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Kyrie challenges Celtics' young stars after loss to Jazz

Mike Stobe / Getty Images Sport / Getty

One night after a thrilling overtime victory over the East-leading Toronto Raptors, the Boston Celtics laid an egg in Saturday's 98-86 loss to the Utah Jazz.

It's been a frustrating start for the Celtics, who have now lost five of their last eight games.

Expectations were high entering this season, with a pair of healthy stars in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward joining a young core featuring Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown that pushed LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to a Game 7 in last season's Eastern Conference Final.

But the Celtics haven't meshed as a unit and Irving took it upon himself to challenge his younger teammates.

“I think last year, the young guys that are in the locker room now, some of the guys that are playing, they were a little bit younger,” Irving told reporters post-game, according to Jay King of The Athletic. “They weren't expected to do as much and I think that the amount of pressure that we put on them to perform every single night is something that they have to get used to, like being part of a great team like this.

"If you're not playing to the standard then as a team we just don't all click. I think once we get there and we find that consistency then we'll be great.”

The five-time All-Star recalled the Celtics' first possession against the Jazz, during which Tatum got a favorable switch against Derrick Favors but settled for a 3-pointer instead of attacking.

Tatum's field-goal percentage has dropped from 47.5 in his rookie season to 42.4 but Irving doesn't want him to lose confidence.

"I just think that, for the amount of work that, like I said before, that guys put in, I think they have expectations for themselves, and I think that's completely normal," Irving said, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "Getting beaten down on (missing) shots or not being in the right spots ... I think that we just have to find the happy balance between those two."

The Celtics point guard added he's "probably going to be the most patient in the locker room" when it comes to navigating the highs and lows of the season and is only trying to help his teammates.

"I just try to be as critical and analyze the game as objective and subjective as possible and then move on," said Irving. "So that’s it."

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