Mazzulla not listed as a top 10 NBA Coach
The Celtics are coming off an NBA Champion, yet still have to prove where they rank amongst the rest of the league. Jayson Tatum wasn’t considered a top-5 player in the league on a recent list. Jaylen Brown wasn’t considered for Team USA this summer and was very vocal about being left off the team. A recent article from CBS Sports has listed Joe Mazzulla outside of the top ten when it comes to the coaching ranks.
It can be hard to determine how good a coach is in the NBA. In Mazzulla’s case, most people think he has a great roster and doesn’t get enough credit for his coaching style. Mazzulla ball is a real thing, he preaches a high percentage of three-point shots. He looks into the analytics and they were able to win a championship playing this style. It’s hard not to credit him for that philosophy and how he challenges his players. Here is the write-up on why Mazzulla came in eleventh place on the coaching list
Joe Mazzulla is another “hard to judge” coach. His roster is flawless, what are we supposed to do with him? Fans wanted him fired after his first season. He’s mostly sanded away the game-management issues that led to that skepticism, and having a properly stocked bench of assistant coaches makes much more of a difference than you see on television. He took over an incredibly difficult position in 2022, struggled through his debut, and then put it all together last season. The Celtics are the NBA‘s most prolific shooting team. Mazzulla believes in firing away from deep and he has the players to execute that system. If anything, you could argue Boston is a bit too dogmatic about shot selection. Every now and then you need to know that the 3s aren’t falling and have a few pivots ready. Only time will tell how this approach will age as the roster regresses to something closer to a traditional contender, but Mazzulla replaced an incredibly popular coach and made the team his own on both ends of the floor. We can’t call him a great coach yet just because of his roster, but he did almost everything right even in that context last season.
The NBA coaches’ ranks were by tier, let’s take a look at the list.
1. Erik Spoelstra, Heat
2. Nick Nurse, 76ers
3. Rick Carlisle, Pacers
4. Steve Kerr, Warriors
5. Ty Lue, Clippers
6. Mark Daigneault, Thunder
7. Will Hardy, Jazz
8. Ime Udoka, Rockets
9. Mike Budenholzer, Suns
10. Tom Thibodeau, Knicks
11. Joe Mazzulla, Celtics
12. Chris Finch, Timberwolves
13. Mike Brown, Kings
The Celtics are looking to go back-to-back and this offseason has given them nothing but motivation to repeat.
