Despite the ugly 107-123 blowout loss to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night in the Delta Center, Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy got some welcomed praise after the game from his former coworker and colleague, Celtics second-year head coach Joe Mazzulla.
This year, Mazzulla happened to get the best of Hardy in each of the Jazz's matchups against the Celtics as opposed to their season split in 2022-23. Still, it didn't stop him from dishing out some praise to him and his team after the game.
In an interview with NBC Sports Boston, Mazzulla got word of Hardy calling him a "great coach," where the Celtics' HC then had some assuring words to fire off in return:
"Great coach, good guy. We talk a lot, so learned a lot from him. You know, he's one of the reasons why I'm here.
The two have had an established bond since their days working on the Boston staff together. After working as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs for six seasons, coach Hardy opted to take his talents to join the Celtics for a season in 2021-22, a year in which he worked alongside Mazzulla, who was also an assistant.
While the two were working together for a short time, it seems they've remained close since Hardy departed from Boston. Now, both guys have gotten promoted to hold down their own teams with bright futures ahead of them as a couple of the best young coaches the league has to offer.
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