In his three games of the still-young 2020-21 season, Boston Celtics All-NBA small forward Jayson Tatum had been leaning on his 3-point shot more than he should have after a sizzling start beyond the arc in the team’s opening night win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Tatum had hit 6 of his 13 attempts from deep in that contest, but trailed off to just 33.3% from 3 against the Brooklyn Nets and in Boston’s 108 – 107 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. Infamously whiffing on a potential game-winning trey in place of a drive that would have tied it with a potential and-1, he found himself a popular topic of criticism in the Celtics media sphere.
A combined 5-of-15 from 3-point range up to that point, the Duke product was also shying away from contact at the rim before Tuesday’s win against the Pacers.
So much so he set a record for the most 20+ point games without a free throw for the first two games, and just 4 for the loss to the Pacers, registering – 6, – 21 and -6 in his first three games’ plus/minus.
And while those numbers may not be entirely on him, since the loss to the Pacers, Tatum has taken just 3 treys and shot 10 free throw attempts in Tuesday’s 116 – 111 win over Indiana.
Celtics – Pacers II: All the best photos from Boston’s 12/29 win vs Indiana https://t.co/2H7S6y1uQ9
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 30, 2020
Against the Pacers the second time, the St. Louis native registered a +19 and his second-highest scoring game of the season at 27 points-
Again, many factors are at work to create those stats, but they do reflect his efficiency converting within three feet of the basket, a career rate of 64.1% conversion jumping to 66.7% this season.
The Missouri native is almost unstoppable when he attacks the basket, and while it isn’t always the easiest or most glamorous, it works — and hopefully will remain a robust part of Tatum’s offensive repertoire moving forward.
.jpg?w=600)
