From the Athletic:
How off-base is the part of the fandom that blamed coach Joe Mazzulla for the Celtics ?failure?? Let?s put it this way: if one or two more shots in Game 7 had gone down in a critical stretch, they would have been still playing (although the Knicks have been playing like mad, so I?m not sure they would have done any better). But seeing folks calling for coaching staff changes and even a head coach change makes me think that folks have an unrealistic view of what we could get if we were crazy enough to get rid of Joe. ? David Y.
The Celtics should not consider firing Joe Mazzulla for a second. He turned a ?gap year? into a 56-win season ? and that was the worst regular-season record of his head-coaching career. While his previous rosters were ready-made, this one required more teaching. The team overachieved this season partly because Mazzulla turned an inexperienced supporting cast into a strength. He deserves plenty of credit for the development of Boston?s young players. He created a system and mindset that carried the Celtics far beyond expectations. He was a worthy Coach of the Year award winner.
That said, Mazzulla needs to alter his approach in the playoffs. He needs to be quicker to make major adjustments within a series. After he inserted Robert Williams III into the starting lineup in Game 6 of a second-round series in 2023, the Celtics sounded surprised it took Mazzulla so long to make that call. Kristaps Porziņģis hurt the Celtics during the 2025 playoffs, but Mazzulla kept the big man in the rotation instead of turning to the highly capable Luke Kornet. Nikola Vučević gave Boston very little late in the regular season, but Mazzulla still stuck with him through six games of the first round. It wasn?t until Game 7 that Mazzulla made his first big rotation adjustments of the series. He might have gone overboard when he did, giving three players their first playoff starts ever.
The best playoff coaches are quick and decisive when they spot a necessary change. Mazzulla needs to prove he can recognize and follow through on the tweaks that turn a series. The Celtics have now lost stunning series upsets in three of his four seasons. Of course, under his guidance, they also crushed everyone on their way to the 2024 championship.
The playoffs exposed parts of the Celtics roster. The team still should have found a way to win one of the final three games against the 76ers, especially considering two of those games were in Boston.
Who?s your dream starting center, and what would it take to trade for them? ? Jeff M.
Giannis Antetokounmpo talk aside, what are the realistic options for building out a more playoff-ready big man rotation? Does Neemias Queta stay the starter in all scenarios? ? Nick G.
The Celtics? frontcourt surpassed all expectations throughout the regular season, but the first round shone a light on that group?s flaws. The best bet for the offseason is that Celtics general manager Brad Stevens will pursue another center to either take Queta?s starting spot or serve as a worthy backup to him.
One problem? The market for big men won?t be particularly robust. Assuming the Thunder hold onto Isaiah Hartenstein, who has a team option for next season, the most appealing free agents are likely Mitchell Robinson and Robert Williams. The Celtics will have the $15 million mid-level exception to pursue targets in July. Presumably, they would need to offer Robinson a long-term contract to have a chance of landing him. Williams, who has dealt with plenty of injury issues throughout his career, could potentially be available on a shorter-term deal.
A $27.7 million traded player exception could allow the Celtics to pursue other centers currently under contract. Among other big men, Myles Turner, Nicolas Claxton, Onyeka Okongwu, Isaiah Stewart, and Daniel Gafford would all fit within that TPE. However, Boston will have other salary-cap considerations when deciding how (and whether) to use the big roster-building tool.
Would any of those guys be the Celtics? dream center? Probably not, but they need to find an upgrade at the position somehow. If I were in Boston?s front office, I would prefer to land Robinson or Williams in free agency. That type of athleticism would be a welcome addition to a team that ranked 29th in dunks.
Given that Jayson Tatum?s return from his Achilles injury (as great as he looked) ended in another smaller injury and didn?t quite propel the team past the first round as hoped, is it time to reconsider the ?championship-or-bust? timeline some seem to hold for 2027? Should the front office prioritize players who can continue to take some of the rebounding and defensive burden off of Tatum to reduce the physical burden on him during his first full year back? ? Andrew L.
While Tatum was injured, the Celtics found players who could take some of the rebounding and defensive burden off him. They just didn?t play many of those guys during the postseason. Hugo Gonz?lez played 19 total minutes in the playoffs, while Baylor Scheierman averaged 14.1 minutes per game.
Moving forward, that wing depth should be used to avoid overworking Tatum and help him navigate the long regular season. As much as he wanted to play his normal minutes during the postseason, it probably didn?t help him to play more than 40 minutes against Philadelphia twice, less than two months after returning from a torn Achilles.
As for the ?championship-or-bust? timeline, the Celtics just won 56 games while missing Tatum for most of the regular season. They flopped during the playoffs, but have reason to hope next season should be different. With Tatum presumably closer to 100 percent, plus a frontcourt upgrade, they should be aiming for much more than a spunky regular season and disappointing first-round exit. Unfortunately for them and every other challenger, the reign of Victor Wembanyama might have already begun.
I love Derrick White. Such a winning player. What I am wondering is related to his shooting and how badly he slumped across the whole second half. I have a sense he could have been playing through an injury, but that is just a thought. What do you think caused his shooting to crater so badly, Jay? ? Thomas S.
For such a great player, White can be prone to crises of confidence. During the 2024-25 season, he set a Celtics record with 265 made 3-pointers. And still, in December and January of that season, he went through a swoon that saw his percentages dive and his shot attempts dwindle. He eventually snapped out of that slump, but couldn?t find his rhythm behind the arc this season. I thought Tatum?s return would help White as much as anyone because it would lead to easier shots for the guard, but he still never found his stroke. In the playoffs, obviously, that became a major problem.
White can be trusted to put in the work over the summer to regain his 3-point accuracy, but I thought he was beyond that issue at this point in his career. Guess not. If it were a confidence problem, he needs to remember that such talented players should never lack that.
Everyone is reasonably concerned about Jaylen Brown?s future with the team, so I will ask a different but equally critical question about the Celtics future. Two years from now, are we talking about Ron Harper Jr., as a starter and potential all-star? The guy has game, great size, is an excellent shooter and works hard on D. What am I missing? ? Dan Y.
Harper has scored in double figures four times over the first four seasons of his career. You are not missing optimism, my friend.
That said, people inside the organization really seem to believe in Harper ? and I would have said that even before Mazzulla started the wing in Game 7. The way people with the Celtics discuss Harper reminds me of the way they spoke about Sam Hauser before Hauser emerged as a valuable contributor. Everyone seemed to see Hauser?s rise coming. Even before he proved it under the bright lights, the organization realized he could play.
Harper draws similar reviews. He might only need a bigger chance, but it?s not clear if or when that will arrive. The Celtics have plenty of wings behind Tatum and Brown, including several young ones who could be ready for increased responsibilities of their own. Stevens has called Gonz?lez ?a critical part of us moving forward.? Scheierman and Jordan Walsh will also be pushing for more minutes. Harper should be in the mix for a more regular role, but he will have plenty of competition for it.
You?ve said on ?Still Poddable? (free plug!) that you think Gonz?lez could be a starting-caliber player in the next year or two. What does he have to work on to get there? ?Scoring? is the obvious answer but what kind of scoring fits his skill set best? ? Aaron M.
Thanks for listening to the podcast! As I watch the Spurs in the playoffs, what stands out most beyond Victor Wembanyama?s greatness is their relentlessness off the bounce. De?Aaron Fox is one of the league?s fastest players with the ball in his hands. Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper combine great speed with overwhelming strength. San Antonio ranks second in the playoffs in percentage of shot attempts within four feet at 37.2 percent, and it?s not just because Wembanyama is taller than everyone else.
The Celtics, who ranked last in that category during the regular season, attempted only 22.8 percent of their shots from that zone during the first round. As Stevens noted after his team?s elimination, they need to put more pressure on the rim.
Hugo Gonz?lez could eventually help them do it. He doesn?t have all the moves yet, but possesses rare athletic traits that the NBA?s best teams seem to find useful. I don?t know exactly what he will become offensively yet, but the Celtics should try to mold him into a nonstop driver who draws plenty of fouls and converts with regularity at the rim.
Topic: Jay King thoughts on the Celtics (Read 460 times)