The Celtics earned some hardware for Joe Mazzulla in December, as he won the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month award earlier this week. Boston went 12-2 in an impressive stretch to close out 2023 that included a 5-0 homestand and a 3-1 Western Conference road trip.
It was the second time in Mazzulla’s career that he has won the honor going back to last season, putting him third in franchise history for the award behind Doc Rivers and Brad Stevens. Mazzulla was asked about whether the award means anything to him after Friday’s win over the Jazz and offered a unique perspective on the honor.
“Does it mean something to me? In the past I probably would have said no,” Mazzulla admitted. “But I think it’s a testament to what we’re building and what we’re creating. So it’s a testament to the staff.”
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Mazzulla then laid out a case for why he thinks that the award should be eliminated outright or at least adjusted to include his entire coaching staff.
“I wish they would change it to staff of the month because I’m not doing it by myself,” Mazzulla said. “I’m not the one controlling scouts, I’m not the one making the edits, I’m not the one doing the matchups during the game or coming up with lineup suggestions. That’s the entire staff. Then if the players don’t let me coach them, I’m not really a good coach. So I think it’s a testament to the environment we’re creating. So, yeah, it does mean something to be, because it shows what we’re doing is paying off….I do think they should get rid of the award or change it to staff of the month.”
Mazzulla and his staff have earned plenty of acclaim from Celtics players this year as Boston has roared out to the NBA’s best record at 27-7 through 34 games.
“Credit to the coaching staff for making sure that we know where we’re supposed to be, making sure we see where the reads are supposed to be made and making the game real clear for us,” Jaylen Brown said after a win last week. “I think the coaching has been excellent this year in making sure that we see the game the way a game should be played.”
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