Celtics' Joe Mazzulla named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month
After a dominant March that saw the Celtics lose just once, Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla has been named the NBA's Eastern Conference Coach of the Month.
Expect a dismissive "who cares" when the head coach is asked about the honor on Wednesday. Mazzulla and his Celtics have much bigger goals on their minds.
The Celtics went an impressive 14-1 last month while putting up some incredible defensive numbers, which earned Mazzulla his fourth Coach of the Month award over his three-year career. Only Doc Rivers has more Coach of the Month honors in Celtics franchise history with six.
Mazzulla won his first Coach of the Month in November of the 2022-23 season -- his first full month on the job -- and took home the hardware twice in 2023-24, in December and March. The Celtics went 14-5 last March, which set the team up for its run to an 18th championship in franchise history.
Mazzulla finished fourth in NBA Coach of the Year voting last season, after the Celtics finished with the best record in the league at 64-18.
Celtics in March
Boston was 14-1 in March, with a home defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder the only blemish for the month. The Celtics were a dominant 8-0 on the road and are coming off the franchise's first-ever 6-0 road trip.
Boston's epic March included home wins over the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers, with road victories over Utah Jazz, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, and Memphis Grizzlies on the team's perfect road trip. The Celtics won all six games on their 6-0 trip by double digits.
The Celtics were feeling it on both ends of the floor in March, and had the best net rating in the Eastern Conference at 11.6. The Boston defense was tops in the East as it held opponents to just 45.2 percent shooting for the month, and ranked second in the conference by holding opponents to just 107.7 points per game.
Mazzulla's Celtics are hitting their stride at just the right time, going 17-3 since the All-Star break and 25-5 over the last 30 games. Boston will host the Miami Heat at TD Garden on Wednesday night.