How Joe Mazzulla stack up in NBA Coach of the Year race

Boston Celtics

Mazzola has the second-best odds to win the award, trailing only Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff.

Despite the fact that the cup l NBA Coach of the Year Named after Red Auerbach, it has been 46 years since a Celtics The coach was named the winner.

The last time was in 1980, when Bill Fitch won the award a year before the Celtics won their first title of the Larry Bird era. It was the second win for Coach of the Year for Fitch, who also won in 1976 as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

During a visit to TD Garden on March 18, Hall of Fame center Robert Parish told reporters that current Celtics coach Joe Mazzola reminds him of Veach.

This season, Mazzola has a chance to bring the Auerbach Trophy back to Boston. According to BetMGMMazzola has the second best odds of winning the award. Detroit’s JB Bickerstaff is the favorite.

With two weeks remaining in the regular season, here’s a look at the top contenders and their respective statuses.

JB Bickerstaff, Detroit Pistons

register: 54-20

probability: -190

Case for: Remember, if you will, where the Pistons were two years ago, shortly before Bickerstaff was hired during the summer of 2024.

While the Celtics were at the top of the championship parade, the Pistons were coming off a season in which they finished last in the Eastern Conference. They went 7-33 at home. They tied the record for most consecutive losses (28). It’s been bad historically.

This season, Detroit is the top seed in the Eastern Conference. They have the third best record in the NBA.

They did this by getting into the paint, rebounding, and playing solid defense. They scored 49.4 percent of their points in the paint, the second-highest such percentages in the NBA. The Kings are the only team in the league that shoots fewer 3-pointers than the Pistons do. They are the best shot blocking team in the league. They’re No. 2 in defensive efficiency, and they’re also top 10 in rebounding.

Bickerstaff helped the Pistons quickly turn their fortunes around, and they are now in a position to gain home court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Joe Mazzola, Boston Celtics

register: 50-24

probability: +155

Case for: The Celtics lost a tremendous amount of talent compared to last season and still ended up in a similar place where they were last season at full strength.

They didn’t have Jayson Tatum for the first three quarters of the season. Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Korrent all ended up elsewhere over the offseason.

The Celtics still have the second-best record in the East behind Detroit and one of the five best records in basketball.

The key word here would be development. Every player on the roster seems to have improved, which is a testament to the individual work ethic and culture Mazzola has fostered within the program.

Jaylen Brown is playing some of the best basketball of his career. Neemias Queta has become a quality start-up center. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard weathered the storm while dealing with the need for more scoring without Tatum. Baylor Sherman, Hugo Gonzalez and Jordan Walsh have all helped the Celtics’ depth in their own ways.

This team has shown that it can win in many ways. They’ve also turned some major weaknesses into strengths. Rebounding was a major issue at the start of the season. They have since become one of the top five rebounding teams. They’ve lost their starting spot, but somehow they have the fewest turnovers per game in the league. They are on both ends of the court, ranking in the top four in the league in both offensive and defensive rating.

In what could have easily been written off as a gap year, the Celtics are back in the mix.

Mitch Johnson, San Antonio Spurs

register: 56-18

probability: +1600

Case for: Tottenham have made a huge leap in year three of Victor Wimpanyama’s reign.

Obviously, Wemby’s development into one of the best two-way players in the league is a big part of that. The Spurs also invested heavily in their backcourt, trading for De’Aaron Fox, and drafting Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.

However, the difference between this season and last is too big to ignore. With their last eight games, San Antonio has already won 22 more games than they did last year. Spending a year with Fox, Harper, Castle and Wembanyama together certainly helped.

Guiding this group to this level of success as a first-year coach is no easy task, but Johnson has done it. The Spurs have the second-best record in basketball, testing only the defending champion Thunder.

Charles Lee, Charlotte Hornets

Record: 39-36

Odds: +5000

The former Celtics assistant orchestrated a major turnaround in Charlotte. The Hornets won just 19 games last season. Now, they’re looking for a place in tournament play.

They split a season series with the Celtics with a third game scheduled for next Tuesday in Boston.

If the Hornets reach the playoffs, it will be their first postseason appearance since 2016.

They’re one of the few teams in the league that shoots more 3-pointers than the Celtics, and they’ve allowed Brandon Miller, LaMelo Ball, and Kuhn Knoebel to turn them into one of the most efficient offenses in the league.

Jordan Ott, Phoenix Suns

register: 41-33

probability: +5000

Case for: The Suns have a significant decline in talent after Devin Booker, but they are still in seventh place in the powerful Western Conference.

The Suns make up for being a below-average offensive team (28th in field goal percentage, 25th in points per game, 18th in offensive efficiency) by creating turnovers and taking advantage of quick breakout opportunities.

They get 20.2 points per game off turnovers, the fourth-best mark in the league in that category. They are No. 3 in steals at 9.7 per game.

A team that counts Dillon Brooks as its second-leading scorer will have to find ways to stay in games. The Suns do this by being aggressive on defense and working hard in transition.

First-year coach Jordan Ott actually won five more games than his previous head coach, Mike Budenholzer, last season.