It’s been pretty much smooth sailing for Joe Mazzulla while leading the Boston Celtics to the best record in the NBA this season.
But with the Celtics stuck in a three-game losing streak as they host the rival Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, the interim head coach has encountered speed bumps as of late.
Mazzulla, who is the youngest head coach in the NBA this season at 34 years old, came under scrutiny for how he handled the final seconds in a 98-95 loss to the Miami Heat earlier this week. Mazzulla elected to not use a timeout at his disposal and watched as star forward Jayson Tatum committed a horrendous turnover.
Following that defeat, Mazzulla took blame for not putting Tatum in a better situation and questions emerged if Mazzulla’s inexperience would ultimately hold back the Celtics from making a return trip back to the NBA Finals.
But through the turbulence, Celtics president of basketball operations continues to show his support for Mazzulla.
“He’s done a great job … He’s a leader. He’s invested and everyone in the gym knows he’s going to work,” Stevens said Saturday on 98.5 The Sports Hub, as transcribed by NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg. “You’re not going to be perfect … the key is to get right back at it and make those corrections. And he’s terrific at that.”
Stevens has constantly backed Mazzulla, starting when he gave Mazzulla the biggest vote of confidence by showing trust in him to take over at the helm of the Celtics in wake of the scandal involving Ime Udoka, who is serving a team-issued season-long suspension after violating team policies.
More than halfway through the regular season, the Celtics still haven’t lifted the interim tag from Mazzulla. Stevens was non-committal back in December as to why that was the case despite the success Mazzulla has had early on.
Regardless of Mazzulla’s interim label, Stevens at least appears to still be in his corner even with the outside noise growing about Mazzulla’s performance.
