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The Celtics boast a NBA-best 18-4 record heading into December under the guidance of Joe Mazzulla and behind the MVP-level play of Jayson Tatum, and they were both honored by the league on Thursday.
Mazzulla was named the Eastern Conference’s Coach of the Month, and Tatum was awarded the Eastern Conference’s Player of the Month for games played in both October and November. The Celtics have won 14 of their last 15 games and lead the East by two games.
Mazzulla has experienced a seamless transition in his first season as an NBA head coach after being named the Celtics’ interim head coach on the eve of training camp to replace the suspended Ime Udoka. Under Mazzulla, the Celtics’ offense is on pace to be the best in NBA history as they lead the league with a 121.5 offensive rating and 121.9 points per game.
Tatum is an early MVP favorite as the best player on the best team, and has already produced several signature performances, including his 49-point effort in Wednesday’s win over the Heat. He’s second in the NBA with 31.6 points per game while shooting 48.8 percent from the field, and he was a league-best plus-191 in November.
Mazzulla and Tatum are the first Celtics tandem to win Coach and Player of the Month in the same month since K.C. Jones and Larry Bird in March 1986.
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