When Joe Mazzulla was introduced because the Boston Celtics interim head coach in September, many had no concept who the 34-year-old was. However, I did. Again in 2008, his 13 factors, 11 rebounds, and eight assists efficiency in 31 minutes off the bench despatched my Duke Blue Devils house within the second round of the NCAA Event. Persons are conscious of who Mazzulla is now, as he’ll coach Workforce Giannis on Sunday on the 2023 NBA All-Star Recreation in Salt Lake Metropolis — making him the third first-year coach since 2000 to take part within the weekend’s large recreation.

And to make issues even higher, on Thursday, the Celtics stripped the interim tag from him and formally made him their nineteenth head coach in franchise historical past. “As he has proven, Joe is a really proficient coach and chief,” mentioned Brad Stevens, president of basketball operations. “He has a singular potential to impress a room round a mission. We’re grateful for the work he has carried out to assist get us so far, and excited that he has agreed to steer us into the longer term.”

Beast of the East

The Celtics entered the All-Star break in first place within the Japanese Convention with a 42-17 file. At this level final season, below former head coach Ime Udoka, Boston was in sixth place at 34-26. They finally caught fireplace as they blazed their approach to the NBA Finals earlier than blowing a 2-1 result in the Golden State Warriors who finally received all of it in six video games.

To completely perceive why it’s so stunning that Mazzulla is doing so nicely in his first season, it’s important to return to what was happening when it was introduced that he was taking up — pandemonium. When ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that “Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka is going through attainable disciplinary motion – together with a big suspension – for an unspecified violation of organizational pointers. Discussions are ongoing inside the Celtics on a last willpower” in September, no person knew what that was as we had extra questions than solutions. What occurred subsequent was a public relations catastrophe by the Celtics that shall be taught in faculties for years, as rumors ran rampant about who Udoka may have been concerned with whereas the blowback on his household turned a sports activities story right into a popular culture cleaning soap opera.

“It’s quite a bit happening,” Jaylen Brown mentioned on the time.

“Actually nobody is aware of something proper now,” added Marcus Sensible.

Udoka was finally suspended for all the 2022-23 season for violating staff coverage in an alleged “consensual relationship” with a staff staffer. Nobody knew what the Celtics have been going to do with him after this season till Thursday’s announcement meant that Udoka was formally carried out in Boston.

Issues are going nicely now in Boston below Mazzulla, as they’ve a shot to return to the NBA Finals and enter the weekend with two All-Stars on their roster, in comparison with one final season, in Jayson Tatum and Brown.

“It’s the most effective locker rooms I’ve been round,” mentioned Blake Griffin, who joined the staff this season and is lower than a 12 months youthful than Mazzulla. “We had some actually shut groups in L.A., however this staff is correct there if no more. All people is available in with a function daily, all people works actually, actually laborious. All people genuinely cares and enjoys seeing one other individual succeed. We’ve managed to maintain that all through this season, all through highs and lows.”

A number of months in the past, nobody knew what the Celtics would seem like as we came upon that the chief of the locker room was doing inappropriate issues behind closed doorways. A number of months later, Joe Mazzulla is hoping to depart Utah with a win on Sunday and a return journey to the NBA Finals in June.