Jayson Tatum makes bold locker room demand after Kristaps Porzingis throws two Celtics stars under the bus

Losing to the Lakers is always unacceptable for the Celtics, and that too by 21 points (117-96), marking their worst loss since 2007. But the chance of such a disaster was there. Isn’t it? On Wednesday night, coming off an overtime game against the Clippers, the Celtics already looked devastated. Jaylen Brown looked in pain as he limped toward the shower. So did Derek White. Although they left happy with the victory, the result was clear. This became even more evident in their biggest rivalry game.

“I think we are starting to play better.” Kristaps Porzinis said, “But we didn’t have a good night tonight. We had a comeback. That has to come into the equation, so that’s kind of what it is, honestly.” Jaylen Brown was more direct in his words. “You can give them credit, but I think we came away with a consistent result. They looked kind of tired. Maybe you could just say that the game last night before overtime was carried over, but on both sides of the field, they had more energy than us. And we tried to like “Intensifying it in the third quarter was not there tonight.” Brown said.

The drive and punt game was alive and well for the Lakers, as once Boston served up the assist, the hosts made them pay by shooting 55 percent from 3-point range in the first half without any passes coming from James or Davis. Instead, it was the supporting cast that beat Boston from deep with Gabe Vincent, Austin Reeves, Max Christie and Dalton Knecht each hitting multiple triples. The Lakers’ shooting slowed in the second half from the outside but they still found easy offense in the paint and on the offensive glass. There was a lack of physicality from Boston all night and the Lakers took advantage. This is exactly what Jayson Tatum pointed out after the loss.

After a strong hit… The media followed Tatum to the locker room for a postgame Q&A. When asked what the team needs to do to turn things around, the 26-year-old had a simple answer: “Match physicality with physicality.” GT thinks, “With physicality, you have to be tougher, be stronger, and be challenged.” However, he summarily ignored the issue of fatigue.

“no,” Tatum said when asked if he felt tired after the overtime win over the Clippers. “I mean, it’s hard. But it’s part of the job — play in overtime, play back-to-back. Sometimes you have to travel. So no excuses.” The Celtics didn’t look like a second-place team in the East. The Shamrocks, coming off a dominant 40-point win over the Warriors on Monday, found themselves helpless last night. The Lakers completely dominated the game, making it nearly impossible for the Celtics to find their footing.

One factor of concern for the team was the lack of offense from Boston’s backcourt of Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. Both are extremely important to the team’s overall success, but both have been a huge mess. White is off to an impressive start but is down to 43 percent shooting for the season. It only reached 37 percent of the city center. White’s shooting has gone awry over his last nine games, hitting just 32.6 percent overall and 23.9 percent from deep.

Holiday’s three-point shot has been missing all season. After making 43 percent of his threes last season, when he was lethal from the corner, the veteran has made just 34.9 percent from downtown this season. It looks like their summer in Paris for the Olympics might be a catch-up for both White and Holiday. However, if there is one thing that could have changed the outcome, it is the errors made by two Celtic players. This was something Porzingis later highlighted.

Kristaps Porzingis makes costly mistakes

The Lakers put up 30-plus points in every quarter except the third quarter when the Celtics gained the upper hand. Kristaps Porzingis felt the team should have capitalized during that stretch, but costly mistakes didn’t allow them to put up the numbers.

With less than six minutes left in the third quarter, Jayson Tatum had two free throws but was unable to make the most of them. He missed both attempts. But this was not the case. In less than a minute, Jaylen Brown also missed two free throws, costing the Celtics four points they could have easily taken. Overall, the Celtics missed 6 of 18 free throws, while the Lakers missed just 2 of 20. Porzingis was naturally frustrated by the disappointing misses and pointed them out.

“I think it was a good moment we had.” Porzingis told the media in a locker room interview. “We were kind of coming back, I think we could have made it seven or nine.” But then things took a different turn. Why? “We missed free throws, then they took off again a little bit and it kind of got out of our hands.” Porzingis added. “So, it wasn’t a good night, it was a good night for them.”

The Latvian midfielder had a strong night, leading the team with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists. However, it seemed that there was not enough effort from his teammates to support him. The team has not been at its best this season, and these mistakes make matters worse. Whether the Greens can snap out of this slump and improve on their 31-14 record will be something to watch as the latter half of the season develops.