Jimmy Butler does not back down from anyone and is single-handedly keeping the Miami Heat’s championship dreams alive. We can only hope Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum is watching.
The 2019-2020 NBA season saw Jayson Tatum take some tremendous leaps as a basketball player. The young stud for the Boston Celtics bested every offensive statistic from the previous season on his way to being named to the NBA All-Star team and the All-NBA Second-Team.
What is even more impressive is how he was able to do it.
Tatum completely changed the way he played on the offensive end while still being a menace defensively. The biggest thing for him was always getting the best percentage shot on every possession.
He saw himself shooting more open 3s and attacking the basket more instead of shooting long-contested 2-point attempts. Jayson’s deep-range attempts rose from three a game to seven and his free throw attempts rose from two attempts to five.
That is a recipe for success.
Like I said earlier, his defense was stellar as well this past season. What is even more impressive is that, during the playoffs, he jumped to number one in defensive win-shares. JT is quickly becoming one of the best two-way players in the NBA.
Don’t believe me? Fine, I’ll just let the best basketball player on the planet, Lebron James tell you.
"“I just love everything about the kid… I just know he’s built for stardom, built for success.” -Lebron James"
Now, with everything Tatum has accomplished during his young career with the Boston Celtics, let’s not forget the fact that he’s only 22-years-old. There is still plenty of room to grow for the young forward, but maybe the biggest thing he needs to learn can not be worked on in the gym.
I’m not talking about passing, shooting, or even dribbling. Instead, what I’m talking about is that killer mentality.
This is why I say pay close attention to what fellow All-Star Jimmy Butler is doing in these 2020 NBA Finals. He is averaging 29 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists and is single-handedly keeping the Miami Heat alive.
Butler is the third-best player in this series but, right now, is easily playing like the best.
The reason why is because he does not play “soft”, he does not back down from his opponents, he never disappears in games, and he demands the same from his teammates.
Tatum already gets labeled as a “soft” player for his out of control drives and constant complaining to officials when he does not have a call go his way. He disappears in games — see Game 4 of this year’s Eastern Conference Finals against Butler himself where he didn’t score a single point in the first half.
Watch “Jimmy Buckets” and learn a few things that are going to be very valuable going forward.
The Shamrocks need Jayson Tatum to be the alpha on this team and to demand that same greatness from his teammates that Butler does.
He needs to demand the ball in late-game situations and be consistently ready for 48 minutes on any given night. It is time to have that mentality shift and take that next step in becoming a superstar.
The Celtics can win banner No. 18 next year, but they need Tatum to be that “dog” and to always play as if he is the best player on the court.
Balls in your court Jayson. Let’s see what you got!