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Before the Boston Celtics drafted Jayson Tatum, there was a wide-ranging belief among NBA scouts that he had already reached his developmental ceiling and wouldn’t improve much further.
When speaking to Sam Amick and Jared Weiss of The Athletic, as part of an exclusive interview that was released on December 12, Tatum looked back on those scouting reports and share the thought process he had when entering the NBA.
“I mean I saw all those things coming out the draft. Coming into the draft, everybody thought that I wasn’t going to get much better. I was already as skilled as I was going to be. And you know, it never bothered me. I knew they didn’t, to a degree, know what they were talking about. They didn’t know how hard I worked, how much I love the game of basketball. And at that point, I didn’t care. I was about to get drafted. My dream was about to come true. So I was just happy to get the opportunity to live out my dream. I knew I was gonna make the most out of it, whatever team picked me,” Tatum said.
This season, Tatum is knocking on the door of his first MVP trophy, courtesy of some elite-level performances on both sides of the floor; however, it’s his offensive game that is drawing the most attention. Throughout his first 27 games of the current season, Tatum is averaging 29.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, and four assists per game while shooting 46.8% from the field and 35.6% from deep, helping the Celtics to a 21-7 record along the way.
Tatum Struggles For Second Straight Game
On December 10, Tatum struggled to reach his usual lofty heights, shooting just 28.6% from the field and 22.2% from deep against the Golden State Warriors. Unfortunately for the Celtics, Tatum followed up that uncharacteristic performance with another dud during Boston’s December 12 contest against the LA Clippers, where he shot 35% from the field and 25% from deep in Boston’s 93-113 loss.
Speaking to the media during his post-game press conference, Tatum shared some details of things he needs to improve to get back to the level we’ve become accustomed to from him this season.
“I think you just gotta make quicker decisions. You know, anytime you catch the ball, I think you gotta iso, dribble up the court. (Nic) Batum was staying with me, coming up the court, even if I didn’t have the ball. So, you know, making quicker decisions, attacking, not giving them a chance to load up or to come double, things I’ve just gotta be better at,” Tatum said.
If Tatum can quickly bounce back from his two-game slump, there’s no reason he can’t continue to contend for an MVP trophy and, more importantly, help the Celtics get back to winning ways.
Jaylen Brown Wants Boston to be Better Prepared
During his own post-game press conference, Jaylen Brown detailed how the Celtics need to be better prepared to deal with opposing team’s ‘best shot’ moving forward, noting how the Clippers played arguably their best game of the season.
“I think give credit to the Clippers. They came out and played great, I think that was probably one of the better games they’ve played all year. And I think we didn’t match the intensity. We didn’t make shots tonight, and that put pressure on us…I think we gotta be better in terms of being prepared to get everybody’s best shot. The Clippers, I thought they made a lot of tough shots and played really well. I think Kawhi Leonard came out and was aggressive; he looked really good tonight, I think that’s the best he’s looked all season,” Brown said.
Boston will now turn their attention to the Los Angeles Lakers, who they will face on December 13 in the second game of a back-to-back, where they will be hoping to get back into the win column and avoid flirting with their first losing streak of the current season.
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