Where were you on September 22nd, 2022? The Celtics had suspended head coach Ime Udoka for the season and announced that assistant Joe Mazzulla would take over the reins. For a while, there was endless criticism of Mazzulla. The Celtics took too many threes. He looked unprepared against the Heat in 2023. He was an odd bird.
Now his eclectic style is celebrated. The loss to the Heat was a learning moment and he is now seen as a basketball genius.
Let’s start with some of the criticism. After a tough 102-100 loss to the Nuggets inJanuary, ESPN’s and former Celtic Kendrick Perkins said this about Mazzulla:
“You wonder, if you take his brain out and you put it in a bird, the bird is gonna start flying backwards,” – Kendrick Perkins on Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla.
“You know why I say that?”
Not sure we do, Perk. pic.twitter.com/BLuvdUYRjK
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 20, 2024
A bizarre thing to say because, at least to me, a bird flying backwards would be very impressive.
In February, Perkins later harped on the Celtics taking too many threes:
Perk: The Celtics don’t post up enough. They have nothing to rely on if the 3s don’t go in.
Celtics in the post this season:
‣ Post up frequency – 7.3% – 2nd in the league
‣ Post up efficiency – 1.17ppp – 1st in the league pic.twitter.com/Ado7a1PSre— Jake Issenberg (@jakeissenberg) February 13, 2024
Which, as Jake pointed out, was wrong. The Celtics were the best post up team in the NBA a season ago.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith also got in the mix in May.
After the Celtics’ Game 1 win against the Indiana Pacers, he had this to say Mazzulla and the man he replaced:
“if ime udoka was still the coach of the boston celtics they would’ve been champions by now. they possibly would have won it last year” https://t.co/ZnPpqI21CC
— banner 18 jack (@janderson22_) May 22, 2024
By the way, his point on the Celtics offense was super wrong, too:
also they scored 133 points, shot 48% and got to the line 30 times. their offense was the reason they won the game. they were also only 31% from 3 on 15 makes, so throw your stupid they rely on threes too much out the window as well.
— banner 18 jack (@janderson22_) May 22, 2024
It felt like every time the Celtics lost, fans were calling for the coach to be fired and Udoka to be brought back.
I would fire Mazzulla and BEG Ime to come back.
— Gio’s Gaming Corner (@GioCorner) May 22, 2023
Biggest mistake this team made is giving Ime up. They are such a undisciplined team. Fire Mazzulla tonight!
— Simon Bernstein (@sbern360) May 30, 2023
Under Ime this team was tough and battle tested. Under Joe this team is as soft as they come. When adversity hits they buckle like clowns. Fire Mazzulla.
— kevinbakinz (@kevinbakinz) May 11, 2024
Yet, now that Mazzulla is a champion, people can’t seem to get enough of him.
Joe Mazzulla being absolutely locked in at the US Open is the sicko behavior I absolutely love about him
— Doot Fixer Szabo (@the_szabo) September 1, 2024
People say that Joe Mazzulla is a “sicko,” as now Lakers head coach and ESPN’s JJ Redick once put it:
Derrick White agreed:
“He’s a sicko, so probably.”
Derrick White on whether or not Joe Mazzulla enjoyed the chance to rally back after a blown lead pic.twitter.com/7yBEcRdvDT
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) June 13, 2024
Mazzulla has never changed; he always believed in the analytics, as he told the NBATV crew after the Celtics championship-clinching win.
“Dominate the margins. Dominate the possessions.”
People often criticized Mazzulla for how he coached the team, saying he was unprepared and how his team took too many threes. Yet, Mazzulla stuck to what he believed and it paid off in a championship. Now, everyone is going to have to acknowledge the genius of Mazzulla ball.
For what it’s worth, I highly recommend Thinking Basketball’s video for more in-depth analysis on Mazzulla ball and how the Celtics won the Finals.
