NBA Notebook: Joe Mazzulla and Celtics face inspiration in Hawks coach Quin Snyder

ATLANTA -- Hawks head coach Quin Snyder visited Las Vegas unemployed when Joe Mazzulla approached him at NBA Summer League in July. 

The Celtics assistant recently received a promotion to associate head coach under Ime Udoka after Will Hardy's departure to replace Snyder in Utah, so Snyder obliged the conversation with a young coach who looked up to him. Snyder and Mazzulla's boss Brad Stevens grew close during their tenures as Jazz and Celtics head coaches, a rarity between the competing and paranoid personalities of the NBA coaching world, but when Mazzulla approached him, Snyder preferred to discuss their interests outside of basketball.

"Any time you get two people, two coaches, that have a real love of the game," Snyder said. "People would look at it, and be like, 'You were talking about that?'" 

Mazzulla appreciated Snyder's desire to keep the conversation away from the court too. The Celtics' head coach practices integration, whether the mindfulness of his jiu-jitsu practice that he resumed this season, calling coaches across different sports and adapting his team's free-flowing offense, in part, from soccer, Mazzulla finds escaping basketball crucial for creativity. While he wouldn't reveal which coaches he called this year, ascending to Celtics head coach in September gained him access to more phone numbers than Snyder's alone, Xs-and-Os emerged at some point while they spoke. Snyder's system inspired Boston's before even Udoka took over the franchise.

The thought entered Stevens' mind while coaching against the Jazz in 2021. The one-on-one dominance Donovan Mitchell, Jordan Clarkson and Bojan Bodanovic pressured the defense with. The willingness of those players, along with the other contributors, to make quick decisions and move the ball. Their ability to spray the ball around the floor when Boston brought two defenders to the ball. It reminded Stevens of the 2013-14 Spurs he long held as the model for the basketball team he wanted the Celtics to become. Stevens unsurprisingly hired a Spurs assistant to replace himself, while the Jazz pulled from Udoka's staff when they and Snyder parted ways last summer. 

"I think (Snyder's) obviously one of the best coaches in the league," Mazzulla told Boston Sports Journal. "I think he's been one of the more innovative coaches in the league over the last decade or so, because of his ability to integrate the international offense, his ability to have an innovative offense and he's also coached a high-level defense and so I think he's just a really well-balanced coach that's a great teacher and he's an innovative offensive coach. I knew part of my growth was, how can I get better at some of those areas and grateful for him that over the course of the summer, we were able to have some conversations." 

Mazzulla's Celtics system resembles facets of Snyder's Utah teams, notably the three-point volume that vaulted Boston to historic status on that end and No. 2 in the NBA this season. The 2021 Jazz ranked fourth all-time in threes attempted before the wave escalated in 2023, with the Warriors, Mavericks, Celtics and Bucks moving into the top 10. The Celtics, finishing with 3,492 attempts, took nearly 200 more than the Jazz team. They run Spain pick-and-rolls, and other overseas actions, focusing on screening away from the ball based on the defensive coverage to free their star players. 

Snyder acknowledged his teams took on many forms throughout the years and his first Utah team in 2014-15 attempted fewer than half of the threes per game it would in 2021, making the comparisons between the sides imperfect. The evolution of the game and the need to launch long shots in droves to gain mathematical advantages occurred over less than one decade, leaving a small sample size of teams that took over 40 per game and postseason results to draw from and many caveats. Did the 2021 Jazz lose in the second round due to living and dying by the three, or Rudy Gobert's defensive limitations? Did the Rockets in 2019-20 take too many threes, or did their lack of a center cost them in a bad matchup against the Lakers? Do you need Warriors-level personnel to win it all? Mazzulla's system became the latest test for the trail Snyder partially blazed several years ago. 

"(Three-point shooting) translates to the playoffs, it's just one piece of our offense," Mazzulla told BSJ. "I think part of it is. how do we get those? You don't just come down and jack them, you get those by being spaced early in the shot clock, having great spacing, creating two-one-ones, making the right play at the rim, so I think that is a microcosm of how we want to play, knowing that every team is trying to take away the rim. So you obviously have to create easy baskets, but at the same time, you gotta be able to have the discipline to create advantages and knock down open shots, and fortunately, we have guys who are able to do that." 

The Celtics understood the need to shoot more threes and finished sixth in efficiency while only the Warriors took a greater percentage of their attempts from deep this season. Jayson Tatum embraced Mazzulla's desire to see him take difficult pull-up jumpers that decreased his efficiency from three while manipulating defenses. Jaylen Brown became the leading beneficiary, screening more, shooting closer to the basket and focusing less on threes himself on the way to 57.6% two-point shooting season playing in the pockets beneath the pressure Boston's ball-handlers received. It'll likely lead Brown to All-NBA status next month. 

The basketball didn't challenge Mazzulla in year one. Some decisions he made looked like mistakes in the rearview and his tendencies evolved. He knew the largest adjustment outside of any systematic advice Snyder and other coaches offered stemmed from becoming the voice of the team as head coach. The length of the NBA season surprised Mazzulla most in year one and he entered with a mindset of attending to everyone's needs outside of basketball. That focus, from day one, on not wanting to move forward from the Udoka suspension until everyone in the room felt at ease helped the coaching staff and team rally after losing its leader, Tatum noted. Mazzulla, on and off the court, consulted Snyder on how he worked in tandem with Mitchell to help the young guard become not only one of the league's top stars, but someone who trusted Snyder as a person. How he managed a team started with treating the individual people.  

"You can find ideas and perspectives from not just people in other sports, but people in other walks of life," Snyder said. "One of the challenges for myself, coaching in the NBA, your life can become very siloed and you hear a lot of people talk about balance. I think when you're speaking about it in that sense, you're really talking about it on a personal level, which is something if you ask a lot of coaches, you'll hear things like I've gotta sleep more, I've gotta work out, we all fight that as people, so on a personal level, being able to find things that indirectly make you better professionally, and then on a professional level, being able to find things outside of your specific sport, your specific lane, ideas and perspectives. Maybe the best example that is running that everyone can identify with is Ted Lasso. There's something there for everybody. It's not soccer, it's not football, it's not basketball, but there's a lot of threads that run through sport in general. There's things you can take from them and lessons you can learn just by paying attention." 

Snyder restarted that relationship-building with Trae Young, who he pulled aside numerous times during Game 1 to remind him to keep shooting through his difficult start to the series. The Hawks hired Snyder in late February after firing Nate McMillan, forcing his replacement to introduce himself, implement his system across roughly one dozen practice before the first round and win a play-in game. That process continued in Game 2 as Atlanta tried to bridge the gap with Boston's shooting after the Hawks took the fewest threes as a percentage of their total shot attempts in the NBA this year. Snyder still believes in the three, but is playing to the personnel he adopted and isn't trying to inundate the Hawks with changes. He saw offensive rebounding as a potential strength of the roster and helped the group embrace it, becoming the best in basketball at it. 

Clint Capela, Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu bothered Boston in the Celtics' wins to take a 2-0 lead in the series, then crunch time box outs in Game 3 set up extra chances for Young and Dejounte Murray to grab a win after many predicted a first-round sweep. While Boston shot a staggering 60 eFG% through three games, Snyder manipulated the margins of the game by winning the turnover battle, dominating the offensive glass and keeping free throw attempts relatively even. That kept the series closer than it appeared while the Celtics shot ahead 2-0. 

Mazzulla managed those four factors all season to allow the Celtics to win in games where they struggled to shoot the ball. Now, Mazzulla looks across the sideline at another coach ahead of the curve, Snyder manipulating those margins of the game to challenge the championship contender in Boston he helped inspire.  

"I think I probably looked up to Brad, way back when he was at Butler," Snyder said through a grin. "We've developed a friendship that's nice to have, particularly both professionally and personally. I appreciate that and I think he does too. Someone I can talk to about stuff, (but) obviously we're not having dinner tonight." 

Here's what else happened around the NBA this week...

Atlanta (trail Boston 1-2): Winning the rebounding battle, keeping the free throw totals close and forced more turnovers on the Celtics despite a scorching three-point start nearly allowing Boston to take a 3-0 lead in Atlanta. Trae Young and Dejounte Murray emerged from early-series struggles to hit late decisive corner threes and secure a win after two blowout losses on the road. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Saddiq Bey emerged from deep after the team started 27.3% from three in their losses, and reflected the way Quin Snyder wants this team to play -- aggressively taking threes the defense gives them. 

Boston (lead Atlanta 2-1): Malcolm Brogdon won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award, 408-326, over Immanuel Quickley, joining Kevin McHale and Bill Walton as winners of the trophy now named for John Havlicek. The Celtics built 30 and 22-point leads they maintained despite second-half slip-ups to start their first-round series, looking unstoppable offensively, but struggling on the defensive glass against a relentless Hawks pursuit. They held Trae Young to 14-for-40 shooting through two wins, before he broke free for 32 points in Game 3. Grant Williams, who did not play in the first two wins, shot 4-for-4 from three in the loss on Friday. Derrick White improved to 22-for-36 (61.1%) with 20.3 PPG in the series. Game 4 is on Sunday.

Brooklyn (trail Philadelphia 0-3): Lost a difficult Game 3 after James Harden's ejection where they led by five points with two minutes remaining, giving up four straight shots to Tyrese Maxey before Spencer Dinwiddie attacked Joel Embiid head-on. Embiid also launched a kick toward Nic Claxton's groin in a move reminiscent of what led to Draymond Green's ejection and suspension in the Warriors series. The officials called a flagrant one and the league took no further action against Philadelphia's stars. For the Nets, shooting 45% and riding Mikal Bridges' 25.7 PPG, the Dinwiddie miss and others late in the game underscored offensive questions existing here since their mid-season roster shake-up. Who is the creator? 

Chicago: Bulls GM Artūras Karnišovas said the Bulls do not intend to undergo a full rebuild after the Bulls fell to the Heat in the play-in tournament last week. He expressed interest in re-signing free agents Nikola Vucevic, Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu. Karnišovas expressed optimism over the team's No. 1 play defensively after the all-star break, and try to improve the team's three-point rate. He expects Lonzo Ball, reportedly expected to miss next season after a knee cartilage transplant, to eventually return and did not clarify if the team will pursue a disabled player exception. 

“That's been thrown around all this season---‘blow up, rebuild.’ It's not on our minds,” Karnišovas said. “I think the moment we changed our minds in the 20-21 season to kind of focus on winning and try to build a sustainable program here, I think that's what we're focused on right now. How we can help this group and how we can improve from this year? That's what our offseason's goal is going to look like. We're going to consider everything and how we can compete with the top teams.”

Cleveland (trail New York 1-2): Scored the fewest points by a team in the NBA this season in a 99-79 loss at the Knicks after already losing home-court advantage in the series by allowing Jalen Brunson to go off in a shootout between New York's star and Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell fell from 38 to 17 and 22 points over the last two games, with Cleveland's best game coming when Mitchell scored less and got Darius Garland going. As the Cavs turned to veteran Danny Green and diminished Isaac Okoro's role, the team's wing deficiency came into play early in the playoffs before RJ Barrett and Julius Randle broke free in Friday's loss. Garland left the game after injuring his left ankle in a collision with a cameraman along the baseline late in the game.

“Not being able to make shots definitely hurts as well, but it’s one of those things where we’ll be good,” Mitchell said. “Like, kind of breathe and relax and calm down.”

Dallas: GM Nico Harrison spoke after the Mavericks' controversial finish to the season and sounded non-committal about free agent Christian Wood's future with the team. He expressed optimism Kyrie Irving hopes to remain with the team after their exit interview, where Irving told the team he felt accepted and appreciated after the midseason trade from Brooklyn. The Mavericks hope to surround Irving and Luka Dončić with defense and rebounding, another focus that casts some doubt on Wood's future after the team acquired him last summer from Houston and sparingly played him.

"This year is not acceptable,” Harrison said. “Nobody can be harder on myself than I am. I take my job serious and wins and losses and not reaching our goals, and so I feel for [fans], and the only confidence I can give them is we’re going to evaluate everything, and we’re not going to be in this position again."

Denver (leads Minnesota 3-0): For all the playoff questions greeting Nikola Jokic into his fifth offseason, Friday's win maintained his standing as the only player in NBA history to average 25.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game through 50 appearances. His 51st, which he entered averaging 26.2 PPG, 11.5 RPG and 6.4 APG, in fact, buried a talented Timberwolves team that's proven incapable of keeping up with the Nuggets' racing offense. Jokic posted 20 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in the Game 3 win after Jamal Murray scored 40 alongside Jokic's 27 in Game 2. Murray scored 24 points with eight rebounds and eight assists in his first playoff game since 2020, the Bubble, where he averaged 26.5 PPG and 6.6 APG on 50.5% FG. As the Clippers and Suns batter each other and grow injured on the other side of the bracket, this healthy Denver team looks like a strong West finals bet. 

Detroit: Bucks assistant coach Charles Lee, Pelicans assistant Jarron Collins and Overtime Elite and former Connecticut Huskies men's basketball head coach Kevin Ollie emerged as front-runners to replace Dwane Casey, according to the Athletic. Collins wowed Pistons executives and served on the Warriors' staff during their original dynasty years from 2015-2019. Lee built a champion in Milwaukee alongside head coach Mike Budenholzer and long emerged as a strong head coaching candidate while Ollie, the most surprising name, won the 2014 national championship but shares NBA relationships. Detroit could also wait to see if any head coaches in the playoffs become available in the coming weeks. Internal candidates Rex Kalamian and former Celtics assistant Jerome Allen will also receive chances to claim the top job. Alec Burks and Isaiah Livers are expected back on team options.

Golden State (trail Sacramento 1-2): The NBA suspended Draymond Green after his ejection for stomping on Domantas Sabonis in a narrow Game 2 loss to the Kings that pushed the Warriors behind 0-2. The league cited his past behavior in its decision, a controversial one that could've cost Golden State its season. Andrew Wiggins received a go-ahead look from three wide open to end Game 1 that he missed and the second loss only saw the Warriors trail by as many as 14 points. When the series shifted to Golden State, Steph Curry dropped 36 points and Wiggins shook off struggles from earlier in the series, his first game action in months, to score 20 and save the Warriors' season. Green returns for Game 4 on Sunday at 3:30 EST. 

Houston: Nick Nurse became available after his ousting in Toronto and emerged as a top candidate for the Rockets job, with Frank Vogel, Suns assistant Kevin Young, Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin, Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, former Hornets head coach James Borrego and 76ers assistant Sam Cassell all in the mix to replace Stephen Silas. Former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka also interviewed for the position. 

Clippers (trail Phoenix 1-2): Kawhi Leonard sprained his right knee while the Clippers shocked the Suns in Game 1, played through it in their Game 2 loss and missed Game 3. He'll sit out Game 4 on Saturday with LA trying to avoid a 3-1 deficit. With Paul George (knee) expected to miss the entire series, Leonard's injury that the team called unrelated to his 2021 ACL tear left Russell Westbrook and Norman Powell, who combined for 72 points on 26-for-46 shooting and kept the Clippers within three points with 1:44 remaining. Their inability to guard Devin Booker (45 points) and Kevin Durant (28 points) cost them, after a double-team on Durant freed Torrey Craig for the decisive three.

Lakers (tied with Memphis 1-1): LeBron James shook off trash talk from Dillon Brooks after the short-handed Grizzlies beat the Lakers at home without Ja Morant. James scored 28 in the loss while Anthony Davis managed only 13 in 38 minutes in a 93-point effort for LA's offense. Rui Hachmura emerged as a breakout star in the team's Game 1 win with 29 points in 30 minutes, and added 20 off the bench in what could become the most turbulent series in the first round with Morant (hand) eyeing a return from his scary Game 1 fall for Game 3 on Saturday. 

Memphis (tied with Lakers 1-1): Ja Morant (hand) toppled over Anthony Davis in Memphis' Game 1 loss and took a long fall to the ground directly on his right hand. X-Rays returned clean and the team listed him out for Game 2 with a sore hand, Tyus Jones taking over comfortably as Xavier Tillman and Jaren Jackson Jr. battered the Lakers interior in an upset win. Morant practiced on Friday and is listed as questionable for Game 3. The fall, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo's raised questions about the validity of the charging foul rule that Joe Mazzulla and others called part of the game. 

Miami (tied with Milwaukee 1-1): Jimmy Butler stunned the Bucks in Game 1 with 35 points and 11 assists despite Tyler Herro exiting the game midway through after diving for a loose ball at half court and breaking his right hand. Herro missed Game 2 and underwent surgery that'll cost him at least six weeks, the team announced, pulling a primary scorer away from an already-starving offense. Giannis Antetokounpo (back) exited Game 1 too and missed Game 2, but with Jrue Holiday and company prepared to play without him, Milwaukee throttled the Heat, 138-122, as Duncan Robinson stepped into the starting lineup to score 14 points in Herro's place. Kyle Lowry (knee) and Victor Oladipo (elbow) played hurt, while Max Strus scored only four points in the loss. The two teams meet again on Saturday at 7:30 EST. 

Milwaukee (tied with Miami 1-1): Giannis Antetokounmpo injured his back in the Bucks' shocking Game 1 loss to the Heat, toppling over Kevin Love and writhing in pain after falling directly on his tailbone. X-Rays returned clean and Antetokounmpo missed practice before trying and failing to suit up for Game 2. The Bucks won, as they did often during the regular season, behind 71 points from Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez and Pat Connaughton, who stepped back into the rotation with 22 points. Antetokounmpo is questionable for Game 3 in Miami on Saturday, and only did individual work Friday.

Minnesota (trail Denver 0-3): On the verge of elimination in a series where the Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert front court proved incapable of slowing Nikola Jokic through three losses. While Anthony Edwards (31.7 PPG) keeps pace with Jamal Murray (27.3 PPG), Towns is shooting only 40.9% from the field and 31.3% from three as his career postseason struggles mount. While Gobert's 15.0 PPG are helpful, Minnesota couldn't find depth contributions aside from Mike Conley and Kyle Anderson, a reminder of the cost of adding Gobert as they stumble toward a worse playoff loss than last year.

New Orleans: CJ McCollum will undergo right thumb surgery he should've had three months ago, and reports indicated he also tore his shoulder labrum after the Pelicans' season came to a close against the Thunder last week. David Griffin and McCollum also moved to defend Zion Williamson, who Griffin originally seemed to criticize as Williamson admitted more than physical hurdles prevented his return after injuring his hamstring on Jan. 3.

“He wasn’t physically cleared to play,” Griffin said. “He was playing one-on-none. He went up and windmill dunked pregame. That’s not the skill set that makes you capable of playing skilled, five-on-five basketball. He was never cleared to play five-on-five basketball. So, for people to now say, ‘He chose not to play basketball,’ that’s nonsense." 

Philadelphia (lead Brooklyn 3-0): Can sweep the Nets at 1 EST on Saturday, but will need to do so without Joel Embiid (knee), who's out for Game 4 after averaging 20.0 PPG, 11.3 RPG and 4.0 APG on 46.2% shooting against heavy Brooklyn defensive pressure. Officials ejected James Harden with a flagrant two and Embiid narrowly missed his own after their respective collisions with the groin areas of Royce O'Neale and Nic Claxton. The Nets led late in Game 3 before Tyrese Maxey hit a flurry of go-ahead shots, leading Philadelphia with 23.7 PPG in the series. Embiid will undergo an MRI. 

Phoenix (lead Clippers 2-1): Devin Booker torched the Clippers for 45 points and staved off Russell Westbrook and Norman Powell's charge that lasted until the final seconds in Game 3. Kevin Durant added 28 as the Suns' stars improved to 63 PPG on 56.3% shooting against the Clippers, who fell wingless after a knee injury to Kawhi Leonard. Torrey Craig is shooting 10-for-16 from three in the series, emerging as important depth on a thin team. 

Sacramento (lead Golden State 2-1): De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis won the first two playoff games in Sacramento since 2006 with show-stopping offensive efforts, pulling away late in Game 2 after Draymond Green's ejection to take a 2-0 lead. That offense faltered in Game 3, particularly the three-point shot as the series looks increasingly likely to swing along home court lines. Fox and Malik Monk, who combined for 70 points in Game 1, fell to 30 between them at Golden State, as Sacramento finished the game 38% from the field and 23.4% from three as its defense crumbled to Steph Curry. 

It's been a dazzling series that's featured a pace that's challenged the defending champions, a Sabonis chest injury designation after Green's stomp, the ensuing suspension and even Green appearing on the Warriors injury report with an ankle injury after Sabonis grabbed it in the incident. 

Toronto: Fired head coach Nick Nurse after posting a 227-163 record in five seasons as head coach, missing the playoffs in 2-of-3 and battling turmoil all season, including trade rumors, inconsistent play and Nurse's own admission he needed to weigh his own future after the year. Former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka reportedly is a strong candidate to replace Nurse. Patrick Mutombo and Jerry Stackhouse could also receive consideration, according to Shams Charania, after Masai Ujiri and Nurse met numerous times in the weeks after the season ended, and agreed on the need for a new voice atop the team. 

“I think changes are going to be made on all fronts,” Ujiri said in his season-ending press conference. “We’re going to address that with the team. We saw how different players on our team would rise, would do well, but we never did it collectively. Maybe that could be fit. Maybe that could be system, sometimes role orientation, sometimes accountability – all the things we are going to really look at it how our roster is built. We believe in the players we have. Whether it’s tweaks or major changes, we’re definitely going to look at everything.”

Washington: Fired GM Tommy Sheppard after missing the playoffs in consecutive seasons, finishing 35-47 in both after extending Bradley Beal long-term, trading Russell Westbrook for Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, flipping Caldwell-Pope one year later for Monte Morris and Will Barton, then flipping Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans for Kristaps Porzingis. The middling roster produced inconsistent results, and poor drafting failed to supplant Beal, who himself slipped from All-NBA status and battled injuries the last two years. Wes Unseld Jr. will remain as head coach.