After the Boston Celtics' home loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, they took a long time to open the locker room for media availability – a noticibly long time.
Once the locker room finally opened to the media, players like Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were all asked about what the hold up was. It was revealed that the Celtics had an impromptu team meeting after the game in which Brown wouldn't say much other than it was to get everyone on the team 'on the same page'.
He and the other stars on the Celtics were surely on the same page in their responses – "It's just something we need to keep in the locker room," Tatum told The Athletic's Jay King.
"That's none of your business," is what Irving went with as a response, but he followed that up by stating that there is a lot of 'selfish play out there,' including his own play in that comment as well.
The next day, they had a second team meeting before practice to hash things out again. Head coach Brad Stevens had this to say on their second meeting in as many days:
Brad Stevens: "Every day we have closed-door meetings. But some are obviously more impactful, more transparent and a little bit more raw than others. And I think those are probably the most memorable, enjoyable and purposeful times when you reflect on the season."
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) December 23, 2018
The Celtics were 18-13 on the wrong side of a three-game streak going into Monday's contest with the Charlotte Hornets. While that record puts them in the middle of the pack in the East, the team seems to be unsatisfied with the way they are competing. Going into the season with such high expectations to be the sure-fire best team in the conference, it was clear it was time for the team to figure out why things haven't been clicking the way they expected.
Things immediately took a turn in the right direction for the Celtics on Sunday when it was announced star centre Al Horford would return after a seven-game absence with a sore knee. They also got one of their X-factors Marcus Morris back in the lineup after missing two games with some knee pain.
Boston responded the best way possible by leading the entire game over the Hornets on their way to a 119-103 win. They were up by as much as 33 points in the contest, led by a 25-point outing from Irving who shot 9-for-12 from the field making four 3-pointers to go with five assists in only 28 minutes of playing time. Horford's impact was felt right away with 10 points, six rebounds and five assists playing just over 19 minutes to get loose before their Christmas Day matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Celtics will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 26 to take on the 76ers.
