Brad Stevens shares the good points

Year-end celebrations are an opportunity to reflect on the start of the season, as franchises are already a third of the way through the regular season. After just over two months of competition, despite some upheavals in recent days, the results can only be positive for Boston.

Boston and Milwaukee will battle for the top spot in the Eastern Conference tonight, Celtics president Brad Stevens said. At the forefront of the festivities, of course, is Joe Mazzulla’s successful transplant. After the Ime Udoka affair, the management opted for an internal solution, and so far it has paid off.

Joe Mazzulla, lucky bet

“It’s really good… You get better every 20 games you coach in the NBA. Even going back to the beginning of training camp, the leadership, the organization, the way he was greeted… He got along with everyone. Very open to people. To their different ideas. Maybe too obvious sometimes, right? Because there are a million things going on with him at the same time. But he is very good and his team is very good.

The shock was real when Ime Udoka, the NBA Rookie of the Year finalist, had to be removed from her duties. But Joe Mazzulla was able to quickly set the new dynamic in motion, and his team followed. As a sign of his successful work, he has already won the title of coach of the month for November.

“It’s probably something we don’t talk about enough. I think it was a unique thing for everyone and the squad picked up the slack and did their job for the win. We have to do it. Everyone has a role to play in this franchise, we all have to play it to the best of our ability to give ourselves a chance to win.” Brad Stevens added.

State of mind and team cohesion were tested

Like Joe Mazzulla, Brad Stevens went deep into the NBA at the helm of one of the league’s most prestigious franchises. So he knows exactly how his successor might feel, especially after Boston’s recent five-game losing streak.

“Coaching in any league or at any level is tough, but coaching in the NBA is really tough with 82 games and the inevitable ups and downs. So I want Joe Mazzul and our team to know that I’m aware of that. I’ve been through a three-game stretch where we haven’t played very well like we have now. in a slump or a two-week slump, know that I’ve seen a lot of good and great teams overcome it. And the key is how to respond to it? How to collectively maintain the right approach while trying to make small adjustments and course corrections.

While waiting for Danilo Gallinari’s first steps, manager Malcolm Brogdon has welcomed the contribution, particularly his ability to be productive and organized off the bench. He also emphasized the state of mind and unity emerging from this 2022-2023 workforce.

“While we don’t always put up banners, we’ve had a lot of good teams come close to doing it. Like all the people I work with on a professional level, it has this spirit of unity and camaraderie. I think they really love each other. This is a group with a very good personality. I see it in a lot of things, when kids have a tough game, when they’re going through tough days, there’s a lot of support between them, and I like that.”he admitted. “I think our top players do a really good job of making sure everyone feels that way and is appreciated, and that’s a good thing.”