Head coach Joe Mazzulla and the Boston Celtics are currently basking in the glory of the NBA championship they won two months ago vs the Dallas Mavericks. While it may be easy to forget now, there were legitimate questions coming into the season about Mazzula's ability as a coach, and whether he would be able to become the first Celtics coach since Doc Rivers to win a championship with the franchise.
One person who knows both Mazzulla and Rivers very well is Sam Cassell, who was both a player and assistant under Rivers and is now an assistant under Mazzulla.
Recently, Cassell broke down the difference in their coaching styles during an appearance on The Draymond Green Show.
“Doc is an alpha dog, Doc’s going to do things the way he’s going to do them because he’s had success,” said Cassell. “But Doc’s also going to take advice, sometimes when I say, ‘man that’s it, chill out’ he’ll chill out just like that, ‘they’ve had enough, you’ve beat them up too much.’”
Cassell then contrasted that approach with what Mazzulla brings to the table.
“When I got with Joe Mazzulla, Joe didn’t really have the knowledge of how to deal with the NBA ball player, didn’t have the knowledge,” said Cassell. “The X’s and O’s, how to prepare his team to play, oh he’s got that. Our coach's locker room, I know it’s like no other locker room. We do things a little different in Boston. Everyone has an opinion, our coaches have an opinion, but it’s Joe’s ultimate decision, and we roll with it.”
Mazzulla has indeed become known for some unorthodox tactics and media references over the years, but there's no arguing with the final result in 2024.
Can the Celtics repeat in 2024-25?
They will certainly be favored to do so.
The Celtics marched through the 2024 NBA postseason almost exclusively without the services of big man Kristaps Porzingis, which in theory means that it's no big deal that the center will miss the opening portion of the 2024-25 season with an injury sustained during the NBA Finals.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown figure to be both squarely in the prime of their careers, and although Derrick White and Jrue Holiday are on the wrong side of 30, neither of them appears to be slowing down in the slightest.
The questions about Joe Mazzulla's ability to coach at a high level are now gone, and the Celtics are in great shape to become the first back to back NBA champions since 2018.
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