A rollercoaster season for the Boston Celtics ended in huge disappointment with an Eastern Conference finals defeat to the Miami Heat, and the midseason departure of one of head coach Joe Mazzulla's most trusted allies played a huge role in the dysfunction that cost them a chance at an NBA title.
First-year head coach Mazzulla faced huge criticism throughout the playoffs as the Celtics dropped two games to the Atlanta Hawks and scraped past the Philadelphia 76ers thanks to record-breaking game-seven heroics from Jayson Tatum before falling 3-0 down to the eight-seed Heat.
The Celtics recovered to tie the series but crumbled in game seven on Monday as the Heat advanced to the NBA Finals to take on Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. While the Heat roster continues to play at a greater level than the sum of its parts, the same cannot be said for the Celtics, who racked up 57 regular-season wins but failed to perform consistently in the playoffs.
The cracks in the team had been growing for some time. According to The Athletic, the midseason departure of assistant coach Damon Stoudamire from the coaching staff left a "void" in the organisation that went unfilled.
Mazzulla was named Boston's interim head coach in September when Ime Udoka was suspended for the entire season after he had an intimate relationship with a female member of staff, violating team rules. Udoka was dismissed and has since been named the Houston Rockets' head coach for next season, with Mazzulla becoming the permanent Celtics head coach in February.
With no NBA playing experience and just three seasons as an assistant coach with the team and two years coaching at second-division college Fairmont State to fall back on, Mazzulla has been thrown in at the deep end and Stoudemire's presence was a crucial asset.
Stoudamire was a 13-year NBA veteran with the Toronto Raptors, Portland Trail Blazers, Memphis Grizzles and the San Antonio Spurs before embarking on his coaching career, and sources within the Celtics' organisation said he commanded the respect of the players and "speak their language" because he was the only member of the coaching staff with a wealth of experience in the league.
Those qualities led some players to believe Stoudamire would be in the running to take over as head coach from Udoka, but Mazzulla got the nod. And when Stoudamire left to take charge of Georgia Tech in March, Mazzulla was left without the man who bridged the gap between the coaches and the players, leading to a void in the leadership department.
It was one of several factors in the Celtics' season crashing to a halt against the Heat, with Mazzulla's lack of feel for the game, particularly his use – or lack thereof – of timeouts coming under scrutiny.
Boston also displayed inefficiency and a lack of versatility when their offence was not performing, and they were found wanting physically in their defensive duties in key moments of the series defeat to Miami. Mazzull remains in his post with the Celtics, but some difficult questions will certainly be asked by the organisation in the days and weeks ahead.
