Boston Celtics Joe Mazzulla was reminded of the harsh reality of being an NBA head coach after seeing the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets fire Taylor Jenkins and Michael Malone within the past two weeks.
Mazzulla said that, while he is poised to coach the Boston Celtics for longer after guiding them to a championship in 2024, he knows he is on borrowed time so he’s making the most of his current opportunity.
“There you go. Coaching. It’s just coaching,” Mazzulla told reporters via CLNS Media. “I mean, I think that we sign up knowing that. Again, (Malone) was 10 years in. That’s a lot. So you hope for stuff like that. You hope for a situation, stability to be somewhere for as long as you have and when it’s your time, it’s your time. I think you focus more on the fact that he was able to be there for 10 years. Not many coaches get to do that.”
“I wake up every day saying, ‘This could be my last day,’ and you just have to have that type of perspective because it gives you gratitude. It also keeps you hungry, so it’s just you have to have a healthy balance of you want this for as long as you can. At the same time, you’re very much replaceable because that’s just how it works. So every day I remind myself of my own mortality, and I think that’s what keeps me in a perspective and a gratitude of the opportunity of what you have,” he added.
Boston Celtics on a three-game winning streak
The Boston Celtics extended their unbeaten run to three games after securing a 119-117 win against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden yesterday.
Kristaps Porzingis led with 34 points, four rebounds, three assists, and eight three-pointers (including the tiebreaking trey with 40 seconds left in overtime) on 11-for-19 shooting from the field. Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White added 32, 16, and 14 points.
Boston clinched the second seed in the Eastern Conference and will look to finish their regular season on a high note with three more matches against the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets (twice).
