Jason Tatum: “I really feel like the guys just took a deep breath”

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Boston Celtics star Jason Tatum believes the team has relaxed and played more freely since the 3-0 loss to the Miami Heat.

(via CLNS Media):

Gary Washburn: Jason, what happened to this team in the last 72 hours? Clearly Game 3 was a low point. Everyone fell. But how did you flip the command switch in the dressing room with Joe (Mazzulla)? Why do you guys look like a different team?”

Tatum: “Yeah, I mean Game 3 was about as low as it gets, right? The good side of being so low is that you can only play better. It’s just from there. I think partly it was because we lost 3-0, you understand that this never happened, all the talk about it. It kind of gave us the feeling: “Everyone counts us.” You know how we must win. We must finish. And I think we started to play a little more freely, more relaxed. Obviously our intensity in defense, tied in defense that showed these last two games, and then in offense, I think the guys are just relaxed and really just playing one game at a time, knowing that we have to overcome this tough battle. But I really feel like the guys just took a deep breath. In that dressing room after the third game it was the lowest it could be and I think everyone just relaxed a little, to be honest.”