The Boston Celtics were widely expected to make the NBA Finals again after they beat the Philadelphia 76ers and faced off against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
It didn’t quite work out that way, though, with the team falling into a 0-3 hole against the Miami Heat and then failing to complete a miraculous comeback in Game 7. Lots of people within the organization have been blamed for the loss, including Head Coach Joe Mazzulla. But former executive Danny Ainge has since come to his defense.
“This team found joy. They were inconsistent, but they were rooting for each other. They were all defending Joe in the media,” Ainge told the Boston Globe. “You see Joe’s toughness and stubbornness. He’s a relentless worker. He has a passion to learn. Joe is a leader, and I think this was a difficult situation with the high expectations the team had coming in. I don’t think there’s anybody there that doesn’t believe that Joe is better than Ime (Udoka) as a coach.”
Ime Udoka was the Head Coach of the Celtics when they made it to the Finals last season, but was then fired following a scandal before the start of the season. When the Celtics went down 3-0, a lot of fans were suggesting that the team was now failing because they had Mazzulla leading them rather than Udoka. It looks like Danny Ainge and others don’t see it that way though.
Comparing Joe Mazzulla And Ime Udoka’s Respective Seasons With The Celtics
Both Ime Udoka and Joe Mazzulla had similar rosters, with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and Al Horford making up the core. Joe Mazzulla led his team to 57 regular season wins in 2022-23, while Ime Udoka managed 51 in 2021-22. Both years, the Celtics finished 2nd in the Eastern Conference, but there were some key differences.
Under Joe Mazzulla, the team was better offensively, they had an offensive rating of 118 and shot better percentages from the field as well as three-point range. Under Ime Udoka, the team was better defensively, with a defensive rating of 106.9, over 4 points per possession allowed less than Mazzulla’s roster.
There are stylistic differences between the two, but Joe Mazzulla has surely done enough to earn himself another shot. Whether he is better than Udoka remains to be seen, they are both young coaches and only time will tell. And then Celtics fans can decide if their franchise made the right decision or not.
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