JB and JT set the agenda for the C’s. The Boston Celtics succumbed to yet another upset. Third in the season. The defending champions, who looked untamable, got tested three times within the first 12 games. Facing the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Cup opener, the Celtics lost the game by just one point 116-117. The Celts have a reputation for protecting the ball to near perfection in almost every game. But they weren’t anywhere close to it on Tuesday night, especially with an unlikely night from Jayson Tatum. And the superstar takes the blame too!

Despite the fumble throughout the game against the shorthanded Hawks, the Celts still had a chance at the end. One stellar play at the end could’ve saved them from embarrassment, but Tatum blew that too. Trailing by one point, Jrue Holiday inbounded the ball to Jayson Tatum, and guess what, the superstar committed his 5th foul. Speaking of that play, he said, “I gotta grab the ball. So that was on me,” in a post-game interview.

Moreover, the Celtics star didn’t just leave it to take the blame but also sent out a strong message. It was quite an embarrassing affair to lose a game to a team without its leader, Trae Young. And the reporter didn’t hesitate to rub it on JT’s face. A reporter asked if the Celts had a “mindset challenge” to face the Hawks without Ice Trae. Tatum quickly denied it and took the opportunity to pass on an important message to his teammates.

“Two games we started down like 18-2 so that’s one of the starters, we got to start the game better,” said Tatum, addressing the Celt’s recent fumbles. Moreover, speaking of tonight’s game, he addressed how they gave away the game in the third quarter. Not to take anything away from the Hawks duo, Jalen Johnson and Dyson Daniels.

Jaylen Brown urges the Celts to “fight” better

Following JT, Jaylen Brown, who had 6 turnovers against his name, also had a stern message to his teammates. Firstly, he acknowledged what Tatum refused to. It was indeed a mindset challenge for the Celts. Speaking at the post-game presser, Brown said, “I think mentally, we were just careless tonight. We expected to win too careless. I mean, it showed.” 

After that, he can’t get away without addressing the turnover concern. Brown added, “Our turnovers. It’s uncharacteristic of us having 20 turnovers… We wasn’t in sync like we normally were, so we got to be better at that and I got to be better at that.” Moreover, the reigning Finals MVP praised the opponent bigwigs for their relentless rim duty, saying, “(Onyeka) Okongwu and (Clint) Capela did a good job, offensive rebound, stealing some of our on switches and made us pay for it.”

Notably, the Hawks collected 20 offensive rebounds. Meanwhile, the Celtics collected only 6. Nevertheless, Brown ended his statement with a message to his teammates, saying, “We just gotta fight better. We didn’t fight how we normally do tonight.” Next up, they face the Brooklyn Nets. Will they bounce back with an explosive performance? Let us know in the comments below.