the coach of the Boston Celtics, could miss the entire season due to his relationship with a staff member.
Due to his involvement in a romantic relationship with a female employee of the team, Boston Celtics coach Ime Udoka is probably going to be suspended for the whole 2022–2023 season, sources told ESPN on Thursday.
The relationship is thought to have violated the organization’s policies, and Udoka’s proposed punishment is essentially unheard of for an NBA head coach who is currently in office. It could be official announcement as early as Thursday.
ESPN was informed by sources that Boston’s interim coach for the upcoming season will probably be assistant coach Joe Mazzulla.
Will Hardy, Udoka’s top assistant coach, departed the team in June to take a coaching position with the Utah Jazz.
After finishing his NBA playing career, Udoka worked as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, and Brooklyn Nets before joining the Celtics in the summer.
As coach, he took Brad Stevens’ place. After Danny Ainge, the previous president of basketball operations for Boston, decided to leave the company, Stevens went up to take over that role.
During his first season in charge, Udoka brought the Boston Celtics from below.500 in late January to finishing the season with a 28-7 record through their final 35 games. They then made history by leading the Eastern Conference playoffs and making it to the NBA Finals for the first time in twelve years.
In his first season as a head coach, Udoka is the fifth coach in the last 25 years to make it to the NBA Finals; Nick Nurse was the last coach to do so in 2019.
Additionally, he made history by becoming the first rookie coach to win multiple Game 7s in his first postseason, according to research from ESPN Stats & Information. Before losing to the Golden State Warriors in six games in the NBA Finals, Udoka led Boston to victories over the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals and the Miami Heat in the East finals, requiring seven games each.
Philadelphia — All-Star guard Zach LaVine could make a “realistic” comeback from a sore right foot within the next week, according to Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan. LaVine might even play against the Charlotte Hornets on Friday.
LaVine’s injury has prevented him from playing in the last 15 games.
I’m not sure when it will happen exactly, but the way he’s progressing now and that he’s in full-fledged contact, [it’s] very, very positive,” Donovan stated prior to Tuesday night’s game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I’m not sure how much information the medical team is looking for regarding the game load types of activities that he can manage. However, in terms of how he’s developed, he’s handled everything incredibly well.
For the Bulls’ Wednesday game against the Knicks in New York after their trip to Philadelphia, LaVine stayed in Chicago. Donovan reported that during the previous two days of training with the Windy City Bulls, Chicago’s G League team, LaVine experienced no setbacks. He is anticipated to work out with them again on Wednesday.
Good [progress],” Donovan declared. Extremely well done. He practiced with those guys yesterday and again today, and from what I’ve heard, it went incredibly well. When he returned this morning, he answered nicely, and we’ll see how he does tomorrow. However, Windy City’s schedule and their ability to practice while in town make things good. With our schedule, however, it’s difficult to get him real live reps and to play against real people. Thus, it has been beneficial for him to return there.
LaVine was scoring 21 points a night and shooting 33.6 percent from three-point range and 44.3 percent from the field prior to the injury. These are the lowest points he has recorded since his injury-marred rookie campaign with the Bulls in 2017–18, when he was a key player in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ trade for Jimmy Butler.
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