BLEEDIN’ GREEN FOR BANNER 18’
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My Take on the Marcus Smart-Kristaps Porzingis Trade
The Boston Celtics’ 2023 Offseason debatably caused as much heartache as the ending to the Celtics’ 2022-2023 NBA Playoff run. Almost coming back from a 3-1 deficit in the Eastern Conference Finals is ALMOST as heartbreaking as losing the longest tenured player on your team less than a month later. The Marcus Smart-Kristaps Porzingis Trade will live in the souls and minds of Celtics fans for a very long time, however, opinions differ when it comes to who actually “won” the trade (NBA,2023). Depending on the subject you are measuring, both the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies could be considered the “winner” of this trade in that both teams added a substantial player that strengthens the current weaknesses of the team. It is also important to note that the Washington Wizards benefited the least from this trade in that the caliber of players they received in this trade were not up-to-par with Smart or Porzingis.
Marcus Smart will likely be the starting point guard for the Memphis Grizzlies following Ja’s suspension. In his career, he averages 10.6 points per game(PPG), 4.6 assists per game (APG) and 3.5 rebounds per game (RPG), coming off of a 2022-2023 season campaign where he averaged 11.5PPG, 6.3APG and 3.1RPG for the Boston Celtics. At first glance, these numbers represent a skilled NBA player who could be considered as an average point guard, but as you dive deeper into Smart’s defensive stats, his presence could be described as that of a superstar’s. Defensively, Smart averages 1.6 steals per game (SPG) and .4 blocks per game (BPG) with a defensive rating of 107.4 over his 9 year career (ESPN, 2023). One could argue in watching Smart’s basketball ability progress over the years that his visible strength is defense, but there is an argument to be made about his leadership ability in commanding the point guard position. Let’s not forget that the first year the Celtics decided to make Smart their primary point guard, the team went to the NBA Finals. His grit and determination on the court is unmatched in the point guard position, diving for loose balls every chance he gets and holding his teammates accountable for their end of the defense.
If there was ever a Celtic that deserved to win a championship in the green and white jersey, it was Marcus Smart. Not only is he a great player, he is a great person that was highly involved in the Boston community, making donations to charities and supporting underrepresented ethnicities in the city. The way in which the trade was announced left Marcus out of the loop of what was going to happen, which is eerily reminiscent of the way that the Celtics handled the Isaiah Thomas situation (Conway,2023). As a Celtics fan, it is disheartening to see a fan-favorite and player like Marcus Smart be essentially disrespected by the organization he spent almost a decade representing.
The heartache of trading Marcus Smart is somewhat masked by the potential that Kristaps Porzingis has to be one of the most diverse centers in the NBA. Coming off of his best season in the NBA where he averaged 23.2PPG, 2.1APG and 8.4RPG while shooting 49% from the field (FG%) and 38.5% from the three point line (3P%), Kristaps will surely add to the danger of facing the Celtics’ offense. On the defensive side of the ball, Porzingis averages 1.5BPG and .9SPG (ESPN, 2023), which compliments Center Rob Williams III’s 1.4BPG, .6SPG and 8.3RPG (ESPN, 2023). Kristaps has the potential to create a big impact in an immediate way, providing a diverse range of scoring abilities that span from the post to the perimeter.
The impact of this trade relating to the Celtics’ chances of winning a championship will be determined in time, however, there is one theoretical downside that has Celtics’ fans nervous about the outcome of the season and that is the ability of Kristaps Porzingis to stay healthy. There has already been reports that Porzingis is nursing a plantar fasciitis problem, resulting in him stepping away from FIBA competition to instead prepare for the NBA season. The Celtics announced in August that Porzingis has been placed on a rehab program spanning four-to-six weeks that will prepare him for the start of the season, however, there is always the possibility of re-injury (Tabatabaie, 2023). Thinking back to the last two seasons with Rob Williams III suffering from complications of a torn meniscus that was repaired and then re-injured, it is worrisome that the same could happen to Porzingis, especially considering his injury history.
The question then stands to be answered if this trade was a “good move” for the Celtics. Trading a player that has provided a decade of consistency for a player that is a better player overall, yet is prone to injury is essentially the situation that is being weighed here. Providing that Porzingis can stay healthy and his chemistry with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown progresses throughout the season, the Celtics will win the 2024 NBA Finals. While there is certain risk in trading Smart for Porzingis, the reward is the 18th NBA championship in Celtics’ franchise history.
Other offseason additions for the Celtics include (CBS, 2023):
Signed
Jordan Walsh (rookie small forward/power forward)
Oshae Brissett (power forward/small forward, SYRACUSE ALUMI)
Dalano Banton (point guard/shooting guard)
Svi Mykhailiuk (shooting guard/ small forward)
The Celtics have put all their eggs in one basket, doubling down on paying Jaylen Brown the largest NBA contract in history, with Jayson Tatum’s contract expiring next year. The risk of adding Porzingis to the lineup is based on the assessment that the Celtics have two years of cap space to put the right players around the Jays for a championship run. If all goes correctly, by the start of the 2024-2025 season Banner 18 will be raised in TD Garden.
September 24th, 2023
The Boston Celtics Have the Best Starting 5 in the NBA
October 6th, 2023
Following the Damian Lillard trade which landed Holiday in Portland, the Trailblazers felt that their already guard-dominant team would benefit more from acquiring a power forward or center to compliment their team. As a result, Portland continued to shop Holiday in an effort to acquire the pieces they were missing, in which the Celtics likely offered forth a combination of Robert Williams III, Al Horford and Malcom Brogdon. A deal was struck sending Jrue Holiday to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Robert Wiliams III, Malcolm Brogdon, a 2024 first round pick in the NBA Draft and a 2029 first round pick in the NBA Draft (Wojnarowski, 2023). With the click of a post, ESPN Reporter Adrian Wojnarowski further cured the heartache Celtics fans were faced with as a result of Marcus Smart being traded. This is not to say that Smart, Williams III and Brogdon will not be missed, rather that the excitement for the 2023-2023 season outweighs the fact that these players were traded.
Offensively, Jrue Holiday averaged 19.3PPG, 7.4APG and 5.1RPG maintaining a 49% field goal percentage during the 2022-2023 NBA season. On the defensive side of the ball, Holiday is regarded as one of the most potent guard-defenders in the league, averaging 1.2SPG, .4BPG with a career defensive rating of 108.9 (ESPN, Statmuse, 2023). Not only is this defensive rating better than Marcus Smart’s, the statistics would show and one would observe in watching the two guards play that Jrue Holiday is a more lethal threat on both sides of the ball. Alongside one of the best duos in the league and a newly acquired 7-foot tall center who can shoot threes, one can assume, and hope, that Holiday will fit seamlessly into the Celtics' system.
Averaging a combined 56.7PPG, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are currently one in four duos in NBA history in which both players average over 27PPG (ESPN, Kram, 2023). The duo also passed Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in December of 2022 for third most games where both players score 30 points in a game (Guinhawa, 2023). Individually, Tatum ranked sixth in the league overall in scoring (30.1PPG) during the 2022-2023 season, while Brown ranked ninth overall (26.6PPG), (ESPN, 2023). In acquiring Porzingis who averages 23.2PPG and Holiday who averages 19.3PPG while both shooting consistently, the Celtics have made their offense much more deadly in that opposing teams will have to focus their energy per player, creating opportunities for others. Having a starting 5 of former and current all stars, counting Al Horford, will come in handy when it comes to stretching the floor and taking pressure off of Tatum and Brown. The Celtics bench is also one of the most diverse in the league, featuring key momentum players such as Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, rookie Jordan Walsh and a variety of new sign-ons acquired in the offseason (NBA, 2023). A championship is not won without the consistent contribution of all of the players involved, however, if there was ever a year to predict a championship in the form of a tattoo dedicated to the team, it would be this one’s. Sorry to the fan who jumped the gun in 2022. (Perfetti, 2023).
There are then criticisms of the Celtics offseason. There are fans, analysts and players who argue that the Milwaukee recent acquisition of Damian Lillard places the Bucks ahead of everyone in terms of title odds, however, they fail to recognize that the Celtics have continuously beat the Bucks with less firepower than they have going into the 2023-2024 season (ESPN, 2023). Since 2018, the Celtics have played the Bucks three times in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, winning the series two out of three times (Land of Basketball, 2023). The Celtics’ teams that competed in these series featured similar rosters to the current roster in that Brown and Tatum were on the team and Al Horford was the Boston center. Historically, Horford has dominated the Bucks and specifically Giannis Antetokounmpo, averaging 1.2BPG against Antetokounmpo with a career plus/minus average of +3.6 in 22 games played against him (Statmuse, 2023). Giannis comparatively averages a -4.6 in games 22 games played against Al Horford (Statmuse, 2023). Plus/minus averages indicate the difference in the team’s score when the player, or in this case players, are in the game. In other words, in his career Horford accounts for 3.6PPG against Giannis, while Giannis accounts for -4.6PPG in games played against Horford. In game situations, this means Antetokounmpo’s normal average of 31.1PPG would be decreased to 26.5PPG in games played against Al Horford. Damian Lillard is also known for lacking on the defensive side of the ball, which most teams in the NBA, including the Celtics, will attack as a weak point (Casselberry 2023). In short, the Celtics pose more of a threat as a whole in grooming players like Al Horford to play an important role. In the very same breathe, another critique of the Celtics’ offseason is that they deterred from their usual role-players in trading Smart, Williams III and Brogdon for Holiday and Porzingis, which will disrupt the flow of the team in that those players are already familiar with the Celtics’ offensive and defensive systems.
I have to agree with the critique that trading away certain role-players will disrupt the flow of the Celtics’ season. It will take time for the new starting five to adjust to playing with each other. Based on the immediate reactions of Holiday and Porzingis on Celtics’ Media Day, they seem to be comfortable in transitioning to Boston and the former players are doing their part in helping that transition. The one major critique that stands out to me in this offseason is that I would have traded Al Horford and Brogdon instead of Robert Williams III and Brogdon. When comparing Robert Williams and Al Horford, the statistics are not what matters, availability is. Rob’s averages are higher than Al’s, but Rob is more likely to get injured. As availability is crucial to the success of this season, especially at the center position as the Celtics are currently more guard-heavy, I believe that is why the Celtics shipped Rob over Al. Rob is a better all-around defender and has more potential than Al in this stage of Al’s career, however, it is hard to implement a player into a system that may not always be available. In keeping Al, however, the Celtics are now relying on a 37-year-old to anchor the starting center position. Even if Al is to avoid injury this season, he will surely need to take part in load management. At that point, who is the RELIABLE backup for Al’s position? When that backup isn’t able to be consistent, what do the Celtics do to protect the post? This is the double-sided sword presented in keeping Al Horford over Robert Williams III.
Perhaps the most compelling critique of the Celtics’ 2023 offseason is that they are minimizing their potential to complete after the next 2 years. As the Celtics have surpassed the $165 million luxury tax approved per team for the 2023-2024 season by 16.3 million dollars, they will be forced to pay ~$32.5 million in luxury tax (Bouranis, 2023). at the end of the 2023-2024 season (Pincus, 2022). Paying this tax obviously takes away from the Celtics’ ability to sign more players, which could impact how they compete over the years. The only way to avoid paying this tax out of pocket is to use the profit accumulated through trade dealings and signings, meaning that eventually the Celtics are going to have to change their roster to be able to pay the luxury tax, as they will likely commit to paying the tax in the 2024-2025 season as well.
After this Jrue Holiday trade, the Celtics confirmed that in the mind of the franchise, the next two years are all-or-nothing when it comes to winning a championship. Even if the Celtics are able to extend Tatum and Brown to play in Boston for the rest of their careers, the salary tax would prohibit the franchise from building a substantial team around them. As a result, the franchise, team and fans know that if the Celtics do not win a championship in the next two years, either Tatum or Brown will no longer be a Celtic.
Expectations for the Boston Celtics in the 2023-2024 Season
October 24th, 2023
As the NBA Preseason draws to a close and the Celtics’ season starts tomorrow, now would be a good time to discuss the expectations shared by Celtics’ fans and the Celtics’ organization for the 2023-2024 NBA Season. These expectations can be summarized in two words: a championship. It seems everyone is doing their part and then some to prepare for the upcoming season. The front office is recruiting talent to increase the team’s chance of success, players are treating practices like in game situations (NESN, 2023) and Coach Joe Mazzulla is recruiting Celtics’ alumni to visit the Auerbach Center and provide their insight (D’Amico, 2023). The team is slowly but surely jelling and chemistry is only expected to progress as the season goes on.
The Celtics’ preseason, though it only featured five games, gave the world a glimpse of the beautiful chaos that the Celtics are able to create on the court this season.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Celtics’ identity is fluid. The fact that four out of the five guaranteed starters have the option to drive to the basket, or extend the floor from the three-point line makes our offense virtually unguardable when this combination of players is on the floor together. As Holiday settles into his new offense he seems to be dishing the ball more in hopes to set up his teammates, rather than his own shot. Personally, I hope Holiday continues this trend as someone is bound to have to sacrifice the amount of points they score per game in order to maintain the flow of the offense. It would make sense for Holiday to be the one to do so as there is considerably less pressure on his shoulders in comparing his career and statistical averages, being he is the only one to currently hold a championship ring on the team and he averages the least points out of Porzingis, Tatum and Brown coming into the season. I do acknowledge that there are going to be times when Holiday has to be the highest scoring player on the team, but those situations will present themselves as Tatum, Brown and Porzingis get tired or have an off game. In a perfect world, everyone’s statistics will increase across the board, without disrupting the flow of the offense in relying on plays that are repetitive and predictable.
The player I am most excited to see develop while wearing green and white is Kristaps Porzingis. In the first preseason game of the 2023 season, the Unicorn was throwing down lobs and swishing threes like it was his job, which it is! As Porzingis averaged approximately 23 minutes of playing time during the preseason, it was impressive that he averaged 15.5 PPG (ESPN, 2023). Porzingis’s ability to stretch the floor will be the key to maintaining the flow of our offense this season. As opposing centers get sucked into following Porzingis to the perimeter, the lane will be wide open for Tatum and Brown to attack. In situations where Porzingis decides to stay in the post, he can work with Tatum to score driving towards the post, or with either player’s back to the basket, as both players are also lethal from midrange. When the offense is disrupted or becomes stagnant, having Porzingis on the floor allows Mazzulla to draw up plays that will refresh the offense, lessening the ruts that the team would get their selves into in the season prior.
A major development that would visibly impact the depth of our team is Mazzulla potentially placing Derrick White into the starting lineup. Al Horford would then be able to come off of the bench as a veteran in the league, solidifying the “starting six” in the sense that Horford is likely to come into the game before anyone else. This is better than the aforementioned “All Star” lineup in that, not only is Derrick White better than Horford on paper, he is more apt to stay healthy and contribute on a consistent basis. Playing against the Celtics then presents the question as to how teams are supposed to defensively maintain four former/current all stars, a player that other players look up to and a veteran all star coming off of the bench (HoopsTV, 2023). White and Horford combine for 22.2 PPG, 9.8RPG and 6.9APG, which has recently been overshadowed, understandably, by the dominance of the Tatum and Brown (ESPN, 2023).
These numbers are not to be taken for granted, however, in combination with the “Big Four”, featuring Holiday, Porzingis, Tatum and Brown, who are already averaging 99.2PPG as a unit on paper. If you add 99.2PPG and 22.2PPG the result is a total of 121.4PPG, which would accumulate in the 13th highest PPG average held by an NBA team in the history of the NBA and that’s without accounting for the rest of the roster (Land of Basketball, 2023).
As a Celtic’s fan you may be asking yourself at this point, “what about the impact that Tatum and Brown will have?”. I have intentionally saved this discussion for the end of this edition as I am cautious to jinx the team’s success, however, I am definitely nervous about Tatum and Brown’s ability to adapt to the quality of basketball players they now have around them. In the games that we lost last year, other teams did not beat us, we beat ourselves as personal agenda clouded the main focus of the team. Players were worried about where they would end up in the 2023-2024 season, if they would sign an extension with the Celtics, etc. This made it hard for the team to focus on the task at hand, knowing that they may not share the court with the same teammates in the following season.
This mindset has lessened, but it is still there is still the question looming in everyone’s mind as to how the Celtics will maintain a successful roster in the future. Tatum and Brown are fully aware that these next two seasons are make or break in terms of winning a championship. As mentioned in previous posts, with Tatum’s contract looming in the not-so-distant future, Tatum and Brown are now under the most pressure than they ever have been to win with the team that they have, especially considering this team is the most talented team that the duo has played with.
For this reason, there is more of a chance for the team to take a dive if chemistry is not cultivated between the players. For example; if Tatum is not happy with the amount of plays he is involved in when he is on the court, he may take it out on one of the two new stars that are also trying to be productive and are likely taking away from Tatum’s average. Everyone wants to be the hero and I do not think the question of whether or not the duo can play together is a concern anymore, rather, the concern has shifted to whether or not the duo can function within a more talented team.
Celtics’ fans and analysts alike would also not be shy to share their concern that they have with the Celtics on the defensive side of the ball. While the new-look-Celtics have shown early success in defending against teams i nthe preseason, there are still questions as to who will take on the primary rebounding responsibility within the team, as well as who is capable enough to consistently defend the rim. Size in this case is not necessarily a factor, as Porzingis is 7’ 3” and Tatum is 6’8”, followed by a slew of guards and forwards who stand over 6’ 5” tall (ESPN, 2023). Instead, the main factor that will impact the Celtics’ defense is the fact that Mazzulla made changes in his time with the team that changed their mindsets to think offensively first. The team’s campaign during the 2022-2023 season was heavily reliant on the success of three-point shots falling. In games where the team shot well from three, the Celtics won and in games where they did not shoot well from the three, they never seemed to adjust to taking closer shots (Thompson, 2023). Combining this mentality with a newly formed defense could potentially make it difficult for the Celtics to adapt. Checkout JJ Redick’s analysis of Mazzulla Ball to further understand Mazzulla’s intention in emphasizing the offensive side of the ball. (Redick, 2023).
The Celtics’ preseason defense did prove to be solid and in one game they even beat their in season record for steals in one game, topping the previous of 21 steals in a game by one (NBC Sports Boston YouTube, 2023). Not to say that centers and power forwards cannot steal the ball, but steals are more likely to occur when defending ball handlers, which will primarily be the guards of the team. This supports the statement that size is not a problem for the Celtics as they will obviously look to utilize their size in the guard and small forward positions to capitalize on defending smaller teams. One could argue that if the ball cannot get to the post, defending the rim and rebounding become less of a concern.
There are only two teams in my mind that can compete with the Celtics and they are currently the second and third favorites to win the 2023-2024 NBA Finals. While the Celtics are currently the favorites to win the 2023-2024 NBA Finals (+389), the Bucks are not far behind (+400) and last year’s NBA Champions, the Denver Nuggets, are also in the mix (+420) (ESPN, 2023).
Getting to Know Joe
December 1st, 2023
As head coach Joe Mazzulla has recently made history as the most winningest coach in his first 100 games, it only feels right to breakdown what has come to be known as “Mazzulla Ball” and how it came to be. Mazzulla and the Celtics achieved a 71-29 record throughout their first 100 games together, resulting in the highest winning percentage in the first 100 games coached by any coach in NBA history at 71% (Bock, 2023).
When Joe Mazzulla was hired as interim head coach following the departure of Ime Udoka in September of 2022, critics and fans alike questioned if Joe had the experience to lead an already competitive roster to a title run (Henderson, 2022). In his first year as coach, Joe lead the Celtics to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in which they almost completed a historic comeback, being down 3-1 and losing the series 4-3. In other words, the Celtics were one win away from going back to the NBA Finals and completed the season with a 57-25 record in Mazzulla’s first season as head coach (Land of Basketball, 2023). While some would question the decisions Joe made throughout the season, as well as specifically in Game 7 against the Heat as Tatum injured himself early in the first quarter, others would praise Joe for the fact that the team was able to bounce back being down 3-1 and not accepting defeat (Guinhawa, 2023; London, 2023). Be sure to check out Derrick White’s Game 6 buzzer beater, I lost my voice that night.
Three factors that influence the critique of Joe Mazzulla are: one, he is 34 years old. Two, he has little NBA coaching experience in general and three and perhaps the biggest factor, are critics’ interpretation of what the sports’ world has deemed “Mazzulla Ball”. At 35 years old, Mazzulla is a West Virginia University alumni who played five years as a guard for the men’s basketball team between 2006-2011. Following his college career, he continued to stay involved with basketball, acting as the assistant head coach for both Glenville State and Fairmont State located in West Virginia, between 2011 and 2016. Being from Warwick, Rhode Island, Mazzulla had been on the Celtics’ radar for some years as he navigated his college coaching career. In 2016, the Celtics hired Mazzulla as an assistant coach to their G-League representative the Maine Red Claws. After two years with the Red Claws, Brad Stevens, who was the Celtics’ head coach at the time and now President of Basketball Operations, hired Joe as an assistant coach of the Boston Celtics (Bontemps, 2022).
Following the Ime Udoka scandal in 2022, which is a story in itself, Joe was forced into the position of head coach, which was a major increase in responsibility for a coach that was rather young and inexperienced in comparison to other head coaches around the league (O’Donell, 2022). Players like Al Horford and Jrue Holiday are relatively close in age to Joe, which fans have at least criticized, must create an awkward dynamic between Joe and the players on the team (ESPN, 2023). Counter to that argument, Celtics players seem to be very comfortable with Mazzulla as their head coach as they often voice their trust in his leadership, see video.
Mazzulla’s lack of NBA coaching experience could also be perceived as a weakness, yet I believe this inexperience is actually being used to the Celtics’ advantage currently. There are bound to be instances throughout the season where coaches like Erik Spolestra and Greg Popovich are going to “outcoach” Joe Mazzulla (Game 7 Highlights ), yet there are also going to be instances where Mazzulla outclasses coaches that are perceived to be more experienced. This is a cycle of the game. Players get hurt forcing coaches to adjust, playoff matchups are announced and trades occur that all impact the flow of the game. In the same respect that people criticize Joe Mazzulla for being inexperienced, why aren’t we also criticizing the experienced coaches, such as Erik Spolestra, when the Heat started the 2023-2024 season off terribly? While the Heat can lose four or five games in a row and nobody bats an eye, the Celtics will lose one game against a less-than-average team and its like its the end of the world. Celtics fans should be grateful that Mazzulla Ball has the chance to grow in Boston, cause as of right now, it proves to be yielding great results for the franchise.
The Boston Celtics’ playstyle under Joe Mazzulla, otherwise known as Mazzulla Ball, is a unique and modern approach to the game of basketball. It features a high volume of three-point shots, a “five out” style of play and the same plays being implemented multiple times throughout the game (Taylor, 2023). A five out style of play tries to mimic the idea of “positionless basketball” as all five players on the court position themselves outside of the three point line. What this does is allows for more space to be created with the ball via passing, dribble penetration and of course launching threes from behind the arch. In positioning the center outside of the three point line, the center then becomes a three-point line threat, which goes against the traditional idea that the largest man on the court is supposed to camp in the paint. This style of play is specific to centers and big men who are able to shoot and handle the ball, see diagram as an example of a five out play (TheHoopsGeek, 2023). With the acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics’ five out style of play has become much more lethal in the sense that Porzingis is one of the best shooting big men in the league. Formerly implementing Horford into the big man slot of the “five” allowed for the Celtics to expand the floor similarly, but Horford did not pose as much of a threat behind the three-point line, as he does not shoot as often as Porzingis.
When Mazzulla is not running the five out, he is likely implementing what is known as a “stack play”, otherwise known as a “double screen”. Stack plays utilize two screens to put a play into motion, usually set on the ball and on the defender of the ball screener (Taylor, 2023). In other words, the team essentially puts up two “walls”, or positions two players strategically, for the ball handler to work off of. One wall is placed directly in front of the defender that is defending the ball handler and the other wall is placed behind the first wall’s defender to then free the first wall up for the rest of the play. These type of motions allow for each wall to fade off of the ball handler, creating space for both the players who are the walls and the ball handler who has the option to drive to the basket. These set pieces can also theoretically be used by the team to get back into their set five out motions as they stray away from the five out throughout the game. If you’re watching a Celtics game at some point you are bound to see the double screen slide up to offer the ball handler some more options (Taylor, 2023).
I too have screamed at the television when the Celtics take too many three-point shots in a row, however, you cannot argue with the results. If Mazzulla continues to win at the rate that he is, he will have the highest winning percentage of all time, assuming that he stays consistent. If Mazzulla was to average a 71% win percentage over his career, the Celtics would surpass the San Antonio Spurs as the most winningest franchise of all time by a landslide. As it stands, the Spurs are the most winning franchise of all time, averaging a 60.1% win percentage over 3,803 games and the Celtics are the second most winning franchise of all time, averaging a 59.2% win percentage over 6,050 games (Statmuse, 2023). A future guided by Mazzulla Ball is bright and as a Celtic fan, I can only hope that it results in a championship.
