Boston Celtics: Jayson Tatum Is Working Hard To Fix Bad Habits

Boston Celtics second-year star Jayson Tatum started slow, but has turned his season around by fixing some bad offensive habits.

As the Celtics came onto the floor for the second half down 20 to the Suns, one thing jumped out at every Celtics fan that was loyal enough to make it through the first half without turning off their television: Jayson Tatum was not starting the second half.

Brad Stevens had benched Tatum, who had started every game he had played in an NBA jersey, likely because of his poor shot selection and ball-stopping play, which resulted in an inefficient and inconsistent start to his second season.

Since that night, Tatum has flipped a switch, returning to the form most Celtics fans expected after his impressive run last postseason. In the first 11 games of the season, Tatum was scoring 14.6 points per game on just 39.3% from the field and 34.1% from three point range. In the 10 games since the game in Phoenix, Tatum has bumped his scoring up to 18.3 points per game on 50% from the field and 46.8% from deep.

So what has changed to prompt this increase in scoring and efficiency? Shot profile.

Through the Suns game, Tatum was far too reliant upon contested mid-range pull up jump shots. Too often, Tatum would halt all ball movement and enter into isolation mode. He would use dribble moves to create separation and then, instead of bursting by his defender, he would rise up for a low percentage jump shot, giving his defender a chance to recover and contest.

In this clip, Tatum identifies that he has Jabari Parker, a notoriously poor defender, one-on-one with space to operate. Tatum attacks with a double crossover that put Parker on skates, creating an open lane to the basket along the baseline.  However, Tatum decides to step back into a jumper that allows Parker to give a late contest.

This play is from a Chicago game that took place after the Phoenix benching, showing that Tatum’s shot selection is still not perfect. Old habits are tough to break and new ones can be tough to form.

It is these exact types of shots that were far too prevalent at the very beginning of the season. It is also an example of shots that Tatum has begun to limit in recent games.

Tatum is clearly making a concerted effort to have more field goals attempts like this one:

In this play, Tatum gets Cody Zeller on a switch. He cuts to the top of the key and receives a pass with plenty of space to attack. Tatum hesitates and attacks left, playing downhill on the slower footed Zeller. Zeller does a good job to move his feet and beats Tatum to the spot. Rather than pulling up or stepping back into space, Tatum embraces the contact and uses his footwork and strength to get all the way to the rim for an open lay up.

Over the last 10 games, Tatum has been consistently punishing switches and unworthy wing defenders by forcefully attacking basket. He has been less inclined to settle, which has increased the pressure he puts on the defense. The more he gets to the rim, the more Tatum opens up space for his teammates and for his own three point shot.

Tatums shift in shot selection has allowed his scoring to be more efficient and more sustainable.