There were high expectations for the Boston Celtics this season after reaching the NBA Finals last year. Going for the title after the 4-2 loss to the Golden State Warriors was the goal, but the team fell short this time.
The playoffs gave them a great opportunity with the N°1 seed Milwaukee Bucks losing in the first round. They could make it to the Eastern Conference Finalsagainst the favorite against the Miami Heat, although they couldn’t come back from a 3-0 deficit.
In the elimination against Miami there was a lot of criticism directed to Joe Mazzulla, so there were some rumors indicating he could be heading out. For general manager Brad Stevens there is no doubt regarding who is going to be their coach next season.
Brad Stevens confirms Joe Mazzulla as Celtics coach
Mazzulla had a sudden beginning of his head coaching career. He had to replace Ime Udoka right before the season started because of an off-the-court issue involving his predecessor. However, Boston didn’t feel that change in the regular season.
The Celtics remained as a top team finishing second in the East with a 57-25 record, only one game behind Milwaukee in the conference. It was the series against the Heat what created some uncertainty around Mazzulla considering they were heavy favorites, but Brad Stevens didn’t hesitate to confirm him as the head coach for next season.
“I thought he did a really good job. Everybody’s going to overreact to the best players and coaches. When you consider the position he was thrust into and the overall accomplishments of the group, I thought he did a really good job. Having a team that was second in offense, second in defense, won 57 games and has a chance to go to the NBA Finals on your home court, there’s a lot of direction and organization that goes into that. I thought that he did a good job”, Stevens said.
“He’s a terrific leader, he’ll only get better at anything that he can learn from this year, because he’s constantly trying to learn. And he’s accountable. Those leadership qualities are hard to find. Our players, our staff, everybody around him believes in him, and we’ve got to do our best to support him going forward“, the general manager explained on a press conference.
