Boston Celtics Need More Jayson Tatum

Jayson Tatum is leaving everyone wanting more every time he touches the ball

The Boston Celtics as a team bounced back against the Memphis Grizzlies, but it was Jayson Tatum who really picked up his play from the previous loss. He finished with one of his more complete games of the season, scoring 19 points with nine rebounds two blocks and two steals. Tatum was a two way impact player, and continues to leave fans wanting more and more.

Tatum has been one of the most efficient scorers in the entire NBA. He leads the league shooting 51 percent from three, which goes along with his 50 percent from the field brilliantly. Tatum has been immaculate in everything that he as tried to do this season, and the only way for him to get better is give us more volume of what he has been doing.

One issue with Tatum is that we often see his disappear, and remain too tentative. Tatum never over extends himself, and lets the game come to him. That allows him to avoid making any mistakes what so ever. That being said, we are at a point where Tatum can be taking more risks, because he has so much padding with his unparalleled efficiency.

The Celtics do not want Tatum to become a ball hog at all, and they need to make sure that everything he does stays integrated in the offense. What needs to happen more is him being the primary option in more offensive sets, and let him create more because he might be the best isolation player at 19 years old the league has ever seen.

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Tatum could not possibly do more in terms of taking advantage of the opportunities presented to him in the offense. What we need to see more of is Tatum creating, and imposing his will with aggressiveness.

The Celtics are not going to force the issue with anyone, but you cannot argue with the results he has. The shot distribution of this team is often all over the place, because of how many different things they do.

Tatum, however, has been too good not to try out that increase in volume. It may be his tentativeness, and it may be Brad Stevens’ hesitation to change what he has been doing, because of how good he has been. In any case, Tatum should not be taking just the sixth most shots on the team, behind Kyrie Irving, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Marcus Morris and Marcus Smart.

Quite frankly, Irving is the lone player on that list that should continually be taking more shots than Tatum, because Tatum’s offensive arsenal and potential is much higher than anyone else.

The Celtics need Tatum to get up into double digit shot attempts per game, even if it means his 50/50/90 prospects go down because of it. The Celtics are not going to transform their offense for Tatum, but the aggressiveness he played with against the Grizzlies is what they want to see every night.

They want Tatum to attack the isolation matchups that he can exploit, because he is borderline unarguable when he has a slight advantage, They want him driving to the rim, even when there is traffic, because he is masterful at maneuvering around them and can punish teams at the line.

Simply put, the Celtics want more of everything that Tatum has done, because there is not a single area you can point to as a weakness, and he he still does not make the mistakes, even when he is attacking a lot more.

With Brad Stevens, the way a rookie is used is always a process. The role he has now is not going to be the role he has come payoff time, so it is good to be patient. Tatum will not be able to change his approach over night, but he should be in the midst of getting more involved in every phase of the game.

Next: Celtics Continue to Bounce Back

Tatum has been special in ways that no one could have anticipated this season, and when we see performances like that against the Grizzlies, it is impossible not to want more. Tatum may already be the second most talented and second most polished offensive player behind Irving, and that makes him one of the most unique and special rookies the league has ever seen.