Report: Celtics will look to bolster Mazzulla's coaching staff in offseason originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
What changes will the Boston Celtics make during the offseason to get back to the NBA Finals after their disappointing loss to the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals?
The coaching staff is one area that could see some new faces.
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Head coach Joe Mazzulla received plenty of criticism throughout the playoffs for things like his timeout usage, rotations, etc. This criticism reached its height after the Celtics went down 0-3 against the Heat. But the Celtics showed impressive fight and forced a Game 7 on Monday night. Mazzulla did a tremendous job in Games 4, 5 and 6 to help Boston avoid a sweep and give the group a chance to make history.
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Did Mazzulla do enough to keep his job?
The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Tuesday morning that any changes made to the Celtics' coaching staff likely will involve surrounding Mazzulla with more veteran assistants.
"You look at Jayson Tatum's comments after the game, the fact that he vouched for Joe Mazzulla, I think that was of note," Charania said on FanDuel TV. "The impression I'm getting right now is the Celtics and Mazzulla will look more toward stacking and elevating his bench with more veteran assistants. They need some depth on that staff. I think they're going to look more toward that this offseason.
"There definitely was momentum built in this series. They won three in a row, make this a series where you go into Game 7 at home, chance to make history. I think everything that went into this -- Joe Mazzulla didn't find out he was going to be the head coach until literally a day or two before Media Day when all the Ime Udoka stuff happened. So there's something to be said there for having a full offseason to have to your own and really build the right way.
"The bottom line also is Joe Mazzulla has about $14 million, from what I'm told, on his deal for the three years after this (season). They just signed him to that new deal, and I think given how this year went -- yes, if he got swept, I think there would be a lot more questions. But the fact that it did go to Game 7, I think it allowed the Celtics to see that there is a little bit of runway, some potential here."
In fairness to Mazzulla, he faced a couple difficult challenges in his first season as an NBA head coach. Taking over right before the season and not getting to build his own staff was tough. The Celtics also lost three good coaches over the last year with Udoka being suspended, his top assistant Will Hardy leaving to take the Utah Jazz head coach job, and then assistant Damon Stoudamire left to accept the Georgia Tech head coach position in March. That's a lot of turnover for one staff in a short period of time.
A full offseason, a more experienced and robust staff, and the experience gained from a tough 2022-23 campaign should help Mazzulla become a better coach next season. His first year wasn't perfect by any means, but he showed enough to get another opportunity.
