When Ime Udoka took over as the Boston Celtics head coach last season, we were all incredibly receptive to the notion that there would undoubtedly be some teething issues to start the season. Just like a player, no amount of practice, time spent on the bench, or hours in the film room can fully prepare you for the heat of the moment — that’s a lesson you have to learn on the job, and in time, your ability to process information at a quicker rate will rapidly improve.
We saw Udoka go through those lessons, as he struggled with his rotations, and sometimes persisted with a specific lineup for too long, or pulled guys too soon. Eventually, though, Udoka got things right and never looked back. Joe Mazzulla, in his first season as an NBA head coach, will likely experience a similar learning curve, and we, as fans, should be cognizant of that.
“One of the main things that you are gonna see from a rookie head coach, predominantly when it comes to struggles, is gonna be rotations. We saw Ime really struggle with figuring out his rotations early in his career when he had just moved over to Boston. Knowing when to go a little bit deeper into your bench because you’ve got a sharpshooter who can create an advantage. Knowing when to shorten that rotation because you need that continuity down the stretch. Having the foresight and the confidence in your own ability to be like, ‘hey, I need to play the eighth man in the rotation, along with the starters for the next three minutes because the matchup dictates that that’s what’s gonna be best for my team.’
I think that’s gonna be an area we see Mazzulla have to adapt to. It’s all well and good being part of a coaching staff and recommending somebody come into a rotation, but, being the guy that makes the decisions on that rotation, where either all of the blame or all of the glory goes on you for those decisions, that’s gonna be a whole new weight on his shoulders,” Adam Taylor said on a recent episode of the CelticsPod podcast.
Beyond figuring out how to manage a game in real-time, Mazzulla will also need to decide which aspects of Udoka’s system he wants to carry over into the new season, and more importantly, which area’s he want’s to stamp his own style onto.
The fact of the matter is, Mazzulla, until a few weeks ago, was preparing for his fourth year as an assistant coach, and suddenly, he’s tasked with leading a team…
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