What happened
Joe Mazzulla said he would not coach Boston's preseason opener against Cleveland, leaving Tony Dobbins to run the first half and DJ MacLeay the second half.
Mazzulla said the preseason assignment was meant to reward both assistants after their summer head-coaching interviews, while MacLeay said the game gave him a chance to work on Boston's camp priorities.
This changes Boston's sideline decision-making and pregame/postgame duties for the preseason game, while the rest of the rotation remains unconfirmed. If Mazzulla continues to delegate exhibitions, assistant-coach usage and in-game messaging may vary by half.
Automated brief based on the linked report. Lineup context is analysis; official starting-five labels come separately from our game data provider.
Original reporting: For 2 Celtics, Thursday night was extra special — Yahoo Sports ↗