The Boston Celtics lost their third game of the season on Tuesday, falling to the Atlanta Hawks in the opening game of the NBA Cup. Quin Snyder’s team outplayed Boston on both sides of the floor.Â
The Hawks took 24 more shots, grabbed 20 offensive rebounds, dished out 35 assists and played some high-level defense against the reigning champions. Somehow, Joe Mazzulla’s team only lost the game by one point, but its lack of effort and attention to detail will undoubtedly concern the fan base.
When speaking to the media as part of his postgame news conference, Mazzulla admitted his team had been outworked throughout the night.
“They played harder, and they played more physical than we did,” Mazzulla said. “They got 20 offensive rebounds, and forced us into 20 turnovers. You let a team outshoot you by a shot margin like that — you’re not gonna win.”
https://twitter.com/NoaDalzell/status/1856527559099306346?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1856527559099306346%7Ctwgr%5E7942ac4b96af20a3054db52a3876355534323eda%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yardbarker.com%2Fnba%2Farticles%2Fthe_celtics_have_an_effort_problem%2Fs1_13132_41227432
The Celtics must find a new form of motivation. It’s one thing to be hungry for your first championship. Having the stomach to retain it is a different task entirely. And right now, based on the Celtics’ first 12 games, they don’t look like a roster that’s driven by repeating the success of last season.
Every team in the NBA loses games. However, Boston’s loss to Atlanta is not the problem. It’s the manner of its loss. The lack of urgency and commitment. The aura of arrogance that even when it is not trying, it can still win.
Boston will face the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday in the second game of a back-to-back. Mazzulla’s team almost lost its first meeting with Brooklyn. How the Celtics bounce back from Tuesday’s loss and assert themselves to begin the game will tell us a lot about this team. However, even if they do dominate, they must prove they’re willing to do what it takes on a nightly basis. So far, they’ve done little to convince people that is the case.
