Ime Udoka reflects on Celtics exit: 'Job not finished' - ESPN

BOSTON — Ime Udoka said before coaching his first game in Boston since being suspended for the 2022-23 season for multiple violations of team rules and ultimately being removed as the Celtics' coach, that he never completed the job he was hired to do.

«Job not finished,» Udoka said when asked how he looks back on that season before leading the Houston Rockets against Boston at TD Garden on Saturday night. «The relationships you build, and the people you impact. So that'd be the biggest thing [I think about].

»[I] formed a lot of relationships within a year, and obviously want to get a chance to run it back with a group you feel you can build and grow with. So, letting the people down. I talked about the players, the relationships I built with them, the coaches that came with me, and then everybody else that was impacted by it.

«So for me that's the biggest thing I would say overall is letting some people down, for sure. But we've talked it out and I've seen a lot of these people throughout the summer and talk regularly and so we move past it.»

When Udoka was introduced before Saturday's game, he received a light mix of boos and cheers from the TD Garden crowd.

Udoka led a remarkable turnaround during his lone season with the franchise, one that saw Boston begin the 2021-22 campaign with a 23-24 record through late January before ripping off a 28-7 stretch to end the regular season. The Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010 with series victories over the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat.

The last game Udoka coached for the franchise was in this building, where Boston lost Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry & Co. celebrated their fourth