Coach Mazzulla so far so good.

[Celtics4ever]

I do wonder, though:  if Kornet couldn't get into a game when Timelord was out, Horford and Grant were in foul trouble, and Vonleh needed help on Embiid, under what circumstances will he play?  If he's a glorified assistant coach because he's well-liked in the locker room, then maybe he should be waived and signed in a player-development role?

He is not that good is why.    The Boston media has built up expectations of him playing that are quite frankly unrealistic.....

Luke can't rotate well, nor can he rebound that well.   He is thus highly situational in when he can be played.   He can be a spacer if we have another big out there that can rotate and rebound.   But count on him doing those things and you're looking for a loss.  He almost needs a guy like Rob in there when he is playing to cover his deficits.   I am sure at some point we will need his talents but not last night.  He is also coming back from injury.

[Surferdad]

One game is obviously too small a sample size.

I do like having an unmasked coach.

why?

I believe this is may be a political comment?

Nope, just personal preference. I just got tied of Ime wearing his mask all the time which makes it more difficult to see his expressions. I am not judging why he wore it, not my business.

[Goldstar88]

One game is obviously too small a sample size.

I do like having an unmasked coach.

why?

I believe this is may be a political comment?

Nope, just personal preference. I just got tied of Ime wearing his mask all the time which makes it more difficult to see his expressions. I am not judging why he wore it, not my business.

I mean, can you even call it wearing a mask? This is how he usually looked during the games at least. 

[SHAQATTACK]

Woe be unto him if he losses….   …..this Boston fan base can be a tuff crowd .

[ozgod]

Agreed.  One game in, he handled things well.

I was surprised that Hauser got only spot duty, and that Kornet and Pritchard got no minutes at all.  That doesn't mean it was the wrong decision, I just didn't expect it.

I do wonder, though:  if Kornet couldn't get into a game when Timelord was out, Horford and Grant were in foul trouble, and Vonleh needed help on Embiid, under what circumstances will he play?  If he's a glorified assistant coach because he's well-liked in the locker room, then maybe he should be waived and signed in a player-development role?

It's early to draw conclusions over who will play and who won't, but think Kornet is going to be a horses for courses type selection, because he wasn't a good matchup for Embiid, he just doesn't have the bulk. He will probably be a niche guy that can stretch the floor and defend the rim against drivers with his length. Doesn't mean he can't add value, just that his usage will be situational. I think Vonleh has leapfrogged him in terms of being the second big to bring on when Horford sits and they don't want to go to a small lineup. Same goes for Pritchard, they probably didn't feel that defensively he was a good matchup for Philly. Imagine him getting switched on to Embiid in a pick and roll.

As for Hauser, maybe they didn't like how the lineup looked when he was on? I know I didn't. Maybe against Miami or Orlando we will see more of him. But to be honest I'm not expecting huge minutes for him, Kornet or Pritchard this year, other than situational where they need a spark off the bench or floor spacers.

I think Joe Mazz wanted to win the game against a fellow EC favorite, and he went with tried and true players who could be trusted to deliver.

Again it's very early but I feel the bulk of the minutes will go to permutations of:

Ball Handlers/Wings: Smart, Brogdon, White, Tatum, Brown, GWill
Bigs: Horford, Timelord, Vonleh, Griffin

When everyone's healthy that's 10 guys that can play multiple roles, fill wing spots, handle the ball, defend multiple positions, switch everything, rebound...with niche appearances by Pritchard, Kornet, Hauser to give the defense different looks depending on the situation or to fill development minutes at the appropriate time.

I will say I find it a little concerning that Vonleh is our second big behind Horford right now...he didn't do anything to disgrace himself last night, I thought he acquitted himself pretty well defending Embiid despite the fouls...but if Al gets injured he becomes our starting big. I would be fine with him as our No3 big, No2 or starting makes me uncomfortable. But we'll see what happens, it's only one game. I'm prepared to give him a clean slate and judge him on his play for us, not for past NBA teams. I'm sure Joe and Brad want to know too how he handles himself.

[Goldstar88]

Really impressed with Mazulla… Think it’s time to drop the interim title.

[hpantazo]

Really impressed with Mazulla… Think it’s time to drop the interim title.

I'm guessing for legal purposes, they can't drop the interm title until they resolve the Udoka situation.


I really like the offense this season under Mazzulla. The defense however is not there yet, and that's not because of Rob Williams. The team focus and effort on defense is not where it was last year. I believe they will get there though.

[Celtics4ever]

I think he has done good and is a work in progress.   But he has to be tough as people who play for Bob Huggins are, and had to be.   Huggy Bear demands that.  I wish the knuckleheads in the media would focus more on him and quit asking him questions on Udoka.

I think he is feeling out  the balance between being in charge and being a player's coach.   The timeouts were a good example of this matter.

I am not sure how much the ball movement is due to Udoka or adding players like Brogdon or just the team trusting each other more.   

So far good, pretty good for the most part.

[Goldstar88]

Ime who? 11-3 to start the season. Tied for first in the East, most wins in the league. Mazz is doing a great job.

[GetLucky]

I think he has done good and is a work in progress.   But he has to be tough as people who play for Bob Huggins are, and had to be.   Huggy Bear demands that.  I wish the knuckleheads in the media would focus more on him and quit asking him questions on Udoka.

I think he is feeling out  the balance between being in charge and being a player's coach.   The timeouts were a good example of this matter.

I am not sure how much the ball movement is due to Udoka or adding players like Brogdon or just the team trusting each other more.   

So far good, pretty good for the most part.

I'm pretty sure the ball movement is all Mazzulla. We didn't see: 1) the double pin-down with Tatum/Brown/another player or 2) the Tatum-Brown PnR or 3) the Jaylen Brown as a screener or 4) the Iverson cut for shooters (Hauser) at all under Udoka last year. Mazzulla seems to have an elite understanding of spacing that even Stevens and Udoka didn't have.

[SHAQATTACK]

Coach is getting experience and confidence too.   Big learning curve when you are pulling ALL the triggers for an NBA team.   

Seems to be adjusting about as good as you could hope IMO, as well as the team is getting his vib too….which is just as critical.

[GreenEnvy]

He’s got them playing wonderfully on offense.

At times they are painful to watch on defense. I’m sure Rob will help some, but most of them need to bring the same energy/focus on the defensive end that they do offensively.

[Hoopvortex]

I think he has done good and is a work in progress.   But he has to be tough as people who play for Bob Huggins are, and had to be.   Huggy Bear demands that.  I wish the knuckleheads in the media would focus more on him and quit asking him questions on Udoka.

I think he is feeling out  the balance between being in charge and being a player's coach.   The timeouts were a good example of this matter.

I am not sure how much the ball movement is due to Udoka or adding players like Brogdon or just the team trusting each other more.   

So far good, pretty good for the most part.

I'm pretty sure the ball movement is all Mazzulla. We didn't see: 1) the double pin-down with Tatum/Brown/another player or 2) the Tatum-Brown PnR or 3) the Jaylen Brown as a screener or 4) the Iverson cut for shooters (Hauser) at all under Udoka last year. Mazzulla seems to have an elite understanding of spacing that even Stevens and Udoka didn't have.

Pretty interesting play with Smart as the roll man at 1:09 of the 4th with Boston up 3:

High pick and roll with Tatum as the ballhandler; Smart does a zipper cut to set the pick on Jalen Williams, getting the switch and taking the pass from Tatum. The right-hand drive turns into a post-up deep in the lane. A cut for Jaylen Brown follows, which gets interfered with - but Smart keeps the ball and finds the spot-up shooter for the basket.

Notice that one consequence of this play is that Tatum now has a smaller player on him.

Joe called this play at a crucial part of the game.

One difference with Mazzulla-ball is a more central role for Marcus Smart. Lots of post-ups for him, and even, as in this play, an inverted role as the roller to get him a mismatch.

In creating this expanded responsibility for Marcus, Coach Joe has done something that neither of his predecessors did. Fortunately Marcus has expanded to fill the role; his assists are currently at a career-high 29.2% - and more importantly, Boston has the best offense in the league (119.5, per Basketball Reference).

Mazzulla definitely gets credit for re-vamping the offense, featuring a more central role for Marcus Smart.

The old wisdom in the NBA is that a coach makes his biggest impact on the defensive end. But mostly the Celtics' defense has been mediocre so far this season. The aggressiveness is what I especially miss. This has simply got to get better, and it's on the head coach more than anyone.

[slamtheking]

He’s got them playing wonderfully on offense.

At times they are painful to watch on defense. I’m sure Rob will help some, but most of them need to bring the same energy/focus on the defensive end that they do offensively.

agreed - the offense seems much better this year.  part of that is the addition of Brogdon and the emergence of Hauser as a legit shooter but I think there's better coaching regarding offensive philosophy of ball movement and transition buckets.

what's really lacking is the defense.  it's like it just completely got left off the practice itinerary or out of the coaching philosophy.  Timelord alone isn't going to fix that.  Joe needs to get this team back to playing tight defense because that's what will keep them in games when their shooting is off like last night.

[tonydelk]

He’s got them playing wonderfully on offense.

At times they are painful to watch on defense. I’m sure Rob will help some, but most of them need to bring the same energy/focus on the defensive end that they do offensively.

agreed - the offense seems much better this year.  part of that is the addition of Brogdon and the emergence of Hauser as a legit shooter but I think there's better coaching regarding offensive philosophy of ball movement and transition buckets.

what's really lacking is the defense.  it's like it just completely got left off the practice itinerary or out of the coaching philosophy.  Timelord alone isn't going to fix that.  Joe needs to get this team back to playing tight defense because that's what will keep them in games when their shooting is off like last night.

A lot of what I'm seeing on D is effort.  how many times a game does Grant or Tatum complain to the refs instead of getting back on D.  It doesn't help that with GW they are undersized.  Timelord will definitely help but it's an effort thing with me.  Their effort last night in the 4th qtr was 100 times better then the first 3 quarters.  This has been an issue and if they don't make some of the  improvements needed the playoffs will be much harder when defenses tighten up.  Stop complaining to the refs and get back on D.  It also shows you how good the double big lineup was on D but how much better their offense is without it.  I'm not sure what will happen with Rob back.  D better O worse?  Either way when this team is engaged they are unstoppable even on nights like last night when most of them couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.