how it should be done. I thought he developed great relationships with guys because of that.”
Joe Mazzulla's approach to accountability was different from Ime Udoka's. Ime Udoka would criticize players through the media, while Mazzulla's approach was to save criticism behind closed doors.
In the year when the Celtics went to the finals, Robert Williams and Al Horford often started. Mazzulla went with a smaller lineup, usually starting Derrick White and Robert Williams, according to King and Weiss.
It seems likely that Mazzulla will be retained for the 2023-2024 season. The Celtics have big questions to answer otherwise. Jayson Tatum will undoubtedly be back, but will the team offer Jaylen Brown the contract he is eligible for, or will they move off of him? It will be intriguing to track the changes the Celtics make to their roster this summer.
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