Karalis: The chaotic way Joe Mazzulla got his job makes perfect sense in retrospect, and it helped his message stick

The Celtics have played handball, wiffle ball, football, and participated in a speed walk relay. They have been shown videos of wild animals hunting, MMA fighters getting knocked out, and who knows what else from the mind of Joe Mazzulla, now in his third training camp as head coach.

“I think at this point we’ve known long enough that he is different,” Al Horford said, reiterating that he trusts Mazzulla’s methods. “But I think that we know that if we want to keep getting better, we have to be different, to have different things, and that’s something that he always emphasizes.”

The Celtics wouldn't be in this position if not for the most bizarre, unfortunate circumstances surrounding Ime Udoka’s suspension in 2022. Udoka was supposed to be the coach of the future for Boston, a hard-nosed former player who came here to push players who admitted they needed the challenge. And though it took a few months to come together, Udoka’s style showed its worth. After another embarrassing loss to New York that January, the Celtics galvanized and found their way through the East and to the NBA Finals. 

Everyone from players to the front office to fans were on board, which made his suspension so shocking and divisive. Brad Stevens had no time to do a coaching search and, because the team couldn't afford whispers of Udoka coaching by proxy, there was no chance of him elevating one of Udoka’s hand-picked assistants. That really only left one choice. 

Mazzulla took over at what seemed to be the Celtics' darkest hour. The team fighting to get back to the NBA Finals and raise Banner 18 was *this* close … too close for some rookie to jump from the second row into the head coach’s seat. The noise around the team was loud, filled with scores of questions about what, why, and what’s next. Everything they had built, with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown approaching their primes, seemed to be teetering just days before training camp. 

But the worst things that happen can often be the best things that happen.

Mazulla was thrust into a fight or flight situation, which we now know suits him perfectly. He stood in front of a team whose stars had personally endorsed the outgoing coach and got them to understand there was only one way out of their situation. 

There was no room for skepticism. There was no room to question his methods. All they had was each other and the collective dismissal of their chances from the outside world. 

“Us versus them” is a powerful unifier and motivator. 

It’s hard to imagine this same level of buy-in if Mazzulla had simply won the interview process. NBA players are creatures of habit and routine, which makes it easy to cast side eyes at baton relays and killer whale videos during practices and film sessions. Heck, Mazzulla might never have even gotten a head coaching gig with some of the things he’s talking about. 

There's no way to tell how the normal process of getting a head coaching job would have gone for Mazzulla, but there's a good chance he wouldn’t be where his right now … the third-year coach of an NBA champion with an overall winning percentage north of 73%. Inheriting a ready-made winner and getting the most out of that group is rare in the NBA. 

Circumstances pushed the team into a phalanx, allowing Mazzulla to be his true self. It forced the team to give him a chance and listen, maybe past the point where they would have otherwise tuned out. It gave the team a chance to understand what Mazzulla was talking about, even if it was coming from a different direction. 

The more comfortable they got with him, the more comfortable he got with them and with the job itself. He is more at ease with the media attention and on the practice floor. Everyone is allowed to be their true selves and they're thriving because of it. 

Mazzulla was handed a situation two years ago that would have crushed a lot of spirits. He took the baton and ran with it, taking advantage of the pressure and the negativity to get his team to buy into his unique view of the world. He has connected to his players quite deeply, and perhaps more so than he would have under different circumstances. 

That situation proved his point before he even made it. We rarely, if ever, get to dictate the terms of engagement. There is a surprise around every corner and within that something that could knock you down if you let it. All we can do is assess what’s facing us and attack it head-on. We understand what’s at stake, do everything we can to come out on top, and accept whatever the result might be. 

A 12-hour flight to Abu Dhabi for two preseason games? That's supposed to be a challenge? That's what passes for adversity these days? 

Call it baptism by fire if you want. Drop the “pressure makes diamonds” line if you must. However you want to characterize it, there's no doubt that how Mazzulla got this job was kind of perfect in retrospect. There's no way someone like Mazzulla should have ever gotten a head coaching job simply by acing an interview. Looking back, the way it happened made perfect sense, and it might have been the right situation to get his message to stick.