"I'd been focused entirely on my newborn child, so I was responsible for this loss."
Tang Tian's next words explained it.
Caring about his family was only natural.
But as the team leader, he had known the due date in advance and should have planned accordingly.
And it had indeed affected the team. He had missed several training sessions, and the first thing he did after returning to New Orleans was go home.
If he had attended those sessions, he could not only have maintained his shooting touch but also noticed how overly relaxed his teammates had been in practice and reminded them in time. Then the Pelicans would not have lost tonight.
It might have sounded harsh, but he was the team leader. These were his responsibilities too.
"No, it was my fault. I played terribly tonight."
The moment Tang Tian finished speaking, Davis stepped up to take the blame as well.
Tang Tian had been fighting alone tonight, and as the team's Second-in-command, he had failed to provide enough support.
"It was my fault for not helping on defense and leaving AD to fight alone in the paint."
Siakam spoke up as well.
"No, Boss, I was the one who failed to make my shots."
Brogdon hurriedly said.
"Tang, we didn't do well enough. You've already done everything you could."
Green looked at Tang Tian as he spoke.
The other players began speaking up one after another.
They had been bottling it up inside, and now that they had the chance to speak, they let out all that negativity.
Though they were criticizing themselves, saying it out loud clearly lifted their spirits considerably.
Seeing his teammates react this way, Tang Tian felt much more relieved.
No one was perfect. Everyone made mistakes, himself included.
Making mistakes was not