Boston Celtics looking forward to their new interim coach Joe Mazzulla

As a result of Ime Udoka's suspension from the Boston Celtics for the entirety of the 2022–23 NBA season for breaking team rules, interim coach Joe Mazzulla stated on Monday that his team's objective is to simply keep building on what helped the Celtics make the NBA Finals last season for the first time in 12 years. It was anticipated that Udoka's tenure as head coach would be the start of a lengthy reign after he orchestrated Boston's stunning in-season turnaround in his first season to take them from being below .500 in late January to the NBA Finals in June. 

The players acknowledged that they were unaware of what had happened and where things were going, but they also acknowledged that they recognized the organization's predicament and that the privacy of all parties involved made it difficult for the Celtics to handle the situation going forward.