Boston Celtics appoint Joe Mazzulla as permanent head coach after impressive stint | NBA News
Boston Celtics appoint Joe Mazzulla as permanent head coach after impressive stint | NBA News
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Joe Mazzulla has been named permanent head coach of the Boston Celtics, who lead the Eastern Conference, having served on an interim basis since Ime Udoka’s suspension in September.
The decision to appoint Mazzulla as full-time head coach was made on Thursday, with details also emerging of a contract extension meaning he would take over Udoka immediately.
Udoka was embroiled in controversy before even having a single basketball swiped by an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the organization that season.
The news broke during the preseason and he was suspended for a year. In that time, Mazzulla has done enough to convince those in power that he deserves the role permanently.
“Ever since I’ve been here, I’ve always known where I stand,” said the 34-year-old.
“Even though it was an intermediate position… I knew I was going to get a fair shake and get a chance. I knew I would be able to do it the way I thought it would to give us the best chance of being successful without any pressure.”
Mazzulla said he found out two days ago that the process to make him permanent coach was underway and that the deal was finalized after the Celtics’ 127-109 win over Detroit on Wednesday.
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Jayson Tatum recorded 38 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to lead the Boston Celtics to the win over the Detroit Pistons.
“One of the things that’s pretty obvious and obvious about Joe is that he’s a really good coach and also just a great leader,” said Brad Stevens, Celtics president of basketball. “I think he’s done a great job from the start of getting the dressing room going around a mission.”
Stevens said he made the decision to raise Mazzulla now because of the work he had done and he didn’t want the coach and his staff going into the second half of the season under “a cloud of uncertainty”.
“They certainly deserve it,” said Stevens. He declined to elaborate on why he made the move now rather than wait until the season was over.
“We said a long time ago in our original statement that the decision would be made at a later date. We wanted to make sure we were thorough, we really focused on our team from that day on,” said Stevens. “I thought the leadership of the player, the leadership of the staff and the leadership of Joe have all excelled in that time.”
PICTURED: Boston Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla, center, celebrates with guard Marcus Smart.
Mazzulla, a native of Johnston, Rhode Island, was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for the October and November games after leading the team to an 18-4 (.818) record.
He said he would take the time on the All-Star break to be at the forefront of the East – while also considering how the Celtics can maintain their strong game in the second half.
“It’s there, you can’t run away, you can’t ignore it,” Mazzulla said. “I think there’s a certain level of comfort in knowing that. But that was sort of my message to the guys.
