Sporting News NBA Coach of the Year: Joe Mazzulla gets an award he doesn't want

Sporting News NBA Coach of the Year: Joe Mazzulla gets an award he doesn't want originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

ATLANTA -- Before the Celtics tipped off against the Hawks on March 30, I found myself sitting next to The Athletic's Jay King in Atlanta's press room. I asked King if anyone on Boston's beat had asked Joe Mazzulla his thoughts on potentially winning the NBA's Coach of the Year award.

"No," King told me, supressing a big smile. "He's not going to like the question. But I am very much looking forward to his answer."

King is a smarter man than me. I asked Mazzulla despite that warning, and the coach did not mince words.

"I think it's a stupid award," Mazzulla said. "They shouldn't have it. It's more about the players. It's more about the work that the staff puts in. It's that simple, and I don't ever want to be asked or talk about it again. It’s just that dumb."

Mazzulla may not like platitudes, but I'm giving them to him anyway. Vegas set Boston's preseason line at 41.5 wins after they lost their entire frontcourt rotation, starter Jrue Holiday, and would be without Jayson Tatum for most of the season. Everyone thought that this would be a gap year for them, including myself who had them finishing 11th in the East. Instead, they won 56 games, earned the No. 2 seed in the conference and a popular Finals pick now that Tatum has returned earlier than expected.

Mazzulla has urged the media to give the credit to the players and his staff rather than himself. They have certainly played a major role, but a lesser head coach would not have gotten these same results. He is a very deserving winner for Sporting News' Coach of the Year and should win the same award from the NBA's panel of media voters.

Joe Mazzulla's schematic genius

The Celtics had a major talent drain this season, yet their offense stayed in the exact same No. 2 position as last year. That is a testament to the system that Mazzulla has put in. The coach has oftentimes been criticized for how many 3's his teams put up. The results don't lie though. The Celtics are still a top five team in the percentage of points they get from 3's, and they are still a dominant offense.

Dumbing down Mazzulla's system to "shoot a lot of 3's" isn't giving it nearly enough credit. He does value efficiency first and foremost, but he is willing to make tweaks in order to fit his personnel.

"Any time your roster charges, you lose a player of Jayson Tatum’s caliber, you adjust," Quin Snyder told me about his coaching colleague. "In this league, that’s a big part of the job. Trying to find efficiencies."

Mazzulla has embraced midrange shots more than any other year during his tenure, allowing Jaylen Brown to flourish from that area of the floor. It's led to an All-NBA season and a breakout for him. He's also put his role players in positions to succeed, leaning into strengths like Hugo Gonzalez' hustle, Luka Garza's scoring, and Jordan Walsh's 3-and-D skill set.

Mazzulla's greatest player development success has come with Neemias Queta, who has gone from a fringe NBA player to one of the better starting centers in the league. Mazzulla has simplified his role, getting him to pound the offensive glass, set killer screens, finish possessions, and play great defense.

Defensively, Mazzulla is doing some interesting things. The Celtics are a very aggressive help team, eschewing common rules such as never helping off corner shooters. They use a variety of defensive schemes tailored towards each opponent, such as breaking out a ton of zone defense on a random night against the Pistons. They don't force a ton of turnovers, but they emphasize rebounding, helping aggressively, not fouling, and taking away the rim at all costs. That has led to a top five defense.

Joe Mazzulla's personality is perfect for his team

There are a lot of stories out there about Mazzulla's quirky personality. He's said he's in favor of bringing back fighting into the league. When asked if he could run a marathon, he once responded, "I would just go until I die." He's shown his team film of killer whales to get them motivated to play.

MORE:The stories of Joe Mazzulla: Why he is perfect for these Celtics

Mazzulla is a master motivator, but he saves it for before games. Practice is for learning habits, and games are for performing. He reflects that philosophy in his unique treatment of timeouts. While other coaches try and cram in as much into the stoppage as possible, Mazzula will draw up a play, spend 10 to 20 seconds explaining it, and walk out of the huddle. He trusts his players and empowers them.

Mazzulla has always been a natural born leader who never backed down from any challenge. When he played at West Virginia, he coached the team's 1-3-1 zone.

"That was our closing defense the year we went to the Final Four, because he learned it from Coach Beilein when John Beilein was there [in Mazzulla’s freshman year]," Cincinnati coach and former WVU assistant Jerrod Calhoun told Sporting News. "Huggins did a great job of picking Joe’s brain and allowing him to coach.”

MORE:Jerrod Calhoun reflects on his former assistant and best friend Joe Mazzulla

Mazzulla was not intimidated in college. He guarded 6-foot-10 Kentucky big man DeMarcus Cousins because he believed that he could win that matchup despite standing at only 6-2. His players take on that same persona.

Mazzulla also cares about relationships, even if he comes off initially as gruff. Once the cameras were off in Atlanta, he made the unusual move of walking to the back of the press area to speak to me privately. He shook my hand and apologized for coming off so caustically.

"Sorry, I’m not great at first impressions," he admitted.

Mazzulla's genius has taken a while to sink in to the general collective. It's impossible at this point to argue with four seasons of 50-plus wins and winning 73 percent of your games. He's undeniably a top tier coach. This award should have been his years ago. Now well beyond his first impression, it's time for him to get the praise that he has no interest in.