How Joe Mazzulla plans to build off Celtics' success last season

BOSTON -- Monday was much more than just Celtics Media Day for Joe Mazzulla. It was also the first day that he addressed the collective press as the interim head coach of the Boston Celtics.

The 34-year-old Rhode Island native will be the main man on the Boston bench for the upcoming season, taking over for the suspended Ime Udoka. It's not the most glamorous way for a guy to get his first NBA head coaching gig, but Mazzulla says he's ready for what's ahead. Or at least he's as ready as he can be at this point in time.

"You're never really ready [for your first head-coaching job]," Mazzulla admitted. "I've been a head coach before and from Year 1 to Year 2, I learned I wasn't ready. It wasn't because I didn't work or prepare, but you have to learn on the job."

Mazzulla sounded the part on Monday, and made it clear that he's not going to reinvent the Celtics' system. That would be pretty hard to do anyways with training camp starting Tuesday and the season opener less than a month away.

Plus, the system that Udoka had in place worked pretty well last season, with the Celtics coming two wins short of winning a title. Mazzulla is now focused on building and strengthening his relationship with everyone involved, and helping the Celtics make the necessary improvements to have a happier end to the season.

But he's also going to make sure that everyone has a chance to heal following the Udoka's disappointing and troubling suspension.

"In moments like this, you have to stay empathetic, poised, and stay focused on what's the most important thing. For me, that's the players and myself are on the same page," Mazzulla said Monday. "The expectations we have this season, and how we move forward with trust and build relationships. I think that is key.

"But my message is first to give people space and time, not just players but everyone. It's an unfortunate situation for everyone involved. You need to give people time and space to feel, and time and space to heal," he added. "We have a formula for what we need to do to get better every day and get back to where we were. As long as we focus on that, we'll be in good shape."

Mazzulla first joined the Boston coaching staff in 2019 under Brad Stevens, who on Friday said that Mazzulla was the most logical candidate for the job. Mazzulla joked Monday that Stevens must have been concussed when he made that statement. 

But Boston players, who fell in love with Udoka's ways last season, are ready and eager to give their new head coach everything they've got.

"He's somebody we're comfortable with," Jayson Tatum said of his new head coach. "He's been here the last three years. Same person in just a different position now. Someone we're familiar with and have a lot of respect for."

"I'm optimistic," said Jaylen Brown. "I believe in Joe and he believes in me. I don't think he sees a limit on my game. He's coming in excited, so I'm optimistic."

"He is somebody that we all respect and that we're going to be rallying behind," said veteran Al Horford. "We are really going to put in the time and the work to get this done."

Horford was also asked about the fact that he is two years older than his head coach, which doesn't happen often in the NBA. The savvy vet that he is, Horford shrugged his elder status off.

"There is really nothing there. To me, it's actually pretty cool," said Horford. "I've been in the league that long, and am still in the league. I feel like I'm going strong, so that's pretty cool."

Mazzulla, whose only head coaching experience came for Division 2 Fairmont State, knows what he has in these Boston Celtics. His goal is to build off the foundation that was put down last season.

"At our best, we knew what our identity was; our defense, our buying in on defense, and sharing the ball and moving quickly on offense. As much as we can, we have to stick to what we were great at last year, and where we can make small improvements, is the way to go," he said.

"We're talented, we have great players and a great team," Mazzulla added. "What were we great at and what do we need to work at to get where we want to go? Regardless of who the coach is, that's what we were going to be asking from our roster."