If there are any lingering doubts within the Boston Celtics about first-year head coach Joe Mazzulla‘s ability to coach his team to a title, they aren’t shared publicly by team president Brad Stevens. “We talk every day but I want to go back to this: Joe’s a strength,” said Stevens in an unexpected presser (h/t Celtics Blog’s Bobby Manning).
“He’s done a really good job and I understand, because he’s new, that the easiest thing to do is nitpick him, but he’s done a really good job,” added the Celtics executive. “If he needs me, I’m here, but I trust him and I trust our staff. They’ve all done a good job and I think our players would all second that.”
Even Mazzulla’s occasional struggles have reflected well on his ability to lead, according to Stevens. “I think he does a good job of picking what the emphasis needs to be in the big picture,” he explained.
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“Every team has its ups and downs, but if you watched us in the last two weeks, and the vast majority of our play, I think we’ve gotten better and that’s encouraging because we struggled out of the gate after the all-star break and we could’ve limped (into the playoffs).”
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