Why is Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla behind Philadelphia 76ers head coach Nick Nurse and Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka in a recent ranking of the league’s best coaches? If you squint very hard you can at least see a case for Nurse with a title to his name in his days at the helm of the Toronto Raptors.
But when it comes to Udoka and the Rockets, it boggles the mind. Udoka may have gotten to the 2024 NBA Finals with Boston, but he also promptly forced the Celtics to suspend and then fire him, which isn’t as far as Mazzulla has gone on several levels good and bad. So why were these two head coaches with similar or lesser resumes considered better, exactly?
This was the question talked about by cohost of the CLNS Media “Garden Report” podcast, Bobby Manning, with guest Wes Goldberg on a recent episode. Check it out below to hear what thy think this might be the case.
If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” “Celtics Lab,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.
