The Boston Celtics have officially begun the post-Danny Ainge era, and Brad Stevens has hired Ime Udoka to be the new head coach for Boston. With the Celtics' talented trio of Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Smart, they needed to find a coach that could work with those three.

As it turns out, the familiarity of Brown and Tatum with Udoka was a crucial part of the hiring, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium. 

The connection is easy and Udoka should be able to step in on day one and immediately make a difference as the Celtics aim to right the ship and compete once again in the Eastern Conference.

Goodman also expressed the thoughts of others around the league regarding Udoka.

Toughness and defense are surely important to the success of NBA teams, and the Celtics should benefit greatly from this hiring. While some thought that Rick Carlisle was a candidate for the job, the targets narrowed down and he was not on the list.

When you have a pair of All-Stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, as well as a physical, defensive stud in Marcus Smart, your core looks solid and Udoka has a perfect opportunity to have this team back in the conference finals sooner rather than later.