Joe Mazzulla had his work cut out for him from the get-go this season with the Boston Celtics.
Mazzulla became Boston's interim head coach just days ahead of training camp with high expectations looming for a Celtics team just months removed from an NBA Finals appearance, and a media frenzy centering the team because of the Ime Udoka scandal. Yet both Mazzulla and the C's never folded, putting aside all the off-court distractions in the rearview mirror.
Boston's 34-year-old head coach revealed throughout his first season at the helm he's received some outsider advice from a few head-coaching experts, which weren't limited to those affiliated with the NBA or basketball.
But Mazzulla refused to divulge any further details beyond that.
"I can't tell you," Joe Mazzulla told reporters at Tuesday's practice, per NBC Sports Boston video. "... I gotta keep them under the radar. They can't get any of the credit. ... I think it's cool to learn from different sports. So obviously you learn from the coaches in this league in itself. And so I've watched a lot of late-game situations. And there's a lot of coaches doing a lot of good things."
Mazzulla noted a few areas in which head coaches, regardless of what sport, all undergo when performing their job.
"How they manage winning championships, how they manage teams, how they manage a long season, how they manage losing," Mazzulla said. "And I think just trying to learn from everybody cause you're in all of those situations all the time. And so just trying to get as much wisdom as you can in those environments."
While the source of Mazzulla's head-coaching tutelage remains a mystery, the advice handed down has paid its dividends for the Celtics.
Yes, the Celtics surrendered sole possession of the Eastern Conference top seed. And yes, that loss came from a handful of inexcusable losses to lackluster competition. But all things considered, the season was a success. Boston set a ridiculously high bar from the start, spending the better part of the first half as the undisputed best team in basketball.
The C's were then stumped by a cold stretch they were due following the NBA All-Star break, yet still finished with more wins (57) than last season (51).
Now with step one behind them, it's time for Mazzulla to refer back to those notes and apply whatever information he's consumed, starting Saturday afternoon when the Celtics begin their playoff hunt.
