Getty Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics.
Jayson Tatum continues to put up points on inefficient shooting, with his latest outing being a 7-for-20 night for the Boston Celtics against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, November 15th.
Tatum ended the game with 23 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal. He has been uncharacteristically poor with his shot conversion to begin the season and is shooting just 38.6% from the field and 31.6% from three, per Basketball-Reference.
“I definitely felt good to see some go in, I wish some more would go in, but it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen soon,” Tatum told the media, “But (I’ve got to) find other ways to impact the game, help my team try and get a win, and that’s what we did, and we can move on.”
Yes, Tatum has been struggling to see his shots fall, and even when he’s racking up the points, it’s only because of his shooting volume. However, he has seriously improved as a rebounder despite Tatum’s shooting slump, and his passing ability is noticeably improving.
Tatum’s Struggles Are the Worst of His Career
Speaking to the media following the Celtics win on Monday evening, Tatum was candid in his assessment of his current struggles.
“You miss shots sometimes, I ain’t missed this many shots in my career, but I guess it’s part of it, honestly. Can’t get too down, can’t get too excited. I try to be the same person when I’m 7-for-30 as when I was scoring 50 or 60. I can’t change who I am or how I act, and I wouldn’t want anybody to feel bad for me about missing shots. I’m gonna continue to keep working. It’s gonna come, I haven’t doubted myself, not once, neither have my teammates, and neither have my opponents. They’re still guarding me, they don’t leave me, they don’t help, because they know what I’m capable of, but just gotta keep working at it, keep watching film, gotta keep shooting. I’ll figure it out, and in the meantime, gotta keep finding ways to help us win games.”
When looking at Tatum’s numbers for the first 14 games of each season since he’s been in the NBA, he’s not wrong when alluding to this season being his worst shooting start. According to Basketball-Reference, Tatum’s numbers over the first 14 games of each season are as follows;
- 17-18: 48.9 FG%, 47.6 3P%
- 18-19: 40.9 FG%, 40.0 3P%
- 19-20: 41.2 FG%, 39.1 3P%
- 20-21: 48.3 FG%, 43.1 3P%
- 21-22: 38.6 FG%, 31.6 3P%
Tatum’s struggles around the rim are nothing new, as he’s often failed to convert through traffic and contact. Still, his inconsistent three-point shooting has been somewhat concerning, as he’s usually highly reliable in that area.
Al Horford Belives Tatum Is a Calming Presence
In Saturday’s loss to the Cavaliers, the Celtics surrendered a 20 point lead down the stretch. Al Horford was absent in that game but returned for the second meeting between the two teams and noted how Tatum’s calm demeanor on defense helped keep the team level-headed when the Cavaliers tried to surge.
“I like the fact that we stayed with it. We didn’t get rattled; they were making some tough shots down the stretch there. Really good defense, some calls that didn’t go our way, just our group being poised. I think for us, that all starts with Jayson. He’s pretty calm in those moments, and we were just kind of following that and making sure we finish the game in the right way.”
Tatum’s calm approach to the game may not always be what the fans want to see from their superstar, but his teammates clearly feed off his even-keeled energy. And once Tatum snaps out of his current shooting slump, he will be leading the way on both offensive and defensive fronts.