Stephen A. Smith Believes Celtics Failed If They Don’t Win NBA Title

The Boston Celtics own the best record in the NBA and have all the pieces in place to win Banner No. 18 this spring.

If they C’s don’t go on to win the championship, would the season be considered a failure? ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith certainly thinks so.

The outspoken sports personality said the blame would fall on Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla if they failed to capture the title when he joined 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Felger and Mazz” show on radio row in Las Vegas on Thursday.

“Yes, because of Mazzulla,” Smith said. “Because of Mazzulla. I don’t believe in him yet. I know he’s a good coach.”

When co-host Tony Massarotti claimed the C’s would win in spite of their coach, Smith corrected him.

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“No, no, no. I know he’s a good coach. He is a good coach,” Smith said. “But he’s not Ime Udoka. He’s not. It’s a different level. It’s a different level. And I’m telling you right now, if Ime Udoka was the coach of the Boston Celtics, the Boston Celtics, if not last year, this year, they’d win the title.”

It might be unfair to compare Mazzulla to Udoka given the roster changes since Udoka left, even from last season to this season.

“I love the (Kristaps) Porzingis pickup, but I’d feel so much better if they had Porzingis with (Jaylen) Brown, (Jayson) Tatum and didn’t lose Marcus Smart,” Smith explained. “I love Jrue Holiday. I love Derrick White, but Marcus Smart … on my god, he’s something special. … I’m talking about that time in the series when you need that something extra.”

Smith said he isn’t sold on the Mazzulla’s approach of having the Celtics shoot as many 3-pointers as they do every game and believes they can’t beat the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets with that game plan.

“You cannot have Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics shoot 45 threes a game and think you’re gonna win a championship,” Smith said. “You’re not beating Denver playing that way. You’re not beating the Clippers playing that way. I don’t believe it. You cannot do that.”

One thing that stands out for Smith is he believes Mazzulla is trying too hard to not be Udoka.

“To me with Mazzulla, it’s almost like, and I’ve seen this on many occasions … some people they’re not just concerned about doing their job,” Smith said. “They have to do it their way to show you they’re not their predecessor, and I don’t know anything about Mazzulla; I respect the man. I respect his coaching abilities, but I’m telling you I see a guy that thinks, ‘I’m not Ime Udoka.’ But, guess what? Damn it you need to be.”

Regardless of whether Mazzulla is better or worse than Udoka, the Celtics have the offensive talent to win a championship, and president of basketball operations Brad Stevens added defense-minded players at the trade deadline to help in the quest.