Kyrie Irving Apologizes For Questioning Teammates, Jayson Tatum Accepts Criticism

Kyrie Irving sort of apologized for his recent outburst when he questioned the championship winning caliber of the young players on the Boston Celtics roster. The point guard’s frustration came to the fore after their 105-103 loss to Orlando Magic on Saturday.

It was their second straight loss that took their record to 25-17 for the season. And for a team that was touted as one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference, they are not living up to their potential and are currently in fifth place on the table.

"The young guys don't know what it takes to be a championship level team," Irving said, as quoted on CBS Sports. "What it takes every day. And if they think it is hard now, what do they think it will be like when we're trying to get to the Finals?"

"We come into this season, expectations, and it's real. Everyone from the coaching staff to the players, it's very much real every single day, so that's new. It's tough. It's hard, you know, so I think that what we're facing now is nothing compared to being on that stage trying to get a gold trophy,” he added.

Irving sort of apologized for his outburst after shoot around Monday, by admitting that his comments were borne from his intense desire to win. He made it clear he would not call out his teammates in public again.

The Celtics point guard revealed the reason he came to Boston was to lead the young team to the championship and for that to happen, he believed all the players need to be on the same page.

"I never want to come from a place where I don't want to sound like, or make it feel like, I don't want to win a championship. Sometimes I may come off and say things, never to question my teammates in public like that ever again; I just want to win so bad," Irving said, as quoted on ESPN.

"It came from a place where I asked for a trade and I'm coming here and I believe in this organization and I want these young guys to be successful,” he explained. "In order to do that, we all got to be on the same page and have that mindset that, a championship or nothing. And sometimes that can get the best of me at times."

The Celtics lost their third game in a row on Monday night when they succumbed to the Brooklyn Nets 109-102. Irving missed the game with a quad injury, but is said to have spoken to the team after the loss in order to focus on the positives going forward.

Jayson Tatum, one of the young stars of the Celtics team, seemed to support Irving over the comments he made about the younger players. He believed the criticism comes from a “good place” and was not meant to bring people down.

“It’s not really directed towards anybody or calling guys out,” Tatum said, as quoted on Celtics Blog. “He’s telling his truth. He knows what it takes to win a championship, and most of us don’t. Sometimes you have to be brutally honest in this profession to get the best out of one another. It comes from a good place. It’s not trying to bring anybody down.”