Boston Celtics: Jayson Tatum has been good, not great during the early portion of the 2019-20 season
Despite what his counting stats may tell say on the surface, Jayson Tatum has been quite inconsistent during the early parts of this 2019-20 campaign for the Boston Celtics.
Jayson Tatum has been the most inconsistent player this year for the Boston Celtics. Averaging 21.1 points, seven rebounds, and almost three assists he is recording career-bests across the board. However, he’s only shooting 42% from the field, 36% from deep and 55% at the rim, all career-worsts.
This lower shooting percentage can be attributed to his increased role in the offense, as he has a 28% usage rate — 6% more than last year. He hasn’t exactly been inefficient, but the third-year talent needs to improve immensely to become a more effective all-around player.
The main source of criticism for Tatum has been his shooting at the rim, only shooting 55% compared to 63% and 67% in previous years. On Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks, Tatum shot a mere 2 for 10 at the rim, leaving points on the board that allowed the Hawks to make the game close in the end.
He did however manage to bounced back with one of his better performances of the year Saturday night in Chicago, as he dropped 28 points on 12 of 15 shooting from the field. He capped off the game with this ridiculous step-back three to go up seven with under a minute left.
The advanced stats suggest that the Boston Celtics are much better with Tatum on the floor, as he is second in the entire league in +/- at +295. Therefore, he can be inconsistent, but he’s always helping the team when he’s on the floor, despite some of the holes in his game.
A reason for this is his extreme improvements on the defensive side of the ball. He’s gone from averaging 1.7 deflections per game his rookie year to 2.6 this year, disrupting passing lanes that lead to easy fast break opportunities. Overall, he has a 103.4 defensive rating, good for 21st in the league.
In his rookie year, the Duke product was asked to stand in the corner, shoot threes, and not make any mistakes. Last year, he was expected to make a jump in his production and was given a bigger role in the offense. He had a fine season, but didn’t live up to the expectations set by his amazing playoff run the year prior.
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This year, he’s putting up consistent points on streaky shooting, but as long he’s helping the team on both ends of the floor Boston Celtics fans should be pleased.
What do you think of Jayson Tatum’s production so far in 2019-20? Let me know in the comments section below!