Report: Celtics players had 1 big issue with Joe Mazzulla

Dec 16, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla watches from the sideline as they take on the Orlando Magic at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Celtics had to deal with some significant turmoil this season, particularly with coach Joe Mazzulla taking over as head coach after Ime Udoka’s preseason suspension. That led to some noteworthy growing pains, particularly with regard to one apparent priority.

Some Celtics players believed Mazzulla put too much emphasis on offense at the expense of the Celtics’ defense, according to Jay King and Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Celtics players felt they had forged an identity on defense, and felt that Mazzulla was not doing enough to maintain that.

One particular issue was the coach’s treatment of Grant Williams, who had been a key defensive piece during the 2022 playoffs. Williams saw his playing time decrease significantly in the second half of the season to the point that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown went to Mazzulla in March and asked the coach to put Williams back in the rotation, which he did.

In one instance during the second round of the playoffs against Philadelphia, after Mazzulla ran a film session that focused heavily on offense, Brown hinted at the disagreements by breaking a huddle with “One, two, three, defense.”

The Celtics plan to keep Mazzulla despite their exit in the Eastern Conference Finals, but it is clear he and the team were not on the same page all the time. He may need to reassess some things for next season to get everyone pulling in the same direction.