If there’s one phrase to explain the 2025-26 Celtics, it might be “missing” — missing their greatest participant, missing on the middle place, and missing with level of assault defenders.
If there’s one place that the Celtics shouldn’t be thought-about missing, it’s with their head coach. Though there are lots of Celtics followers who aren’t followers of Joe Mazzulla, I believe Mazzulla is an elite coach. This season presents a brand new problem that Mazzulla has but to see in his tenure because the Celtics coach as he handles a roster with plenty of flaws.
Regardless of elevating Banner 18, Mazzulla has had his justifiable share of tough patches, particularly the Knicks sequence this previous yr or the Warmth sequence in 2023, a pair of losses the place the Celtics misplaced to a crew that they had been higher than. To me, that doesn’t make Joe a nasty coach. He led the Celtics to a championship wherein they dominated all season for a motive.
Nonetheless, I’m unsure if the Celtics are going to be good this season. I truthfully don’t assume they are going to be and I wouldn’t be stunned in the event that they missed the playoffs for simply the 2nd time since 2007. Nonetheless, I don’t count on this crew to enter the season with any concepts aside from to win. Mazzulla, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser are championship items and aren’t simply going to roll over for a complete yr.
That is going to be a tougher puzzle evening to nighttime than what Mazzulla has ever needed to cope with. He’s going to need to do extra issues to place the items in the fitting locations to generate wins for the Celtics.
Not having Jayson Tatum to lean on can be one thing that the complete Celtics teaching workers must alter, too. He has turn into a crutch and may conceal plenty of their issues.
There additionally shouldn’t be a sizzling seat for Mazzulla this upcoming season. He simply signed a contract extension and obtained an enormous stamp of approval from Brad Stevens at Stevens’ press convention on the draft.
“We would like Joe to be round right here for a very long time,” Stevens stated. Mazzulla goes to be the Celtics coach when Tatum will get again, it doesn’t matter what occurs on the courtroom subsequent yr. He and the crew have subsequent to no stress on them. That doesn’t imply the Celtics can’t be enjoyable to observe and may’t win basketball video games.
They’ll proceed to rise up their three pointers. They’ve shooters with White, Pritchard, Hauser and new addition Anfernee Simons, the Celtics received’t be missing within the three level division. Rebounding and inside protection are my largest issues for this crew and I’m excited to see how Mazzulla is ready to assist out these areas.
I’m excited to see how Mazzulla adapts all through the season. That is one thing that he hasn’t seen because the Celtics coach. Boston can be extra reliant on Mazzulla evening to nighttime than they’ve in years previous and it is going to be enjoyable to see how he adjusts to that.
