Joe Mazzulla has set a winning precedent through his first three seasons as head coach of the Boston Celtics. He’s won 215 of 296 possible regular-season games, averaging over 60 wins per season, been named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month four times, and became the youngest head coach since Bill Russell to win an NBA Championship.
Yet, when his multi-year contract extension was announced last week, there were plenty of skeptics who made their voices heard. Sure, Mazzulla and the Celtics won the title in 2024, but why didn’t they win in 2023 and 2025?
“Because of Mazzulla, of course.”
As ridiculous as it may sound to knock the Rhode Island native because the Cs aren’t riding a three-peat into the 2025-26 campaign, people are doing it.
The root of that criticism stems from two places.
Firstly, the Celtics have fielded elite teams in each of the three seasons under Mazzulla. As tough as it is, the championship or bust mindset is a real thing.
Second, Mazzulla can be extremely rigid when it comes to the team’s game plan. If there’s one thing that’s certain about his teams, it’s that they’re going to fire away. Since he took over, Boston has led the league in three-point attempts with 10,929. That’s over 700 more than the Golden State Warriors, who have the second most.
“I love open 3s,” [Mazzulla said back in fall of 2022](https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/3746993/2022/10/31/math-favors-celtics-joe-mazzulla/), following his sixth game as head coach. “I like space. And I think it’s a huge strength of our team. So the thing we have to learn on the offensive end is exactly what you said, just making sure we’re getting the best actual shot every time down. And regardless of if it goes in or not, it’s a good shot.”
Again, Mazzulla and his schemes have largely been successful. Unfortunately, there are simply times when shot quality doesn’t matter because the team is cold. Those are the moments people remember. Boston blowing two straight second-half leads to the New York Knicks is burned into the brains of fans all over the world, while their juggernaut run to the 2024 title was just “supposed to happen.”
**The 2025-26 season is the perfect chance for Joe Mazzulla to silence the doubters**
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Well, nothing is “supposed to happen” for the Celtics in the upcoming season. Expectations are the lowest in a decade because they’ll be without Jayson Tatum as he works his way back from a ruptured Achilles tendon. It doesn’t help that several other key players like Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Luke Kornet, and Al Horford won’t be suiting up in Boston either. It’s going to be a challenging 82 games, to say the very least.
The good news is that no one [loves a challenge](https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/joe-mazzulla-revolving-doors/605447/) quite like Mazzulla.
Not only is it a challenge, but it’s an opportunity to silence the critics, which he undoubtedly couldn’t care less about doing.
Make no mistake, there are still talented players in Boston. It would be ridiculous to pretend like Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and even Anfernee Simons aren’t going to help win basketball games.
But this will be the weakest roster Mazzulla has coached in the NBA, by far. If he still manages to have the Celtics playing competitive ball, then the praise is going to pile up.
Think about how much (deserved) fanfare Brad Stevens got in the mid-to-late 2010s because he was making deep playoff runs with slightly below average rosters.
The cherry on top would be Boston winning games because of the math. Mazzulla’s three-point-heavy offense certainly opens the door for shot variance to make its presence felt, but, more importantly, it gives the Cs the best chance to win when that variance swings in their favor. Regardless of how many games this team ends up winning, there will be at least five wins that would’ve been losses had they not shot so well from long range.
When success isn’t expected, it can mean more. Leading the Celtics to a competitive season will cement Mazzulla as one of the league’s brightest basketball minds.