How Joe Mazzulla can elevate the 2026 Celtics







Joe Mazzulla will be in a unique situation for the first time in his coaching career. He stepped into the head coaching role under extreme circumstances and has done nothing but win since. The caveat to this, however, is his rosters have always been loaded with talent. Now he will have to steer the ship of a retooled roster with lower expectations, so how will he do?

The teams Mazzulla has coached so far have all been tailor-made for his offensive ideals. Players that can move the ball and shoot threes. In 2026, this will no longer be the case. The big question now is, what is his new approach? The Celtic's offense was very good in 2025, but was also very predictable. Being so reliant on the three-point shot came back to bite the Celtics in the playoffs when the shots were not falling. 


In all three seasons under Mazzulla, the Celtic's have ranked in the bottom 10 in pace, and finished dead last in 2025. We could see a shift in this style with the team changing so drastically. The fast break three-pointers will still be available with Pritchard, White, Simons and Hauser and the threat of these shots could open up for easy transition points for other players around the basket. 

The Celtics also had a bad habit of walking the ball up the floor, letting clock burn and being forced to take a shot that is not ideal. Even something as small as getting into the half court sets faster could work wonders for this offense.


Another issue that has plagued the Celtics at times is the end of game situations. Whether it is timeout usage or drawn up plays, the Celtics have struggled in late game situations that come down to the final one or two plays. This was most evident in the first two games against the New York Knicks, where the team seemingly had no idea what to do if Tatum did not immediately get an open shot. 

In most cases, the offense would devolve into isolation offense between Tatum and Brown, and the last play would almost always be taken by Tatum. With him out for the year, players such as Brown, Pritchard, White and even Simons will all have a good chance of getting the last shot. 

Mazzulla has struggled in the past at designing good looks on these plays and instead letting the play be 1-on-1, but with the lack of star power, these plays having more ball movement would be significant in how the Celtics close games. 

Joe Mazzulla has been great for the Celtics in his short tenure so far, but this will be the biggest test for him without his star player and retooled roster. How he adapts to this will ultimately define Celtics 2025-2026 season. If he is able adjust the team’s offensive identity and improve late-game execution, the Celtics could be much better than people think. 




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