NBA coaches on the hot seat

It’s crunch time in the NBA.

With the postseason fast approaching, teams are jostling for position to potentially secure home-court advantage, avoid the Play-In Tournament or simply qualify for the playoffs altogether.

While some teams will find success, others will be disappointed, which could cause stark changes within some organizations. With this in mind, here are three coaches who have the most to prove down the stretch.

Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls

Billy Donovan has been dealt a tough hand.

Ahead of the trade deadline, many thought the middling Bulls would offload some of their best players to kickstart a rebuild. DeMar DeRozan and Andre Drummond are both on expiring deals, and Alex Caruso was also reportedly a popular target for many teams.

Yet, Chicago’s front office, possibly mandated by owner Jerry Reinsdorf, opted to forgo any deals in the hopes of making a playoff push despite not being ready to compete at that level.

With these lofty expectations in place, Donovan, who previously found success with better rosters, is now likely coaching for his job.

Currently sitting in the East’s nine-hole at 32-35, few would fault Donovan for not leading this average team into the postseason. But public empathy might not be enough to save the former NCAA Champion.

Darvin Ham, Los Angeles Lakers

Despite reaching the Western Conference Finals last season, Darvin Ham’s spot in L.A. is far from secure. Coaching not just the Lakers, but also a LeBron James-led team, comes with expectations, and Ham hasn’t met them in 2023-24.

Although James and Anthony Davis have stayed remarkably healthy, the Lakers are still only the ninth seed out West at the time of this writing.

While they’ve played better lately, it’s hard not to feel disappointment in a team that looked rejuvenated and ready to contend a year ago. A major reason for this decline is Ham’s unwillingness to settle into a lineup.

Between bringing Austin Reaves off the bench for several months, his over-commitment to Cam Reddish and Taurean Prince or even his recent refusal to lower Spencer Dinwiddie’s minutes despite several abysmal outings, Ham hasn’t often made great choices to complement his stars.

There is still hope, however. During last year’s run, it was Ham’s decision-making that proved his strength. He seemed to know exactly when he should sub somebody in, or who’d work well together on the court.

With Los Angeles still possessing plenty of talent, there’s a chance Ham gets his group to play its way into another memorable run. But if that doesn’t happen, he could be on his way out.

Joe Mazzulla, Boston Celtics

Joe Mazzulla is currently coaching a Celtics team that holds the NBA’s best record by a wide margin. He’s already secured his second 50+ win season in as many years as Boston’s head honcho.

But regular season performance means nothing if the Celtics can’t finally get it done come playoff time. Mazzulla, who is just 35 years old, was never supposed to be here.

Former Celtics coach Ime Udoka led the team to an NBA Finals appearance in 2022 but was soon fired for off-court conduct Boston deemed impermissible. Mazzulla replaced him and struggled with many in-game situations and adjustments throughout his first season.

In the postseason, he narrowly defeated Doc Rivers and the 76ers in a series riddled with poor leadership, before being thoroughly outcoached by Erik Spoelstra during an Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Heat.

Now guiding arguably the best roster of the Jayson Tatum era, Mazzulla has a ton of pressure on him to win. If he falls short of a finals appearance, the Celtics could look for a far more experienced coach to help them finally get over the hump.

This isn’t to say Mazzulla will fail come Spring. Rather, it’s merely setting expectations for what might happen should he come up short.

Joe Tuman is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email joentuman@gmail.com.