What’s Changed For Tatum?

[Ed Monix]

There have been just 38 players, in his team's first 13 games, with ≥ 290 FGA's, in the shot clock era

Lowest FG%

37. JAYSON TATUM 2021/22 - .388
38. Kobe Bryant     2014/15 - .378

Jayson might want to be like Kobe, just not in this instance.



Source: Boston Sports Info

[knuckleballer]

I think he’s listening to his critics and trying to become more of a playmaker, penetrator, and an elite overall superstar.  He’s thinking too much rather than letting the game come to him.

[Moranis]

In his defence, he does seem to be trending in the right direction. Last 3 games: 27/11/3/1/1 on 44/50/70 shooting. Not many free throw attempts though.

As we all know, that's the step he needs to take to become unstoppable.

no Brown allows him more control and room and he plays better

Not looking this way tonight

True, he didn't shoot well, but they were +12 in his 35 minutes and -14 in the 13 minutes he was on the bench.  That is a game where Brown, or some other top scorer, would have been useful as they could have staggered them to ensure 1 was on the floor at all times.  Missing Horford also hurt as that meant Parker had to play a lot of minutes and Parker is not a consistent player.  So in a game like last night where he is both a bad defensive and bad offensive player, he is going to end up doing things like -17 in 14 minutes.  To make up for Parker's defense, he has to be at the very least a + offensive player, and Parker was definitely not that yesterday. 

Brown and Tatum aren't a good fit though, which is why for the most part Tatum plays better without Brown and the team still wins.  Brown also plays better without Tatum, but the team doesn't continue to win at that same level, which is why Brown is the guy that should be traded for a guy that fits better with Tatum.  So if Towns does become available, I'd absolutely move Brown to acquire him.  It is why I would have moved Brown for Leonard or Harden the last few years as well.  Boston needs to break up the duo because the duo doesn't really work that well together and Tatum is both the better and more important player (along with being younger). 

[ozgod]

It's interesting looking at his scoring by range, as per the NBA.com site. He's shooting below 50% on shots that are 5 feet or less from the basket this year.

Code: [Select]

LESS THAN 5FT. 5-9 FT. 10-14 FT. 15-19 FT. 20-24 FT. 25-29 FT.
YEAR TEAM AGE FGM FGA FG% FGM FGA FG% FGM FGA FG% FGM FGA FG% FGM FGA FG% FGM FGA FG%
2021-22 BOS 23 2.8 5.8 48.0 0.8 2.3 36.7 0.9 2.5 37.5 1.1 2.5 43.8 1.3 3.5 37.0 1.8 5.7 31.1
2020-21 BOS 23 3.8 5.7 65.9 1.0 2.5 37.7 0.8 2.3 35.8 0.8 2.1 36.6 1.0 2.4 42.8 2.0 5.4 38.0
2019-20 BOS 22 3.4 6.1 55.4 0.6 1.4 39.8 0.8 2.0 39.1 0.7 1.7 42.0 0.9 2.2 40.3 2.0 5.1 39.9
Then you look at his efficiency it confirms that he's having issues close to the basket.

Code: [Select]

PLAYER GP W L MIN PTS DRIVE.PTS DRIVE.FG% C&S.PTS C&S.FG% PULLUP.PTS PULLUP.FG% PAINTTOUCH.PTS PAINTTOUCH.FG% POSTTOUCH.PTS POSTTOUCH.FG% ELBOWTOUCH.PTS ELBOWTOUCH.FG% EFG%
2021-22 13 6 7 37.4 23.5 6.7 40.2 4.7 38.6 8.2 34.6 1.0 35.7 1.3 43.8 1.2 35.3 44.7
2020-21 64 34 30 35.8 26.4 8.0 47.8 3.6 44.6 8.8 35.8 2.3 61.2 1.6 42.6 1.3 52.3 53.0

[86MaxwellSmart]

Wilson Ball needs to go

[Surferdad]

I think he’s listening to his critics and trying to become more of a playmaker, penetrator, and an elite overall superstar.  He’s thinking too much rather than letting the game come to him.

Agreed.  It makes no sense for him to drive-and-kick if his drive takes him close to the basket.  He needs to take it up strong and use his long arms to his advantage.

[JohnBoy65]

While I understand the offciating has changed this year creating a more physical game, it has been just crazy to me that he hasn't gotten more calls. A player of his stature needs to get more calls. I've noticed that he's fading away more now as he drives into contact. It's like he knows he is not going to get a call so he just avoids contact to try and give himself a better look. I think his complaints have been mostly warranted.

[droopdog7]

Mostly likely real answer IMO is that he's venturing into stuff that isn't natural to him (i.e., making others better).  As I recall, we saw a similar funk last year when all the stuff about playmaking was in the news.  So either Tatum will get through this and be better at making others better or he'll say forget it and resort to what comes natural to him.

Which of the two outcomes we get will go a long way toward telling us whether he's truly a championship alpha or not, but I don't think it will drag out beyond this year.

[PhoSita]

Have we ever seen a star scorer under the age of 25 have this precipitous of a drop-off in terms of scoring efficiency without a major injury?

[Celtics2021]

Have we ever seen a star scorer under the age of 25 have this precipitous of a drop-off in terms of scoring efficiency without a major injury?

For the first month of a season?  I’d bet yes.

[gouki88]

Have we ever seen a star scorer under the age of 25 have this precipitous of a drop-off in terms of scoring efficiency without a major injury?

Paul Pierce immediately springs to mind. Averaged 26PPG on 45/40/78 over two seasons before dropping to 24PPG on 41/30/81 shooting over the next two. The massive drop in 3 point shooting over a prolonged period of time was really odd. 2 seasons compared to not even 2 months for Tatum. PP was 25 when the drop happened though.

[gouki88]

Have we ever seen a star scorer under the age of 25 have this precipitous of a drop-off in terms of scoring efficiency without a major injury?

For the first month of a season?  I’d bet yes.

Luka Doncic would be one more

Give it time I reckon.

[Kiorrik]

Have we ever seen a star scorer under the age of 25 have this precipitous of a drop-off in terms of scoring efficiency without a major injury?

For the first month of a season?  I’d bet yes.

Luka Doncic would be one more

Give it time I reckon.

Agreed. Water finds level.

[PhoSita]

Have we ever seen a star scorer under the age of 25 have this precipitous of a drop-off in terms of scoring efficiency without a major injury?

Paul Pierce immediately springs to mind. Averaged 26PPG on 45/40/78 over two seasons before dropping to 24PPG on 41/30/81 shooting over the next two. The massive drop in 3 point shooting over a prolonged period of time was really odd. 2 seasons compared to not even 2 months for Tatum. PP was 25 when the drop happened though.

That's a good one, though Paul was still shooting about the same from 2 and from the free throw line.

[Moranis]

Have we ever seen a star scorer under the age of 25 have this precipitous of a drop-off in terms of scoring efficiency without a major injury?

Lots of stars are done this year, not just the young ones.  Giannis is shooting more and scoring less.  Harden is way down.  Curry is down. Embiid is way down.  Trae Young has almost the same ppg, but he is taking 2.6 more shots a game to do it. Even more fringe stars like Michael Porter, Jr. have taken huge hits to start the year.