Jayson Tatum: Celtics Believe In Coach Ime Udoka

Celtics guard/forward Jayson Tatum said he thinks first-year coach Ime Udoka is doing just fine despite the team’s rocky start.

“He’s doing a great job,” Tatum said, via John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal. “Obviously, can only imagine how tough it is as a first-year head coach and everything that comes along with it, but I trust him and respect him and he does the same with myself and other guys, so we believe in him.”

The Celtics are 5-6 entering Friday’s game against the defending NBA champion Bucks. They have hit a few roadblocks under Udoka, though it doesn’t appear that any should be pinned on him.

Guard/forward Jaylen Brown just went down with an injury and the Celtics have struggled to mesh early. None of it has been reason for panic, of course. For Boston, 71 games remain, and the idea is always to better at the end than the start.

Udoka, 44, is in his first year as NBA head coach after nine years as an assistant with the Spurs, 76ers and Nets. A former NBA small forward, he clearly has his team’s attention and respect.

At some point, the Celtics are expected to pull it together and contend in the East. Tatum, for one, seems to believe that Udoka is the coach who can lead them there.