It Looks Like Joe Mazzulla's Plan for the Boston Celtics is Already Working

This is the time to feel good about yourself in the NBA, but Sam Hauser suggests the plan Joe Mazzulla had for the team is already paying off.

Feb 14, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla talks with forward Sam Hauser (30) from the sideline at they take on the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

BOSTON — Things are good inside the Auerbach Center right now. The Boston Celtics have had two pretty good preseason performances, and the coverage of the team has shifted from confused and angry over the summer to jovial and upbeat.

“We've got good vibes around the team right now,” Sam Hauser said ahead of the team’s Tuesday morning practice, summing things up nicely.

That's good news, especially for Joe Mazzulla, who has been trying everything he could to bring this team together quickly. Everything in camp has been geared towards communication and togetherness, from changing media obligations to how scrimmages and film sessions are handled. And of course, there was a quick trip to South Carolina, where the Celtics called The Citadel home for three rain-soaked days.

“I think Charleston was good for us,” Hauser said. “A lot of time together with just us, just the team—the players, the coaches, the staff—away from our home here in Boston, away from our families a little bit. Just to spend some quality time with each other, which we don’t always get to do. So it was good.”

That seems to be the consensus. Every player who has spoken about the trip has done so with a smile on his face. Even though some of the guys acquiesced to Mazzulla’s challenge to golf in the rain, the weather mostly kept the guys together in a situation that seemingly accelerated the bonding. 

In short, Mazzulla’s plan is working. It’s early, but all we can do is assess where we are at this particular moment. Mazzulla saw what his team needed, put a plan together, and as of this writing, a best-case scenario is unfolding.

But this is also about the time when overreactions are at their peak. The Celtics have won both their preseason games and gotten solid-to-great performances from everyone on the roster. Not only is everyone mentally engaged, they are physically feeling the best they’ll feel all season long. Everyone knows that's going to change.

“I feel like it’s pretty easy to have good vibes right now,” Hauser said. “I think the real test is 30, 40 games in to keep the same type of vibes going. When expectations of what you might think you’re gonna play in the season might change throughout the year, how can you stay right here throughout the whole process. I think we’re gonna do good with that, but you never really know until we get going.”

This is the challenge, but it’s also something Mazzulla has been preaching. Yes, the vibes are great around the Celtics right now, but they’d better be good right now because this is the easy part of the season. 

“No one's gotten benched, no one's been on a losing streak, no one's got blamed in the media, no one's had to go stand in the corner for 10 minutes and not get the ball,” Mazzulla said last week in Charleston. “You learn those things as the season goes on and, and you learn how to work through those things together and you can't stimulate those. It just comes with time … we gotta wait till stuff doesn't go your way and then we got to figure out who we are and how we're going to be at our best."

There's plenty of confidence that the Celtics at their best will be better than most this season. From the outside, we only have two games to support that take. But from the inside, it’s been about a month-and-a-half of workouts, drills, and scrimmages. The players know a lot more than we do about what this team will look like.

“I learned that I think we’re gonna be really good,” Hauser said. “I think every day we’re trying to get better. I don’t know if it’s anything specific, necessarily, but I think each day we put our best foot forward and just try to keep doing that throughout preseason here.”