00:00Who do you think deserves more credit for where the team is at?
00:03And I think the real answer is they both deserve a lot of credit,
00:06but now you've got to pick one.
00:07Is it Brad Stevens for finding some of the pieces on this roster,
00:12like Hugo, who was great the other night,
00:14Kata, even Jordan Walsh, Baylor Shireman,
00:17some of these pieces that have stepped up?
00:20Or is it Joe Mazzula for developing them?
00:23Who deserves more credit in your view?
00:24I give it to Joe Mazzula and the coaching staff as a whole.
00:27If you were to sit here a couple months ago
00:29and tell me that Celtics would be allowing the fewest points per game,
00:32would be a top-five defensive team,
00:34and would be a top-ten rebounding team,
00:36I would have thought you were insane.
00:37I think everyone probably would have echoed that sentiment.
00:39The defense was supposed to be terrible,
00:41and they've been one of the best in all of basketball.
00:43And just the way that they will maximize the talents of everybody up and down the roster,
00:48like look at Hugo Gonzalez, Jordan Walsh, Luka Garza when he's getting in the game,
00:52Josh Minot before he was shipped off,
00:54Nami Ishkata, I mean, he should be in the running for most improved,
00:57the way that he's developed into a starting caliber
01:00and one of the most impactful starting centers in the NBA.
01:03So I give Joe Mazzula and this coaching staff as a whole a ton of credit
01:07for just maximizing the talent,
01:09because that's what they needed to do to get to where they are right now
01:12on a 50-plus win pace.
01:14They had to maximize the talent from up and down the roster.
01:17And if you look at it, like, who has really underperformed?
01:20Everyone's kind of punching above their weight,
01:22or, you know, you would have thought realistically.
01:24I thought Derek White maybe the only one, but Derek White, I wouldn't say is underperformed.
01:28He's just kind of, he's performed.
01:29It's just the shooting numbers.
01:30Like, if you look at what he's doing defensively.
01:32I think both he and Pritchard have been a little underwhelming,
01:34but it's not like they've been awful.
01:36I'm with you on that.
01:37Again, it's just the shooting numbers.
01:37Like, if you're looking at Pritchard and his, like, playing the point guard position,
01:41he's been terrific.
01:43He's not turning the ball over.
01:44He's creating for others.
01:45Like, he's been great.
01:46And same thing with Derek White, like, just obviously named Defensive Player of the Month,
01:49and he's been so impactful defensively.
01:51So I think with those two, it's easy to highlight because of the shooting inefficiencies
01:55or the, you know, the inconsistencies, rather, would be probably a better fit word.
01:59But, yeah, like, everyone's just taking a collective step,
02:02and I think a lot of that credit goes to Joe Mazzullo.
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