Joe Mazzulla didn't get much time to prepare for his new opportunity, but he'll have to learn on the fly as the Boston Celtics are set to begin training camp on Tuesday.
Mazzulla was named the Celtics' interim head coach following Ime Udoka's season-long suspension for violating team guidelines. The 34-year-old joined the C's staff as an assistant in 2019 and when the regular season begins on Oct. 18, he'll officially become the youngest head coach in the NBA.
Celtics Media Day 2022: Best clips from player and coach interviews
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With such high expectations for the Celtics coming off their Finals run, this season will be a tremendous challenge for Mazzulla. But despite his inexperience, Brian Scalabrine believes Mazzulla is the right man for the job.
"First of all, I just want to say personally, I do believe in Joe Mazzulla," Scalabrine said Monday on "Celtics Post Up". "I think that he's going to be a great coach. But it's a little irresponsible for me just to say like, 'The Celtics are going to be fine, they're just going to pick up where they left off.' ... Like, I might believe that, but that's a tough seat to sit in when you're talking about a team that has some veterans, that has some championship-level aspirations. And Joe's coming in fresh off to start with no head coaching experience in the NBA.
"But I think in general, it's good. If you could have went with any coach out there, I actually commend the Celtics for going with a guy who was here on staff last year versus bringing in someone new. I don't think you have to change anything up. I think they made the right move by promoting Joe Mazzulla into this position. And he has 82 games to figure this thing out, figure out his coaching style, the adjustments that he needs to make. All those things are going to be coming a million miles an hour toward him, but I believe that he will work hard enough and I believe that he's smart enough to figure this thing out."
That's a strong vote of confidence from the former Celtic, one of many votes of confidence for Mazzulla on Monday. During Celtics Media Day, several C's players including Jayson Tatum spoke highly of their new head coach.
The first test will come when preseason begins on Oct. 2 vs. the Charlotte Hornets.