Jayson Tatum is back. In his first nine games of the month, the Boston Celtics’ All-Star forward was playing below average to average basketball. Although being known for his dangerous step-back 3-pointer, he was only shooting 26.6% from deep.
He was also only averaging about 20 points per game, six points below his season average. During this stretch, Boston Celtics fans were (rightfully) upset with his performance.
Tatum knew that he had to play better, but more importantly, he knew that he COULD play better.
In the matchups against New Orleans and Charlotte, Tatum went 0-11 combined, from beyond the arc those two games. That was the last time he struggled to score as of recent.
The Boston Celtics then took on the Portland Trail Blazers, where the All-Star forward once again could not hit a three to save his life (0/6) but he still put up 27 points thanks to 14 free throws. At this point, people were starting to feel better about the franchise player but he still could not hit a 3-pointer, as his total ran to 17 straight misses from deep.
Then came the Wizards game. The young stud carried the team with a season high 51 points and broke his streak of consecutive missed threes hitting his first five of six. The shooter that everyone came to know and love was back. He ended up shooting 64% from three that game and 42% overall.
The next game, the Boston Celtics took on the Sacramento Kings, who have been linked together in many trade rumors. The C’s started the game hot, as they always do, outscoring the Kings 63-30 by the half. Fellow All-Star candidate Jaylen Brown dropped 30 points in only 24 minutes against Sacramento, but the real story of the game was that Jayson Tatum dropped a game-high 36 points while shooting 50% from deep.
The slump was officially over. The young Celtics star has been playing out of his mind the past three games and got his covenant three-point shot back.
During his three-game trifecta, Tatum jumped from averaging 20 points per game to 35 points per game during that stretch. He also noticeably improved his shot, making 57% and 47% of his three-point shots, a major improvement from the rest of the month. He is now in second place for most points in the NBA, trailing only the dynamic Trae Young.
As the trade deadline continues to inch closer and closer by the day, it’s interesting to see what the Boston Celtics will add to better complement the young duo of Tatum and Brown.