With the NBA season just weeks away, one of the title favourites has lost their head coach to a season-long suspension.
Second-year coach Ime Udoka has been suspended by the Boston Celtics for the 2022-23 NBA season.
It’s been revealed Udoka had a relationship with a female staff-member. Though it’s been labelled consensual, it was a violation of team’s policy, resulting in the lengthy and unprecedented ban.
The Celtics then released a statement that assistant Joe Mazzulla would take over as the interim coach.
This story is being treated by credible publications with clear sensitivities at play, involving multiple people’s careers and lives. There has been limited information disclosed, with good reason.
While still a large part of this story is yet to surface, the other immediate reality is that on the basketball front, the new season is less than a month away. So while the League and Celtics franchise go through this process carefully, the organisation must also take necessary measures to prepare for its on-court tasks.
Boston has gone from a team expected to make another deep charge to one with a lot of unknowns.
The Celtics thrived under Udoka’s coaching last year, advancing to the NBA Finals through two gruelling seven-game series wins over the Heat and the Bucks.
To make matters worse, their top assistant Will Hardy had already left to pursue the head coach opportunity offered by the Utah Jazz. Hardy was one of the most targeted assistants in the league and had multiple suitors.
The Celtics ended the 2021-22 campaign with serious momentum. While it started slow for Udoka, below a .500 win percentage by the end of January, his team finished 28-7 down the stretch to storm into the post-season with promise. Boston went within two games of an NBA title in Udoka’s rookie season as head coach, leaving the city and wider community optimistic about its chances going forward.
Udoka became just the fifth coach in the last 25 years to advance to the NBA Finals in their first season in charge, joining the likes of Erik Spoelstra and Nick Nurse. His early coaching legacy has been maximising Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who have become one of the most lethal duos in the NBA.
Now the two budding superstars will have to recalibrate, quickly.
This situation also threatens to derail the team’s ability to defend at an elite level; Udoka implemented structures to morph his group into the top-ranked defensive side in the NBA.
While the organisation has made a decision on its head coach, it’s highly unlikley Udoka ends up returning next season. While this is a highly unusual situation, former Timberwolves general manager Gersson Rosas was fired immediately for being involved in a situation that on the surface looks similar.
The Boston Celtics are a proud and storied NBA franchise. Its fan base won’t accept excuses when the ball is tipped. Expect swift and necessary action if and when more comes to light. But for the upcoming season, this team has its work cut out.
