Grant Williams is visibly frustrated on the bench as the Celtics lost in game 6 of the finals. (Photo Courtesy: Alexi Iafrato, Boston Globe)
Celtics fans should ground their expectations for the 2022-23 NBA season. Shams Sharania of the Athletic reported late Thursday night that the Boston Celtics had officially suspended Ime Udoka for the entirety of this upcoming season. There had already been some discouraging news in the past month for Celtics fans, beginning with newly signed free agent, Danillo Gallinari, tearing his ACL playing in a FIBA world cup qualifier for Italy against Georgia. A few weeks after Gallinari’s injury Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN announced that starting center Robert Williams will miss 8-12 weeks after recently undergoing arthroscopic surgery on an injured knee that plagued him all postseason. Now, what quite possibly might be the worst news yet for Celtics fans, they will be without their coach for the foreseeable future.
The Udoka suspension was news to everyone, but now it is time for the Celtics to focus on the upcoming season. I believe that the buy-in factor is what Udoka brought best to the table. In the 2020-21 season under Brad Stevens, the Celtics ranked 14th in defensive rating, but under Udoka, they were tied for 1st in defensive rating with the Warriors. The only new additions to the team last year were Al Horford and Derrick White, both of whom are solid defenders, but not to the point where you jump up thirteen spots in team defense. This told me that in the 2020-21 season, they had the talent to be better defensively, but they didn’t buy into what Brad Stevens was preaching. That team in 2020-21 went just 36-36 before losing in five games in the first round of the playoffs.
Joe Mazzulla has been named the interim head coach for the upcoming season. Mazzulla has been an assistant on the staff since 2019, so he is very familiar with the players. However, his only head coaching experience was at Fairmont State for two years, where he led them to a 43-17 record. The Celtics should be fine with their X’s and O’s because they will be running the same system, but their success will come down to whether they want to play defense or not.
The Celtics will likely have a difficult time getting back to the finals, but they still have the talent to do so. It will be imperative for them to tread water while Williams is out and to have him back healthy for the stretch run of the season. The Celtics need to put this Udoka news behind them and focus on the challenges they will have this year. As of now, I expect Udoka to be back with the team next season simply because he is a great coach, and their rivals, the Nets, and Sixers could be in on him if they let him go. Udoka has spent time as an assistant for both teams, and their current head coaches are on a short leash.
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