Joe Mazzulla, Celtics off to strong start to 2022-23 NBA season despite turbulent offseason - CBSSports.com site: media arena: nba pageType: stories section: slug: joe-mazzulla-celtics-off-to-strong-start-to-2022-23-nba-season-despite-turbulent-offseason sport: basketball route: article_single.us 6-keys: media/spln/nba/reg/free/stories CBSSports.com 247Sports MaxPreps SportsLine Shop Play Golf Stubhub Caesars Sportsbook CBS Sports Home Sports HQ Fantasy NFL NCAA FB MLB Soccer NBA Golf NHL NCAA BB NCAA WBB Champions League MMA WWE Boxing NASCAR Motor Sports USFL NWSL WNBA Horse Racing Olympics Big3 Tennis High School WSOP Shop Promotions PBR 3Ice Stubhub Play Golf Play
Games
Play Now Football Pick em Play Now College Football Pick em View your Leagues Caesars Sportsbook
Fantasy Football
Football Pick em
College Pick em
Fantasy Baseball
Fantasy Basketball
Fantasy Hockey
Franchise Games
See All Sports Games Watch 7 Ole Miss at LSU
Paramount+ NCAA Football UEFA Champions League Serie A Liga Argentina Profesional Brasileirão NWSL Watch CBS Sports Network TV Shows & Listings Bet BET WITH CAESARS
BET FOOTBALL BET BASKETBALL BET BASEBALL BET HOCKEY BET GOLF BET FUTURES BET LIVE IN-GAME Podcasts Fantasy Football Today
Start or Sit (NFC Home Games) Nothing Personal with David Samson
Talking the business of sports Podcasts Home Fantasy Football Today NFL Pick Six Cover 3 College Football Eye On College Basketball Morning Kombat The First Cut Golf Log In My Teams Organize / See All Teams Help Account Settings Log Out Power Rankings Standings Joe Mazzulla Celtics off to strong start to 2022-23 NBA season despite turbulent offseason
Boston started off the season with wins over Philadelphia and Miami
By Michael Kaskey-Blomain Oct 22, 2022 at 1:05 pm ET • 3 min read Getty Images If the Boston Celtics got off to a shaky start this season, it wouldn't have come as a surprise to many given the tumultuous offseason that they had. After coming two wins short of an NBA title in June, the Celtics suspended head coach Ime Udoka for a season for violations of team policies and replaced him with a guy in Joe Mazzulla who had exactly zero head coaching experience at the NBA level. Upon his promotion, Mazzulla, who has been an assistant in Boston since 2019, immediately became the youngest coach in the NBA -- a tough task for a coach of any team, especially one facing legitimate, lofty title aspirations. Such a sudden shakeup isn't necessarily an easy thing for a team to overcome, especially since the news of Udoka's suspension was jarring to the players, with many of them finding out as their fans did on social media. The Celtics were even classified as a "team in disarray" by some heading into the current campaign. So, Boston had a bit of a built-in excuse for early-season struggles. Through two games, though, they haven't needed an excuse at all, as they've picked up where they left off last season when they were able to advance all the way through the Eastern Conference. In their first game of the season, they thoroughly outplayed the Philadelphia 76ers -- a team that entered the season with a lot of championship hype. That game was tied at halftime, but Boston outscored Philadelphia 35-25 in the third quarter, and then never looked back, ultimately pulling out a 126-117 victory, thanks largely to the dynamic duo of J's -- Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown -- who each scored 35 points against the Sixers. Boston's second game of the season came on Friday night against the Miami Heat -- a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals, which stretched all the way to a seventh game. Boston came out victorious in that series, and the result was the same on Friday. In this one, Tatum scored 29 points while Brown tallied 28, and as a team, the Celtics shot over 50 percent from the floor for the second straight game. The Heat had no answers defensively for Boston, and the story was similar for Philadelphia. Boston's offense has been humming, They have the league's highest-rated offense through the first four nights of the season and have been the most efficient shooting team. Together, Tatum and Brown have been playing as well as any duo in the league, and any calls for Boston to break them up feel like eons ago. Also, Malcolm Brogdon, the team's prized offseason addition, has played well in big minutes off of the bench in both games. The Celtics have not only started the season off 2-0, but their wins came against two other elite Eastern Conference contenders and without their starting center Robert Williams, who is sidelined following offseason knee surgery. It's not entirely clear when Williams is expected to return to game action at this point in time, but when he does Boston will get an immediate boost on both ends of the floor. Plus, their depth will be bolstered. CBS Sports HQ Newsletter
Your Ultimate Guide to Every Day in Sports
We bring sports news that matters to your inbox to help you stay informed and get a winning edge
See All Newsletters Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Thanks for signing up
Keep an eye on your inbox
Sorry
There was an error processing your subscription
It's entirely too early to draw any conclusions on the young season, but what the Celtics have done so far is impressive, given their current sideline situation, and the team certainly seems to be taking to the new lead shot-caller. "Joe is tough as nails," Brown said of Mazzulla. "Even when in the midst of everything, all the turmoil, when you looked into his eyes, you could tell he was ready. Coming out, you got to see it on the floor: composed, calm, ready, strategic. So I'm looking forward to seeing more from him, and I'm looking forward to building that relationship." "The thing that I like about Joe and admire about him is that he's very honest that he doesn't know everything," Tatum added. "He wants us to help him out as much as he's helping us out. It's like we're in a relationship, and we're all on the same page and trying to accomplish the same thing. We're all in this together." Usually, when a new coach has the respect of the team's star players, that's a solid sign of things to come. The Celtics made it all the way to the NBA Finals with a first-time head coach last season, so who is to say they can't do it again? Obviously, we're getting a little ahead of ourselves there, but so far, so good for the Celtics this season. They certainly haven't looked like a team tarnished by turmoil. Our Latest Stories
Report Silver NBA to pay special attention to tanking
Jack Maloney • 1 min read
NBA DFS picks lineups advice October 22 strategy
CBS Sports Staff • 3 min read
Morant has Grizzlies off to flying start
Jack Maloney • 2 min read
Gobert Wembanyama something the world has never seen
Jack Maloney • 2 min read
Report Lakers work out FA wing Harkless
Sam Quinn • 1 min read
Nets vs Raptors odds picks prediction best bets
CBS Sports Staff • 3 min read
Watch Now: Celtics off to strong start despite turbulent offseason
Michael Kaskey-Blomain 3 min read Wall shines in Clippers debut
Sam Quinn 3 min read Harden fully embracing midrange
Brad Botkin 1 min read Harden a silver lining amid 76ers slow start
Michael Kaskey-Blomain 4 min read Bucks win but clearly miss Middleton
Jack Maloney 2 min read Report Silver NBA to pay special attention to tanking
Jack Maloney 1 min read Report Lakers bring in Harkless for FA workout
Sam Quinn 1 min read Morant s historic start has Grizzlies riding high
Jack Maloney 2 min read Report Pacers Turner to miss at least one week
Jasmyn Wimbish 1 min read Report Westbrook trade unlikely before Thanksgiving
Sam Quinn 2 min read