All the Celtics may not have liked the way Kyrie Irving chose to publicly criticize the younger players on the team following last Saturday’s loss in Orlando, but they certainly appreciate the way he turned the eye on himself Wednesday.

After Monday’s road loss to Brooklyn, Jaylen Brown had spoken up, saying,

“We’ve just got to have each other’s backs at the end of the day. We can’t make comments. We can’t point fingers. We just have to continue to empower each other and have each other’s backs. If we don’t, if we start pointing fingers, everybody’s going to go into their own little shells.”

The Celts bounced back from three straight losses with a big win over Toronto here two nights later, and Irving copped to his mistakes and revealed that he’d called LeBron James to get advice on leadership.

“J.B. was right,” Irving told reporters. “I’ve got to do the right things and not point fingers at individuals and really realize what we can do as a group, despite when we go on the road or the mishaps we may have.”

On Friday before taking on Memphis, the Celtics voiced their support for Irving and the way he dealt with things Wednesday.

“Yeah, it speaks volumes,” said Jayson Tatum of Irving’s willingness to admit a mistake. “But then you just try to move past it and move to the next day. I think we’re all just trying to figure this thing out, and everybody has the right motive and right idea. So we all have the same goal in mind.”

Echoed Al Horford, “I think we’re all trying to figure it out, and it was very mature for him to come out and acknowledge that.”

Marcus Smart, meanwhile, had a bit edgier take on the whole matter. The feisty Celtic guard hasn’t been shy about speaking out himself this season, and he was fine with Irving’s comments. But, still, he liked the mea culpa.

“I mean, Kyrie’s a leader, you know?” Smart said. “And he takes on the responsibility, making sure that this team is where we need to be, as any leader does.

“Me personally, I don’t have any problem with what he said after the Orlando game. Could he have said it different? Maybe, but we’re adults, man. If you feel like it’s towards you, then maybe you need to look yourself in the mirror.

“But I do — and I think everybody does — accept the fact and love the fact that he did come out and apologize. But like I said, Kyrie’s a leader. He’s passionate. He wants to win like everybody else, plain and simple.”

Terry Rozier acknowledged that everything is a work in progress, and that sincerity is probably the most important element.

“I don’t know the exact way of leadership,” he said. “I don’t think none of us do. I don’t think we have all the answers. I just know he cares so much, and he cares about everybody on this team and wants everybody to be on the same page.

“Sometimes you can react in a way that you don’t want or say things that you might not want to say. It can just be the heat of the moment. You’ve got to respect him for saying he could have handled it different and kept it in house. So that’s always good, but, like I said, at least he came forward. And he is the leader of this team.”

Brad Stevens’ mantra is that, damn the game-to-game results, the most important thing is improvement. In this regard, he could appreciate Irving’s introspection and subsequent response.

“All of our conversations that we have with every one of our guys are about hopefully we’re learning as we go through this and recognizing that everything we do, and everything we experience is a great opportunity for growth,” the coach said. “I thought that, the way I read his comments the other night, was that there was a lot of reflection back on what he said and a lot of accountability and a lot of talk about how hard it is to be a leader.

“The best part about it is, if you have good intentions, which without question he does — and like he said, he wants to win, he’s dying to win, he wants to be as good as he can be and do that for a long time — then those are things that are great challenges. I think that’s all part of the path. I think it’s all part of the path, and leadership starts with what you do on the court — he was pretty damn good on Wednesday night — and then it’s how you serve your teammates and then everything else is what it is. Everything else follows suit from those two things.”

Added Semi Ojeleye on Irving, “I mean, I think we all see how much he cares about us winning and him doing it the right way and helping everybody be as good as they can be, so when you see him making that effort and trying to find the best way, it just makes you appreciate him that much more.”