After the catastrophe Ime Udoka, the Celtics were lucky enough to find an at least as good replacement in Joe Mazzulla. The latter, aged only 34, manages to get his message across in a rather innovative way, and he quickly developed a chemistry with his players. Very confident, he tried a lunar gesture to motivate them before the shock against the Heat.
Sometimes, some NBA teams take years to find the perfect coach for the current roster, the man who will be able to develop youngsters into superstars. In this sense, the Celtics are extremely lucky, since they have just gone from one excellent coach to another in the space of a few months. After a little over half a season on the bench, Joe Mazzulla has already made Ime Udoka forget.
The task was not easy, however, since before the huge cheating scandal that shook the franchise, Udoka had established himself as a reference in the league, creating an iron defense and an attack that allowed Boston to return to the Finals after more than 10 years. No doubt well helped by this positive dynamic, Mazzulla keeps the Greens at the top of the league.
Joe Mazzulla snaps a jump in the locker room!
And the reason behind this success is perhaps the closeness he maintains with his players and the good atmosphere he puts in the locker room. At only 34 years old, he probably shares the same delusions, the same tastes, which promotes cohesion and chemistry. Proof that he is one of a kind, Joe Mazzulla tried something totally crazy to motivate his troops before the trip to Miami on Tuesday:
Joe Mazzulla just walked past Marcus Smart in the locker room, did a full somersault in front of him, turned and said ‘you can’t do that.” Then walked out.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) January 24, 2023
Joe Mazzulla just walked next to Marcus Smart in the locker room, flipped past him, turned around and said, “You can’t do that.” Then he left.
Asked Smart if this was some kind of inside joke. He said he had no idea where it came from and what it was about lol. « We need to stop giving him sugar. »
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) January 24, 2023
I asked Smart if it was a joke. He said he didn’t know where that somersault came from and what it meant. “We have to stop giving him sugar.”
Before the meeting against the Heat on Tuesday, Joe Mazzulla wanted to show his players that he was not a coach like the others. For no apparent reason, he therefore slammed a salto in front of Marcus Smart, before provoking him in the most total confusion. A grain of madness which did not particularly inspire its players, who bowed on the Miami floor, which was however deprived of Jimmy Butler.
Joe Mazzulla is only 34 years old, so he is in full possession of his means and shows it to his players. But it obviously takes more than a somersault to impress the gallery and motivate everyone. Next time he should try this arabesque on the floor, to at least delight the fans.
