Does coaching matter in the NBA?

Some were worried when the Ime Udoka situation came to light and Celtics fans found out their coach from last season would be suspended for the year. But, on the other hand, I was ready to see one of my stronger takes put to the test.

You see, I learned many years ago that it’s not who’s coaching the team that matters. In reality, the only thing that makes a difference is whether a team is bought in or not. Luckily for Celtics fans, we’ve come to find out that this team is VERY bought in this year.

Don’t get me wrong. I still believe that coaches know what they are doing, especially at the pro level. They all have their schemes and plays that they practice with the team. Their insight can also be extremely valuable to new players learning the ropes. But if you’re going to argue with me that one pro-level coach makes a big difference over any other pro-level coach, that’s where I call BS.

Sure, I’ll give you Gregg Popovich as an outlier and maybe Phil Jackson, though I believe the “Zen Master” was overrated. However, the rest are just interchangeable pieces that only need their star talents to buy into their message, and they’re off and running.

When Ime Udoka was hired to coach the Boston Celtics, he came in as a breath of fresh air. The team had soured on former “great coach” Brad Stevens and was looking to go in a new direction with a coach that had played the game. The impact on the team was not immediate, as they struggled through the first half of the season, but they were able to turn things around largely due to the defensive scheme.

Boston then went on a run that had them two wins away from an NBA title, and everyone was smitten with the new head coach. Fast forward to the scandal, and the team is forced into promoting interim coach Joe Mazzulla. Many fans worried about losing their top-tier coach and replacing him with a former assistant.

The Boston Globe

Here comes the crazy part, though. The 2022-23 season kicked off, and a completely bought-in Celtics squad started dominating. Their top player, Jayson Tatum, is having an MVP-caliber start to the year. The team has an offensive efficiency rating that is three points higher than the ALL-TIME RECORD.

Sure, the defense has not been as good, but when you can outscore any team in the league during the regular season, that does not matter as much. The team will certainly have things they need to focus on going into the playoffs this year but barring any major injuries, this wagon of a squad shows no sign of negative effects from their coaching change. Oh, and did I mention they still have not had their Defensive Player of the Year, Rob Williams, step on the court yet?

All I’m saying is I feel very validated in my take that coaching does not matter in the NBA; buy-in matters.

That’s the claptrap.