The 2024-2025 NBA Cup has officially begun, as eight games were on the slate for Day 1 of this in-season competition.
As fans might recall, this is the second year of the NBA Cup, an opportunity for teams to compete for something more during the regular season.
This tournament received mixed reviews last season, and it appears that it has received similar marks this year.
Regardless of how people feel about the NBA Cup, the league has committed to making this event happen.
Viewership is down significantly, and perhaps an event like this can help them get back on track.
The Boston Celtics were one of the 16 teams to kick off this competition last night, narrowly losing to the Atlanta Hawks.
This was a somewhat surprising loss for the defending champs, who have been playing well to start the season.
At the end of the day, Joe Mazzulla’s team didn’t do enough to win, as he admitted in a postgame press conference shared via Justin Turpin on X.
“They outplayed us. Every facet of the game. Beat us on the margins and they deserve to win,” Mazulla said.
Joe Mazzulla was asked if the turnovers and offensive rebounds allowed were a result of lack of effort/ focus:
“Mhm. Yes.”
“They outplayed us. Every facet of the game. Beat us on the margins and they deserve to win.” pic.twitter.com/ad9jLdXvkG
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) November 13, 2024
Mazzulla indicated that the Hawks put together a fantastic game plan, one that the Celtics were unable to keep up with.
Losing one game isn’t necessarily a problem during the regular season, but the Celtics can’t afford to have as many turnovers as they did in this game.
If they limit the amount of times they give the ball away, this team can compete with the best in the league, and should have an opportunity to make another deep playoff run.
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