The Boston Celtics have already clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but they still have a lot of cleaning up to do. That was evident during their two-game swing to face the short-handed Atlanta Hawks, who were without their top player Trae Young.

In the first game, the Celtics blew a 30-point lead in a 120-118 loss. Three days later, the Celtics were at full strength for the first time in weeks and dropped a 123-112 decision in overtime. It was after that first loss when legendary Boston sports writer Bob Ryan let loose. He said he was “pissed off” at the way the Celtics are playing and had a message aimed at Celtics star Jayson Tatum.

Bob Ryan Lets Celtics Star Jayson Tatum Have it

Ryan knows plenty about Celtics basketball. In fact, he knows plenty about outstanding Celtics basketball.

The Celtics beat writer for the Boston Globe in the 1970s and 1980s, Ryan saw several NBA titles in Boston. The Celtics haven’t hung a championship banner since 2008.

Ryan became a general sports columnist in the late 1980s. During his career, he covered 20 NBA Finals and was named National Sportswriter of the Year four times by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

During the “Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman Podcast,” an angry Ryan didn’t hold back with his displeasure with the Celtics’ play in Atlanta. He also had some words for Tatum.

“I’m pissed off,” said Ryan, who admitted he didn’t watch the Celtics blow the 30-point lead to the Hawks. “I saw on X a Celtics fan fuming about blowing a 30-point lead, so I didn’t know any of the details until the next morning when I read about it.

“I thought they had this out of their system. This is why they are not the favorites (although sportsbooks do have them as the favorite to win the 2024 championship). This is why Denver remains the favorite until further notice. They have proven themselves, and the Celtics have not.

“And I’m talking about you Jayson Tatum, as much as I am about you Mr. (Jaylen) Brown. Tatum’s the one that’s got to come up big and not do dumb things and not do illogical things and do the right thing in these moments.”

Ryan Says He Doesn’t Trust the Celtics

Most likely, the Celtics are in cruise control. At 57-16, they’ve taken their foot off the gas. That’s a bad habit for a team with high expectations that hasn’t won anything in the Tatum/Brown era.

Two weeks before the Hawks debacle, the Celtics blew a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Although the loss to the Cavs was painful, Ryan was certainly more bothered by the 30-point collapse against a team playing without its biggest star, Trae Young.

“I love watching them, I’m rooting like hell for them, but I don’t trust them yet,” Ryan said of the Celtics. “I don’t trust them, and this is Exhibit A. There is no way that this should happen to that degree that you blow a 30-point lead. I’m sorry.

“They’ve got the best talent in the league, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to win. They’ve proven that with this.”