The Boston Celtics led against the Atlanta Hawks 66-36 in the second quarter but ultimately succumbed to a 118-120 loss to the franchise without star player Trae Young. Jayson Tatum wasn’t pleased with the performance, reacting to it frankly.
“It’s tough. You want to win every game you play. For us, people think we should never lose. We were up by a lot, we f***ed the game up, and we know that. We’re all adults and professionals and know we didn’t do the things necessary to win. I think that’s sometimes easier to fix when you know if you do the right things and play the right way. As KP said, let’s not overreact, take it on the chin, and get ready for Thursday.”
Jayson Tatum: "We f—– the game up & we know that… take it on the chin and get ready for Thursday" pic.twitter.com/uYgsqlokkD
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) March 26, 2024
Four minutes into the second quarter, the Celtics had taken a 30-point lead in this game as people thought a normal Celtics blowout was underway. However, a team effort on offense by the Hawks while the Celtics started missing shots caused a momentum swing which peaked with the Hawks taking a four-point lead in the final quarter.
The Celtics were without their defensive backcourt of Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, so it made sense that they became vulnerable to high-octane offense like the Hawks produced through DeAndre Hunter (24 points), Bogdan Bogdanovic (22 points), Dejounte Murray (19 points), and Vit Krejci (16 points).
Jayson Tatum put up 37 points with eight rebounds and five assists in a solid game, but his lack of engagement on the defensive end as the game wore on was one of the reasons the Celtics couldn’t pull this win off.
Should We Be Worried About The Celtics?
The Boston Celtics have torn through the NBA this season, currently expected to surpass the 60-win threshold comfortably. They’ll likely be the only team in the NBA to win over 60 games this season as well, putting extremely high expectations on a franchise that hasn’t been able to win a title since 2008 despite having a contending roster for the last six years.
The Celtics tend to fall apart in certain playoff matchups, which explains why they added players like Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis in the summer. The margin of error for stars like Tatum and Jaylen Brown has been increased by virtue of the talent around them. Games like tonight show how crucial team talent has been to the Celtics’ success.
The Celtics should start resting their stars now to ensure they’re in prime condition for the playoffs, as that is the only barometer of success for them at this point. The team would be runaway favorites for the title if there wasn’t a pall of doubt around their ability to execute in the playoffs.
Tatum has proven his worth as a star player in the NBA, but if he can take a superstar leap in the playoffs and bring an 18th title to Boston, he will start cementing his name as a modern great.
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