Halftime Hot Takes: Real hoops (NBA Cup) is back

We're halfway through the Boston Celtics ' NBA Cup opener against the Atlanta Hawks . To be honest, I've seen prettier halves of hoops, but the Cs are ahead in this one, nonetheless.

Now, get ready for some Halftime Hot Takes, buddy.

I'll say it, I like the NBA Cup A lot of people are out on Adam Silver's newest creation, but I am a fan. Just because it's new and different doesn't mean that people have to hate it — and that's coming from me, a guy who consistently hates on anything the NBA tries to change (Adam Silver will pay for changing the home/away jersey standards).

It's a fun way to get some early-season competition in the NBA by implementing some stakes into these November games. The fact that you basically cannot lose these group-stage matchups if you want a chance to win the tournament rocks. Even the amount that you win these games by matters.

Like, how is that not fun?

I get it if you maybe don't want the NBA Cup to be held in the same regard as an NBA Championship (which it should not be), but to straight up hate the whole thing is a bit crazy.

I even sort of like the court this year. Does it have something to do with last year's design being so horrible that it couldn't possibly get worse?

Absolutely it does.

It's also REALLY green.

The Celtics might not be ready for the pressure that comes along with the NBA Cup. With Tuesday's game carrying a little more weight than usual with it being the Cup and all, it's easy to understand why the Cs came out a bit tense.

Ahead of the first TV timeout, Boston found themselves down three to the visiting Hawks. They sank just three of their first nine attempts from the floor and turned the ball over twice.

All jokes aside, this has become somewhat of a trend as of late. The Celtics stumbled out of the gates against the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks in their last two outings. It might be time to get it together, don't we think?

The half as a whole was pretty sloppy between both sides. It's pretty clear that the fellas are nervous to be out there with The Cup at stake.

Jaylen Brown might be back In the first quarter of this game, Jaylen Brown scored more points (16) than he did in his return to action in Sunday's win over the Bucks. He was aggressive right from the opening tip, showcasing his scoring ability on all levels.

Take a look at this super-cool dunk.

Despite still struggling to sink the three-ball, he remained on the attack and really helped Boston recover from their slow start. JB finished the half with 20 points on 7-12 from the field. It's great to see him looking like himself again, after missing a few games with a hip strain.