Jayson Tatum’s 3-point shooting is peaking at the perfect time for the Boston Celtics

Over the last week, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has experienced an uptick in his three-point shot, taking this team’s offense to the next level.

Just four contests remain on the Boston Celtics’ regular season schedule as Joe Mazzulla’s side prepares for a long awaited postseason run. The Cs will look to have things finally come together and build momentum heading into the playoffs.

Luckily enough for Boston the last two games, Jayson Tatum has finally found his stride in an area that has eluded him for the most part all season.

Over the course of the season, the former Duke forward has shot 30% or worse from beyond the arc in 25 games. While his distribution of the basketball, and rebounding on both ends of the floor took a step forward, it has been that 3-point shot that hampered Tatum to potentially competing among the top three in the current MVP race.

On the Cs, the 2023 All-Star Game MVP is seventh in 3-point percentage, shooting just under 35.5% for the campaign. Currently, Tatum is shooting 0.001% better than he did through the 2021/22 season which was his worst in his so far during his six-year professional career. In these last two contests, the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals MVP has shot 71.25% from 3-point range.

Tatum followed an 8/10 outing on the road against the East-leading Bucks with a 5/8 display in a truly professional victory over the Utah Jazz at the TD Garden. For someone that did not make a single three in two games in the month of March, this is the exact kind of confidence boost an MVP-caliber player needs with the postseason on the horizon.

Sustaining this kind of success from the great beyond is unrealistic, but it was only a matter of time before the All-NBA talent had shooting nights like these. The former No. 3 overall selection has shot 60% or better from three only five times this season. There is no better point in time than having two of them being with under 10 games left in the regular season.

Knocking down 3-pointers is critical in today’s day and age, and given how reliant Boston has been on the shot this season, it is difficult to pick out a team that could challenge this ball club if Tatum is finding the bottom of the net from deep.

No. 0 can take it to the rack with the best of them. Combine that with his patented side-step three, and there is nobody in this league who has the capacity to guard him. The degree of difficulty on some of his shot lately is mind boggling. His length and elite ball handing skills allow him to rise and fire over nearly anyone in the NBA.

Scorching hot Jayson Tatum from downtown is exactly what the Boston Celtics need in playoffs

It has not matter who has guarded him on the perimeter recently, the elusive Tatum has consistently found a way to get himself an open shot. There is little hesitation in his stroke with four contests left as it looks as the C’s most talented player has saved the majority of his makes from deep just in time for the first round which begins on April 15-16. The best part of it is, he is doing it all without committing a single giveaway.

These past two contests mark the 23rd and 24th time since 2021 that Tatum has eclipsed a three-point percentage over 60% in a game. In the times in which No. 0 has reached 60% from deep this season, the Celtics have not lost, defeating their opponent by an average of 17.6 points per game. His efficiency from the field lately is truly remarkable. Many thought he could have turned the corner earlier in the month at home against Portland, but Tatum quickly regressed from the great beyond.

Piecing together back to back games like this from downtown should propel the superstar back to the mean of where he should be shooting. It is hard to imagine how much MVP talk would be surrounding Tatum in the final few weeks of the season if his 3-point shot was anywhere near where it should be. With the confidence and swagger Tatum is currently playing with, the sky is the limit for this year’s Boston Celtics.

Of course, there will be nights where he struggles from downtown once again, but just knowing that he has these kind of games in him during a poor shooting season bodes well for an NBA Finals return. We will see how much he plays during the final stretch of this long regular season, but right when the team needed it the most, the four-time All-Star demonstrated that his 3-point shot is back and better than ever.