Ime Udoka and Joe Mazzulla may be working in different conferences, but the way their teams are built has a familiar echo.
Joe Mazzulla has been so successful since taking over the Boston Celtics that it’s easy to lose sight of how he got there: he replaced Ime Udoka after the scandal that hit just before training camp in 2022. Since then, Mazzulla has gone from successor to standout, winning NBA Coach of the Year and putting his own stamp on Boston’s identity with a style of play that’s been labeled “Mazzulla Ball.”
What’s striking now is that Udoka appears to be building something similar in Houston.
The Rockets had a rough season, but the picture was never as simple as the record. Injuries played a major role, and with key pieces expected back plus the arrival of Marcus Smart, Houston looks ready to lean into a system that feels awfully familiar to what Mazzulla uses in Boston.
One of the clearest overlaps is on the glass. Houston’s first matchup with Boston last season turned into a blowout win for the Rockets at home, and that game helped expose one of the pillars of Mazzulla Ball: offensive rebounding. Boston later answered with a win of its own in Houston, even without Jaylen Brown, but the Rockets had already shown how damaging second-chance opportunities can be when they’re on.
That edge starts with Steven Adams. He wasn’t the headliner, but he was a huge reason Houston overpowered Boston in that first meeting.
Adams has long been one of the league’s best offensive rebounders, and once he went down with a season-ending injury, Boston got its revenge. Now that he’s healthy again, Houston can put that strength back to work and chase extra possessions in the same way Boston wants to do with Neemias Queta, Mitchell Robinson, and Luka Garza.
The Rockets also get back another important piece in Fred VanVleet. Before the season even began, Houston took a major hit when VanVleet suffered a torn ACL.
Losing him was compared to Boston losing Derrick White, and for good reason. VanVleet brings three-point shooting, ball security with a 3.4 assist-to-turnover ratio, and surprisingly strong defense for his size.
His absence derailed Houston’s season, and Adams’ injury only made the damage worse.
Now Houston has a chance to recover that glue and layer in another disruptive defender with Smart. Even if he’s not prime Smart anymore, he still made an impact with the Lakers last season and remains the kind of defender who can force mistakes.
Put him next to Amen Thompson, one of the NBA’s best defenders, and the Rockets suddenly have real turnover pressure. Add in VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr., and Jae’Sean Tate, among others, and the defensive pieces start to look dangerous.
Then there’s the shooting. Houston has plenty of plus three-point threats, led by Kevin Durant, VanVleet, Reed Sheppard, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Tari Eason.
Stack it all together, and Houston has the ingredients for a roster that fits the Mazzulla Ball mold almost too well. The offensive rebounding, the spacing, the ball security, the disruptive defense - it all lines up.
That’s what makes Udoka and Mazzulla feel like coaching kindred spirits. If things come together the way they look like they can, Boston and Houston could end up being two of the league’s best teams for the same reason.
In Other News...
Celtics Suddenly Have A Rotation Problem Fans Will Love
Bostons preseason opener offered plenty for Joe Mazzulla to sort through, and not just because the Celtics handled Philadelphia with ease. Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard were among the standouts in a lopsided win that showed off the kind of offensive balance and defensive activity the staff wants to see before the games count.
The more interesting part may be how quickly the new-look rotation is already becoming a puzzle. Paul George also made his Celtics debut and looked comfortable in the flow, which only adds to the number of viable options Mazzulla can test over the next few preseason games as he tries to settle on the right combinations. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Young Core Suddenly Faces Real Pressure In Post-Brown Rotation
Jaylen Browns departure has left Boston heading into the 2026-27 season with a very different look, and Joe Mazzullas rotation is suddenly carrying far more weight than it did a year ago. The Celtics do not have the luxury of easing into the transition, either. If they want to stay in the mix in the Eastern Conference, they will need younger players to absorb real minutes and real responsibility far sooner than planned, with Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman and Chris Cenac Jr. all part of that conversation.
Gonzalez and Scheierman, in particular, are no longer just developmental names tucked at the end of the bench. Their preseason work has put them in position to matter in ways that could shape Bostons early season identity, while Cenacs path points to a more gradual rise. The pressure now is less about long-term promise than immediate usefulness, because the Celtics have a roster gap they cant hide and a young core that has to show it can handle the extra attention. [Read more 🡒]
Derrick Whites Shooting Dip Created A Celtics Problem He Had To Address
Derrick Whites value to Boston was never reduced to one facet of his game last season, but the shooting dip was hard to ignore for a player the Celtics rely on to space the floor and keep their offense moving. Even with the cold stretch from deep, White still delivered at a high level on the other end, finishing sixth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and earning All-Defensive First Team honors, which only underscored how much he continued to do for the team when one part of his game went missing.
White also made clear the problem did not come out of nowhere. The slump grew from a slow start and then turned into something harder to stop as he kept adjusting his mechanics and pressing to fix it, a cycle that fed on itself and chipped away at his confidence. The numbers reflected the result, and the lingering issue carried into the playoffs, leaving Boston with a version of White that still defended at an elite level but had to work his way back to trust his shot. [Read more 🡒]