Not even 10 games into the season, and the bumpy start for the Celtics continues.
One day after guard Marcus Smart called out stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for not passing the ball enough, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Celtics held a players-only meeting in which the three players discussed Monday's 128-114 loss to the Bulls and Smart's comments about the two All-Stars.
Wojnarowski described the meeting as "emotional at times," though said it was, in the end, "perhaps not a terribly productive meeting—maybe not even beneficial."
On Wednesday, veteran Al Horford, who played for Boston from 2016-19 and returned this offseason, described the meeting as "kind of a gathering," per SI's Chris Mannix, and insisted the team would be fine.
The Celtics blew a 19-point second-half lead against Chicago on Monday, getting outscored in the fourth quarter 39-11 to lose their third straight game. Afterward, Smart took issue with a perceived lack of passing from Tatum and Brown.
"Every team knows we're trying to go to Jayson and Jaylen," Smart said. "Every team is programmed and studied to stop Jayson and Jaylen. I think everybody's scouting report is to make those guys pass the ball. They don't want to pass the ball."
The Celtics ended their losing streak with a 92-79 win over the Magic on Wednesday.
