Interesting: When asked, Jayson Tatum calls Ime Udoka “probably my most favorite coach I’ve had,” no slight to anyone else. Says he’s in regular contact with Udoka. Tatum has a great relationship with + great respect for Mazzulla. Relationship with Udoka was just different.
Interesting: When asked, Jayson Tatum calls Ime Udoka “probably my most favorite coach I’ve had,” no slight to anyone else. Says he’s in regular contact with Udoka. Tatum has a great relationship with + great respect for Mazzulla. Relationship with Udoka was just different.
— Ben Rohrbach (@brohrbach) February 18, 2023
by McElwaine
25 Comments
I mean: that’s the guy who helped him to grow up and become a star.
Ime had to go and fuck it up. Still happy with Joe though
Everybody loved Ime. That’s why they hired him. What got him fired doesn’t change the player relationships. Maybe the coaches and ownership feel betrayed but why should the players? They may not even know what really happened.
I mean, I get he feels that way. But I wouldn’t be coming out and saying stuff like that on record. There is nothing to gain. I doubt Mazzulla will get in his feelings though, so probably not an issue.
In case anyone was wondering how Tatum may feel about Mazulla, here is what Jeff Goodman said about Tatum being the key to Mazzulla on the Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman Podcast:
>[“Tatum was the key to Mazzulla. From the sources I’ve talked to, it was Tatum who basically went to bat for Mazzulla. And then when Tatum goes to bat it’s a whole lot easier for those other guys to go to bat. But when Tatum, your best player, goes to bat for you, everyone kind of falls in line and you have success.”](https://thecelticsfiles.com/2022/12/02/boston-celtics-goodman-says-tatum-was-the-key-to-mazzulla-being-coach-of-the-celtics/)
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All I’m saying is this team better win it all this year.
Because if not, that’s going to be the public narrative about the team after this season, fair or not, that Ime was the one who got them over the hump with his hardass coaching style, and 2 different coaches (of a similar personality type I might add) failed to do so.
We still don’t know what Ime did, until we do how can we judge how Tatum feels about him. We don’t even know if Tatum knows.
Not gonna lie, this does make me a tad bit nervous if Ime gets a head coaching job in the next few years once Tatum is lined up to be a free agent. For more reasons than one, I’m hoping Udoka doesn’t go to Philly this summer if Doc gets fired
To be honest, I think it’s kind of crazy that we let him go essentially because of his decisions off the court but I get it. Great coach, poor choices sadly.
Man I just don’t understand the level of arrogance required to do whatever it is that Ime did as a first year head coach. If you really must cheat on Nia Long, surely there are plenty of other options out there that won’t get you fired?
I’m sure the lakers are going to chase Ime this off-season based on this
Tatum was not a fan of Brad stevens coaching I take it?
I’m not sure why this is interesting. A guy can be a dickhead in his personal life and relationships but still be great in his job and with friendships.
Not Brad? Oh.
I mean joe is a bette coach for this team to me.
I genuinely worry some of these guys don’t understand why Ime lost the job.
I’m not surprised. He’s probably the ultimate players coach and there’s a reason all the main guys on the team vouched to hire him. Shame he had to throw it all away
Imagine Udoka was still pulling strings in coaching on some Palpatine ish lol
Sad
But JT didn’t pout and cried when ime got suspended. A real dramaless pro
Goddamn it Ime
Ime Udoka’s offense in the playoffs boiled down to matchup-hunting… drain the whole shot clock, find the weakest defender, and isolate on them. That strategy is fine if you have LeBron James, but otherwise it won’t get you high-quality shots. The Celtics offense was so mediocre that it led us to the brink of elimination twice against inferior opponents, despite a historically great defense.
Point is Ime Udoka was great, he helped establish a defensive identity, but he didn’t have the answer on offense in the playoffs. I hope that Bazooka Joe can be a little more creative.
Is this really interesting?
Some people you just vibes with a little more than others.
Shoulda kept Udoka