Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics set to 'put our best foot forward' under interim coach Joe Mazzulla

CANTON, Mass. — In the wake of the suspension of Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka for the entire 2022-23 NBA season for violations of team rules, interim coach Joe Mazzulla said Monday that his goal is to simply continue building upon what allowed the Celtics to reach the NBA Finals last season for the first time in 12 years.

«It's not about carrying on from one person,» Mazzulla said during the team's media day here in the Boston suburbs. «It's about carrying on the identity of our players. We had our struggles early last season, but at our best, we knew what our identity was. It was our defense, it was our buy-in from a defensive standpoint, and then it was sharing the ball and moving quickly on the offensive end.

»So as much as we can stick to the things we were great at last year, and then find areas to improve along the way, I think is the right way to go."

The overwhelming message emanating from everyone who stepped to the podium Monday, from Mazzulla to the players, was that all of them are still coming to grips with the events of the past several days. After Udoka oversaw a dramatic in-season turnaround in his first year as head coach to lead Boston from being under .500 in late January to in the NBA Finals in June, the expectation was it was the beginning of a long run with him in charge of the franchise.

For the players, that was the case until the middle of last week, as each of them said they had no idea anything was coming before ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski broke the news that the team was considering suspending Udoka last Wednesday for violations of team rules. And, even after meeting with the front office and ownership last week, the players admitted they still didn't have much information over what took