NBA Notebook: Joe Mazzulla getting used to NBA Playoff coaching criticism

The NBA's fifth-, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-longest tenured head coaches lost their jobs this postseason, and with four coaches left in the playoffs, only one seems 100% safe.

"It is a privilege, it's an honor to keep getting teams to these places," Doc Rivers said before Game 7 on Sunday, his final one coaching Philadelphia. "It really is. It's funny, your friends look at you and are like, 'Why do you like this?' ... you put yourself out there, because you want to win, and you know if you do that, you have to put yourself in these situations over and over again, and it's worth it." 

"Don't win coach of the year," he joked. "It doesn't go well, historically." 

While Rivers understood the position he sat in with a 3-2 lead that disappeared and cost him his job, Erik Spoelstra, who only Gregg Popovich exceeds in tenure after taking over the Miami Heat job in 2008, watched the largest coaching carrousel in recent memory develop in shock. Coaches sit in a close fraternity and under the ultimate scrutiny, knowing that their standing on teams seems to grow shorter as patience, expectations and player preference increase. 

Dwane Casey went down after a lost season where Cade Cunningham underwent season-ending surgery early. Mike Budenholzer, a 2021 champion who led the Bucks to the No. 1 seed before Giannis Antetokounmpo's first-round back injury, fell first among playoff teams. Nick Nurse, a 2019 champion who consistently led the Toronto Raptors to the postseason, lost his job after the play-in tournament. Monty Williams and Rivers, two of the league's most-respect voices and the 2022 coach of the year in Williams' case, were relieved of their duties by Phoenix and Philadelphia after second-round exits where Chris Paul and Joel Embiid missed time. 

"Right when practice started, my staff let me know (about the Rivers firing). It's disturbing," Spoelstra said. "Doc's a Hall-of-Famer, that's what Andy always says too, you get past the first round, there's going to be some really great players, great organizations, great coaching staffs that are going to lose, just by the nature of this beast. There's only so many teams that can advance, it's just a really hard thing to do. It's been a tough couple of weeks hearing the news of some really surprising firings." 

Windows only stay open for a short time, and while Spoelstra's all-time ability to raise his teams' level of play, strong relationship with Pat Riley and championship pedigree continues to buy him years as the face of Heat culture, everyone outside of him, Popovich and another future Hall-of-Famer in Steve Kerr seem to be coaching year-to-year at this point. NBA coaches are an endangered species. 

Spoelstra will coach as long as he wants in Miami, but for Joe Mazzulla, often criticized as the once-interim and rookie head coach at 34 in Boston, this postseason serves as his introduction to the pressure, scrutiny and perhaps stakes at play while coaching a team with championship expectations. Mazzulla juggled end-of-rotation decisions between Games 1-2 that swayed between Payton Pritchard and Grant Williams, who he sat for most of this postseason. Robert Williams III watched from the sideline after a strong start to the fourth quarter for Boston faded into a late collapse. The double big combination of Williams III and Al Horford that keyed the team's second-round win over Philadelphia fared poorly and mostly disappeared after starting Game 2. 

Mazzulla's trademark hesitancy to call timeouts played into the third quarter of Game 1, when the Heat scored 46 points and Boston only stopped the game once. He took responsibility for not calling timeout after Game 4 of the Philadelphia series, and both players and Mazzulla acknowledged some player empowerment taking place in both leadership responsibility and in-game adjustments, telling the team to remain flexible, and while players, starting with Jayson Tatum, absorbed criticism of their coach, others like Marcus Smart expressed it being justified -- rightfully so -- as the team needs to adjust. 

"Just understanding, regardless of who you are, some things are in your control, some aren't," Mazzulla said before Game 2. "At the end of the day, as coaches, we're all doing the best we can and that's it. When it's your time, it's your time. It starts with us, we're the leaders, we're out in the front and it's our job to set the temperature, set the tone and that's what we're held accountable to, so we're not the only job where that's the case. That's how the world works, it is what it is." 

Brad Stevens defended Mazzulla, his former assistant coach, throughout regular season struggles and intended to not speak during the playoffs to keep the attention on the Celtics' players and coaches. Boston also extended Mazzulla long-term in February after Ime Udoka's dismissal. Even with the Celtics scoring sporadically, struggling in the clutch and defending inconsistently in the postseason, with no injuries as excuses, it's hard to imagine the team dismissing Mazzulla, considering the circumstances they hired him into. Boston doesn't typically fire coaches, transitioning Stevens into the front office in 2021 after he felt his voice grew tired in the room and parting ways with Danny Ainge through a retirement. Rivers left the Celtics through a trade in 2013, and Jim O'Brien stepped down as head coach in 2004. Perhaps most importantly, Tatum enjoys playing for Mazzulla. 

Some dynamic will likely need to change if Miami eliminates Boston short of the Finals though, and while plenty of players could fall under scrutiny, it's harder to envision changes there. Tatum is untouchable. Jaylen Brown made All-NBA and is eligible for a five-year, $295 million extension this summer he'd almost certainly accept, making him trade-ineligible for one year. Smart played as consistently as any other Celtic through three rounds. 

The edges of the roster matter less, though Horford's age and Williams III's inconsistent availability should factor into the path ahead. Tighter luxury tax restrictions under the new CBA make it difficult to retain restricted free agent Grant Williams for much more than $10-million annually, and Mazzulla has effectively removed him from the rotation in February. Malcolm Brogdon, who's signed long-term, has spoken repeatedly about the difficulty of transitioning to a bench role this year, despite winning sixth man of the year, and has seen it all playing for six head coaches before Mazzulla. 

"It's a volatile position," Brogdon told Boston Sports Journal. "Things can change within half of a season, up to the all-star break, a new coach can be in there, and people are already questioning him within a couple of months, and players know that, you can get traded at any minute. Coaching is the same. There have been a lot of great coaches that have gotten fired. Monty Williams was leading the league in winning percentage over the last couple of years, and it happens. It's part of the business. I think a lot of these coaches understand that, and they're gonna get other opportunities. It's been interesting to watch, for sure." 

With high-profile coaches losing their roles, they're almost certain to replace each other. Rivers could land in Phoenix, Budenholzer's name emerged early in the Philadelphia conversation, as did Nurse's in Milwaukee. Williams could fill any of those positions, and all four could end up replacing each other. Toronto may fill its position internally, while other internal candidates on each bench like Charles Lee, Sam Cassell, Kevin Young and Adrian Griffin long received positive reviews as future head coaches in the NBA. Nurse himself emerged as a champion in the aftermath of Casey's firing from the Raptors after winning coach of the year in the same season. 

Mazzulla finished third in this year's voting, which buys you even less. Reports continue to point toward a veteran coach like Frank Vogel or Stephen Silas joining his staff and supplementing the bench in some way feels inevitable after Damon Stoudamire's departure for Georgia Tech. Both Silas and former Celtics guard Phil Pressey, who now coaches at the University of Missouri, appeared at Celtics practices in recent weeks. A name like Vogel, who would leave Mazzulla looking over his shoulder, feels unlikely, setting up a difficult decision for the Celtics if Mazzulla and the team fall short, empower him further by letting him form his own staff, or consider a fourth head coach in four seasons? As tumultuous as that sounds, it's a new normal in the NBA -- unless you're the Miami Heat or San Antonio Spurs.  

"Spo's a great coach. He coaches to win, he leads personnel, it doesn't matter who's on his floor," Brown told BSJ before the series. "They're always playing hard, they always execute and they're always tough to beat. Spo has proven himself, he's an NBA champion and he always has his guys ready to go with a team that's got some players that are down, and still managed to get to the position they're in. I think coaching plays a tremendous part in our league, as well as, having players who are mentally mature enough to lead a group and be susceptible to coaching. I think Spo is one of our league's best." 

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

Boston (down 0-2 vs. Miami): Jayson Tatum took three field goal attempts combined in the fourth quarters of Game 1 and 2 against the Heat after stealing Game 7 against the 76ers with 51 points and 0 turnovers in his best game ever. Jaylen Brown complained about the Heat's mixed coverages and aggressive help after shooting 7-for-23 in likely his worst performance this season. Grant Williams returned to the lineup after mostly sitting for three games and came, to quote Kevin Harlan, nose-to-nose, eye-to-eye with Jimmy Butler after placing the Celtics up by nine points with a three midway through the fourth quarter. Butler then finished the game with four straight makes to swipe the lead back. Only the 1994 Rockets, according to Sean Grande, overcame losing Games 1-2 in a series at home to win the championship. At best, the Celtics are headed for another seven-game grind to reach the NBA Finals. 

"It’s tough, it’s a challenge,” Tatum said. “There’s no point being up here sad and s***. They came in here and won two games, they played well, you give them credit. We’re not dead or anything, we’ve got a great opportunity, I still got the utmost confidence, everybody has the utmost confidence. We just gotta get ready for Game 3.”

Brooklyn: Speculation emerged that the Nets could trade Mikal Bridges for the Trail Blazers for a package that includes the No. 3 overall pick in this year's draft. The Nets rejected overtures that reportedly included multiple future firsts for Bridges after they landed him for Kevin Durant before the trade deadline. Both Alex Schiffer and John Hollinger indicated a deal is unlikely, especially since the Nets hold no incentive to bottoming-out given they owe the Rockets first-round picks through 2027 from the James Harden trade. Bridges, who averaged 26.1 PPG with the Nets, is signed through 2026. 

Ben Simmons, who played only two games with Bridges and 42 total last season, is progressing well in his recovery from another back injury. After he previously expressed interest in joining Australia for the FIBA World Cup this summer, he was left off the team's preliminary roster last week.

Charlotte: Landed the No. 2 overall pick in next week's draft, narrowly missing out on Victor Wembanyama, but receiving the opportunity to draft another highly-touted prospect in G-League Ignite's Scoot Henderson. Henderson's dynamic playmaking and elite athleticism would pair nicely with LaMelo Ball in the backcourt, who would likely thrive in an off-ball guard role next to another point guard like the role his brother Lonzo Ball often played. It'd also be a sizable pairing that would allow Terry Rozier to move to a bench-scoring role. 

Alabama forward Brandon Miller, another option at this spot who became engulfed in controversy earlier this year over his proximity to a murder, reportedly hasn't performed well in pre-draft interviews. Police did not charge Miller and he denied knowing the car he drove to former teammate Darius Miles and the alleged killer had a gun in it, the latter two receiving charges of capital murder. 

"He is not in great shape right now," ESPN's Jonathan Givony reported. "So I don’t know how great his workout’s going to be. His interviews have not been great, I’ve been told — both publicly and privately with NBA teams.”

Dallas: Mark Cuban and the Mavericks' plan worked, for now. Dallas stayed in the No. 10 slot at the draft lottery, retaining their protected first-round pick from the Knicks, who would've received it if they fell back one spot. The pick's protections, 1-10, kick back again to 2024 before turning into second-round compensation if the pick gets protected again next year. The NBA fined the Mavericks for sitting players late in the year to fall out of the playoff race. Michael Scotto reported the Mavericks will shop the No. 10 pick in trade talks to upgrade the roster around Luka Dončić, who did not like the tank move.

Denver (lead 2-0 vs. Lakers): Nikola Jokić's affirming playoff run continued with a mind-blowing Game 1 win over the Lakers where he scored 34 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and dished 14 assists on 12-for-17 shooting. Jokić didn't score in the fourth quarter, though, and didn't again in Game 2, where he posted 23 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists on 9-for-21 shooting, raising concerns about fatigue. Jamal Murray picked him up with 37 points in a closeout effort in Game 2, dropping 23 in the final frame, reminding everyone of his and Jokić's potential together and cementing the Nuggets as championship favorites for the moment with Boston flailing in the east. Game 3 begins in Los Angeles on Saturday at 8:30 EST. 

Detroit: Fell to No. 5 in the draft after finishing with the worst record in the NBA this season, a devastating result reminiscent of the Celtics' fall in the 2007 draft with Greg Oden and Kevin Durant on the board. There's no Kevin Garnett trade coming to save this group, and while they already picked their star of the future in Cade Cunningham and acquired intriguing prospects like Jaden Ivey, James Wiseman and Jalen Duren, the lottery loss marked another step back for the rebuild along with Dwane Casey's removal as head coach, Cunningham's shin injury and their dreadful 2023 season. 

Golden State: The Warriors reportedly offered Bob Myers enough money to become the league's highest-paid GM, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The report came after others indicated pessimism Myers would return as Golden State's lead executive, partially due to those contract negotiations and potentially over the uncertainty facing the Warriors' roster into the future. Draymond Green's free agency looms, as do difficult decisions regarding the team's young core, which struggled immensely between Jordan Poole, Jonathan Kuminga and others. Enormous luxury tax difficulties also loom under the new CBA, which will restrict the team's ability to make trades, sign free agents and trade future draft picks. 

Houston: Ime Udoka, who attended the draft lottery as the Rockets' representative, missed out on Victor Wembanyama when the Rockets fell to No. 4 overall, a third straight fall from their position in the standings, but will reportedly coach James Harden next season with the Philadelphia Inquirer reporting that Harden will leave the 76ers and rejoin the Rockets, fulfilling a long-reported rumor. The Rockets can sign Harden to a four-year, $201 million deal that starts at $46.9 million, beginning in his age 34 season. Philadelphia could offer five years, $272 million, which could still happen. 

Clippers: Expect Ty Lue to remain the team's head coach after rivals hoped he may shake loose, despite multiple years remaining on his contract with the Clippers. Chris Haynes, however, reported that Lue prefers to receive an entirely new contract to replace those final two seasons, rather than a contract extension beyond it. Los Angeles signed Lue for five years, $35 million in 2020 after he replaced Doc Rivers. Zach Lowe reported LA has no intentions to allow Lue to leave for a new team before his deal ends. 

Lakers (down 0-2 vs. Denver): Receiving 29.0 PPG from Anthony Davis, but not enough from others with LeBron James down to 24.0 PPG, and Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura providing the team's only other double-figure scoring through two games. Any hope that Davis could slow Nikola Jokić disappeared quickly in Game 1, with Jokić highlighting his iconic game with a leaning three-pointer far behind the line that sent Davis away shaking his head. D'Angelo Russell is shooting 36.8% from the field and Dennis Schröder hasn't been able to slow Jamal Murray after providing some competitive minutes against Steph Curry last series. The difference between the Bubble West finals and this one is already evident, but it's worth seeing how the Lakers look at home before calling this series off. James, who missed six threes in Game 2, fell to 0-for-19 from deep since the first round. 

“It will be hard to keep him out of this mix," Darvin Ham said of James' Game 3 status after he twisted his left ankle on Aaron Gordon's foot.

Miami (lead 2-0 vs. Boston): Jimmy Butler and Erik Spoelstra stand on the edge of history after taking a 2-0 lead on the Celtics, Butler leading Miami back from down nine points with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to steal a sixth crunch time victory this postseason. He scored 27 points with six assists after pouring in 35 in the Game 1 victory, while Miami's defense perplexed the Celtics into 15 turnovers. Caleb Martin scored 25 points, Bam Adebayo neared a triple-double with 22 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists, including the game-sealing putback. Grant Williams invigorated Butler.

“That’s just competition at its finest. He hit a big shot, started talking to me, I liked that," Grant said. "I’m all for that. It makes me key in a lot more, it pushes that will that I have to win a lot more. It makes me smile. It does. When people talk to me, I’m like 'oh, I’m a decent player if you want to talk to me out of everybody you can talk to' … I just don’t know if I’m the best person to talk to.”

Milwaukee: Continuing a wide search for Mike Budenholzer's replacement that now includes Frank Vogel, Scott Brooks, University of Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson and previously interviewed candidates like Kenny Atkinson, Charles Lee, Adrian Griffin, Chris Quinn, Kevin Young and James Borrego. Sampson previously spent time as a Bucks assistant and has a strong relationship with Milwaukee's GM Jon Horst. 

Orlando: Received two first-round picks, their own staying at No. 6 overall and Chicago's at No. 11 from the Nikola Vučević trade. Those along with a successful first season for Paolo Banchero and a projected $59 million in cap space give them significant flexibility to pursue roster improvements, whether an undesirable contract like Golden State's Jordan Poole or a free agent like Raptors guard Fred VanVleet. Look out for them next month.

Philadelphia: Fired Doc Rivers after losing Game 7 to the Celtics, a move that surprised Joel Embiid and came in part, according to reports, from James Harden's desires as Daryl Morey announced the team hopes to retain Harden. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported he's already gone, expected to opt out of his $35.6-million player option and sign with the Houston Rockets. The 76ers' ability to offer five years, $272 million could change that, but they're balancing potentially handing out one of the league's worst contracts with losing Harden for nothing and leaving Joel Embiid with little hope of contending for a championship. Monty Williams, Nick Nurse, Mike Budenholzer and internal replacements like Sam Cassell are available, but a surprise betting favorite emerged in ESPN analyst and former 76ers shooter J.J. Redick. 

Phoenix: Fired Monty Williams in the most shocking of all the coaching dismissals after a second-round exit and four seasons where he finished 194-115 and reached the 2021 NBA Finals. Williams, Devin Booker and his staff barely had any time to integrate Kevin Durant after his February acquisition, Chris Paul fell injured in the Nuggets series and an uncertain roster around the team's three stars didn't help. Perhaps his rocky relationship with Deandre Ayton and new owner Mat Ishbia exerting extra control proved insurmountable, but it's hard to imagine them finding a better head coach. 

Portland: Moved up to No. 3 overall with the fifth-best lottery odds, seeing another gamble to build around Damian Lillard pay off with a powerful trade chip, or the ability to select a top prospect like Scoot Henderson or more likely Brandon Miller. Adding wing depth, gaining the flexibility to shop sharpshooting guard Anfernee SImons and other moves give the team hope, perhaps for a final time, to build a contender around Lillard after he achieved an All-NBA season. Marc Stein confirmed their unwillingness to move on from Lillard at this time, but a tall task remains in a tough west. 

San Antonio: Victor Wembanyama will play for the San Antonio Spurs. The all-time heralded prospect wanted to play for Gregg Popovich's Spurs like French star Tony Parker before him and learned he would after midnight on Wednesday in France, with the Spurs winning the lottery to land Hall-of-Famers Tim Duncan and David Robinson in 1987 and 1997. Many evaluators expect Wembanyama to emerge as a top NBA player immediately, and Marc Stein reported Duncan will work with Wembanyama upon arrival.