Boston Celtics stars Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown pay huge respects to first-year head coach Joe Mazzola for the job he’s done this season.
(via Boston Celtics):
Reporter: “How do you look at Joe, who had a rough start, was obviously thrown into that position as a caretaker, and then you grew as a team. How do you look at what Joe was able to do with you guys all season and, as you go, grow with him?”
Tatum: “I mean, it was his senior year, we made it to the Conference Finals Game 7. I don’t think people give him or us enough credit. Two days before the season started, we found out we were going to get a new coach. We didn’t have Rob. [Williams] The first 25 or 30 games of the season, we didn’t get a chance to get Gallo (Danilo Gallinari), and we got a new coach one day before media day. This was an adjustment, and we all came to terms with it. Obviously we wanted to win the championship. did not happen. But I think Joe did a great job. We won 50 odd matches. We made it to the Game 7 Conference Finals. Obviously, everyone can be better, and learn from this, but I think Joe did a great job this year.”
Reporter: How would you rate the job atmosphere? [Mazzulla] From taking over just a few days before training camp, dealing with all the emotions that came with that situation, to then debuting as a head coach in the playoffs and dealing with the ups and downs of those playoffs. Being?”
brown: “I give Joe my respect. It was difficult. He took it, took it face to face and ran with it. We’ve had two rookie coaches in the last couple of years, and Joe was moving on from Ime [Udoka] As a temporary starter and then stepping up as a head coach, you have fully accepted this challenge and have led us to this point. This is a difficult situation for anyone to be in. It’s a tough position for any team to be in. We had a final run, but we didn’t make any excuses and I’m not making any now. We came to a short conclusion, but I still express my respect to the coaching staff and that group we were on the ground.”