BOSTON – Al Horford said Joe Mazzulla can be “a little whacky” sometimes.
But Horford and the rest of the Celtics came to love some of Mazzulla’s quirks along the championship ride.
In fact, many of the Celtics pointed to their second-year head coach for being a huge part of Banner 18 and leading them to a championship.
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Derrick White, who scored 14 points in the title-clinching win over the Mavericks, didn’t know what to expect when Mazzulla took over for Ime Udoka, who was suspended for violating team rules and eventually let go. Following the Game 5 victory, White credited Mazzulla for the player he’s become.
“Man, I love Joe Mazzulla so much. Coming off the year I had, and he gets the job, and he’s like, ‘You know what? I’m going to start you’ which I wasn’t expecting,” White said. “He was like, I believe in you and I trust in you. This is going to give you the confidence.
“And from that moment on, I think it’s changed my whole career. I’d do anything for him.”
White wasn’t alone in praising Mazzulla.
Horford was another in the Mazzulla fan club.
“You know, we all know Joe was thrown into the fire last year, and I felt like he did the best he could,” Horford began. “But I just think this year, everything was different when we came in for workouts before training camp. He really, I felt like, put an imprint on everything how he wanted it to be and how he wanted us to work, how he wanted us to carry ourselves and how determined he wanted us to be.
“And it started from there. That energy that he had translated to the assistant coaches, to us, to the training staff, everybody, and we just kind of follow suit.”
Horford gave a name to what the team had evolved into under Mazzulla’s direction and described how his coach’s vision came to fruition.
“I feel like this type of team is Joe Mazzulla ball,” Horford said. “It’s defending, being gritty on offense. It’s being able to — everybody be a threat on the court at the same time.
“And everything that he wanted to do, he was able to accomplish. He always knew when to push the buttons. He’s hard. He can be a little whacky sometimes. But that’s what we appreciate about him. He truly cares about us, and he cares about what it means to be a Celtic.”
Jrue Holiday, who also came up big in Game 5 with 15 points and 11 rebounds, agreed Mazzulla helped shape their success. The coach also had well-defined roles for the group of stars that allowed them to co-exist and work in harmony.
“He’s done a great job. He’s definitely elevated my game. Had me look kind of outside of myself and bring something different, you know,” Holiday said. “On previous teams where maybe I had to score more or handle the ball more, here it was more about being available and knocking down corner threes and rebounding. Doing things that help this team because of the talent that we have.
“You know, he really opened my eyes to that and from the beginning really just made it known that whatever it takes, as long as it takes, we’ve got to get it done, and I’m not the only one on this team sacrificing. Everybody on this team sacrificed something.”
