Boston Celtics
The Celtics head coach earned the award for the fifth time in his profession.
The Celtics proceed to impress within the NBA’s 2025-26 marketing campaign, regardless of followers and the media anticipating Boston to have a bridge 12 months getting into the season.
Boston’s newest achievement options head coach Joe Mazzulla, who was named December’s Jap Convention Coach of the Month, the league introduced Friday.
Mazzulla helped information the Celtics to a 9-3 document final month, plus a NBA-best 124.3 offensive score. Boston earned victories towards opponents such because the Toronto Raptors (on Dec. 7 and once more on Dec. 20) and the New York Knicks, discovering its method to third place within the East getting into Friday.
In December, the Celtics discovered themselves atop the East in a number of statistics: win share (.750), area purpose share (49.3%), web score (11.0), and true capturing share (61.4%). Moreover, Boston ranked second in 3-pointers made per recreation (15.9), third in blocks per recreation (5.5), third in offensive rebounding share (32.9%), and fourth in defensive score (113.3).
These feats lent a hand in Mazzulla garnering the Coach of the Month award, which marked his fifth time incomes these honors. He has earned the accolade at the very least as soon as in every of the 4 seasons since being named Celtics head coach in 2022.
Whereas the NBA has an early, however huge, candidate pool for Coach of the Year, there’s definitely an opportunity Mazzulla could possibly be thought of for the end-of-season award if Boston continues to development upward. The Celtics are simply 3.5 video games again of the first-place Detroit Pistons within the East getting into Friday and appear to maintain taking part in higher basketball with every contest.
Jaylen Brown rapidly emerged because the staff’s chief on and off the courtroom to start the season as Jayson Tatum rehabs from his torn Achilles, and Brown is barely enhancing because the season progresses. In December, Brown averaged essentially the most factors per recreation (31.7) to steer the NBA. He additionally notched 6.4 rebounds per recreation, 5.4 assists, a 53.8 area purpose share, and 42.6 three-point share final month.
Brown was the one participant within the East to common 30 factors/six rebounds/5 assists in December, and he has scored 30 or extra factors in 9 of his final 10 contests. Mazzulla has seemingly performed a significant position in serving to Brown attain this degree on the parquet.
It stays to be seen how Boston’s remaining 49 common season video games will play out, however the Celtics did kick off the brand new 12 months, and their West Coast highway journey, with a 120-106 victory over the Sacramento Kings. Brown scored 29 factors and Mazzulla highlighted his staff’s second-half defensive effort after the sport.
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