The Celtics were down 20 points to the Pacers and lifeless, so C’s coach Joe Mazzulla made by a bold move: he benched his starters just minutes into the third quarter. It ended up working out perfectly as the reserves sparked a comeback attempt. Then the starters helped push Boston across the finish line in the comeback win.
As part of Monday’s victory, Mazzulla reached a historic Celtics mark with his 200th career victory. He got to that threshold in his 275th career game, which is the third-fastest in NBA history, only trailing Steve Kerr (238 games) and Phil Jackson (270), per the Celtics.
“That’s part of the depth that we have,” Mazzulla said after the Pacers win. “I mean, 82 games is a long time. The season is long. The standard that we have to play at, the effort that we have to play at, is hard. It’s difficult, and we need everybody to be able to do it. So there’s been stretches of the season where guys have done that for us.”
Mazzulla has a 200-75 record ever since taking over the Celtics abruptly prior to the 2022-23 season. Ime Udoka’s suspension-turned-dismissal was national news, thrusting Mazzulla into the spotlight. He was just 34 at the time, and while there was plenty of early criticism, he’s stabilized the position as Boston’s top guy.
The Celtics have won at least 57 games in Mazzulla’s first three full seasons. He guided the team to Banner No. 18 in the form of the 2024 NBA championship, just his second season at the helm. The C’s have clearly been thrilled with his work, signing him to an extension before this season. Mazzulla is reportedly one of the highest-paid coaches in the league even though he’s still just 37.
The current iteration of the Celtics has also turned heads. It was unclear what the C’s had with their roster after massive overhaul and no Jayson Tatum, who’s sidelined with an Achilles injury. But Mazzulla has gotten the most out of his roster, and the Pacers victory encapsulated that with multiple depth guys contributing to the victory.
Mazzulla also has the Celtics playing stylistically different basketball than the past few years. On defense, over the past few years, the C’s played more one-on-one since they had so many talented defenders. That also meant they weren’t forcing turnovers, though the results worked out as the C’s had a consistently top-ranked defense.
But this year, the defense is more chaotic as guys are flying around everywhere. The defensive rebounding continues to be an issue most nights, but the Celtics are playing hard with this group. The offense also continues to hum, taking plenty of 3-pointers, as the Celtics have also incorporated more mid-range shots into their shot diet.
The season is young, but it’s clear the Celtics have the goods to be competitive in a wide-open East. Mazzulla gets plenty of credit there, though he’ll always point out how his team and coaching staff should also be highlighted. Regardless of who gets what, the Celtics continue to play solid basketball to open the season behind their fourth-year coach.
“We went small; we went big,” Mazzulla said. “Guys have finished games. We’ve played multiple lineups. So it’s not just tonight. It’s been the entire season, really. I think tonight you saw it in its biggest form, because it was four different guys. ... It’s been happening almost the entire season as we continue to chip away at the identity and the standard that we have to play at.”