The annual NBA general managers’ survey dropped Tuesday, and the Boston Celtics fared well with one glaring exception.
Every year, NBA.com’s John Schuhmann asks NBA GMs key topics as a way to gauge league interest in teams and players.
There were 83% of responding GMs who thought the Celtics would win the title this season. That might sound great, but it is worth noting the survey pick doesn’t tend to fare well in reality.
The most glaring category was best coach. Erik Spoelstra took 69% of the vote, but Joe Mazzulla did not receive votes. The Celtics head coach was tied for third with Gregg Popovich as the “best manager/motivator of people.” However, he was behind Rick Carlisle and ranked fourth as the best offensive and defensive head coach, respectively.
Sam Cassell notably was tied for first as best assistant in the NBA, which you could read as a diss toward Mazzulla as a head coach who is carried by his players and assistants.
Of course, if Mazzulla were asked about the survey results, he’d probably tell everyone, “Who cares?” And that’s fair. Boston heads into its title defense not with a target on its back but as an aggressor that is looking to become the first team to win back-to-back championships since the Golden State Warriors from 2017-18.
