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Joe Mazzulla had a classic reaction to winning Coach of the Month honors
"It’s the dumbest thing ever."
Joe Mazzulla took home Eastern Conference Coach of the Month honors for the fourth time in his career after leading the Celtics to a sterling 14-1 record in March.
But the hyper-focused and candid coach doesn’t seem all that interested in basking in his own individual accomplishments.
Speaking ahead of Boston’s eventual loss to the Heat on Wednesday night at TD Garden, Mazzulla was congratulated for winning another monthly honor.
His response?
“It’s the dumbest thing ever,” Mazzulla said, per WEEI’s Justin Turpin.
This is far from the first time that Mazzulla has pushed back against individual coaching accolades, as Derrick White noted last year ahead of the 2024 NBA Finals.
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“When he won Coach of the Month, I said ‘Hey, congratulations.’ And he just looked at me and said ‘nobody cares,’” White said when asked of his favorite Mazzulla quote.
Despite Mazzulla’s blunt commentary, the results speak for themselves when it comes to the Celtics’ strong play down the stretch.
Even as Boston battled both injuries and an extended road trip in March, the Celtics still carved up the competition. Ten of their 14 wins last month came via double digits.
The Celtics featured the highest net rating in the Eastern Conference in March (11.6), while also setting a new franchise record by going 6-0 on a single road trip for the first time ever.
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The team’s defensive buy-in last month was perhaps the most encouraging development for Boston ahead of the playoffs.
In March, the Celtics held opponents to just 107.7 points per game (second in the East), while also holding teams to just a 45.2 shooting percentage from the floor (first in the East).
At this stage of the NBA calendar, the Celtics’ main priority should be to rest up ahead of what could be another long playoff push.
But even with Boston likely locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, Mazzulla pushed back against the assertion that these final regular-season games hold little weight — especially after the Celtics dropped Wednesday’s game to Miami, 123-104.
“We’re all pissed,” Mazzulla said postgame. “We all hate losing and that was my message was good reminder that losing still sucks. I love the fact that the staff’s miserable, guys were pissed — not happy about it. But we’re going to come back and do it again the next day. I think it’s great.”
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