Jayson Tatum is slowly burying bad reputation from last season

The Boston Celtics picked up a big win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night, avoiding an upset at the hands of a Trey Murphy III 40-ball. Kristaps Porzingis had a monster defensive game, and Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum lifted up the scoring column, with Tatum nailing the dagger in the closing moments.

As the seconds ticked off the clock in the fourth quarter, Tatum dribbled the ball at the top of the key. He went to his left, pulled up, faded away, and sunk a mid-range jumper over two Pelicans defenders, leaving 0.2 seconds on the game clock

It’s the latest in a string of shots that are erasing Tatum’s recent reputation.

Jayson Tatum is finally hitting clutch shots

Last season, Tatum was 0-of-6 on those exact looks—shots to tie or take the lead with five seconds or left on the clock in the fourth quarter or overtime. He didn’t make a single one.

So far this season, however, Tatum is already 3-for-6 on those shots, highlighted by his game-winner against the Pelicans on Friday night.

Tatum also hit a game-winner in overtime to beat the Toronto Raptors earlier this season, and his other make was in Boston’s recent loss to the Houston Rockets, as he tied the game at 112-112 with a strong drive to the rim before Amern Thompson’s game-winner.

His three misses were misses at the end of regulation against the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, and Raptors. Boston lost to Atlanta but ended up beating the other two teams in overtime, with the Raptors win coming at the hands of Tatum’s game-winner.

Needless to say, Tatum has significantly improved in these situations this year. But in reality, nothing much has changed. The shots he’s taking are very similar to the ones he took last year—he’s just making them.

And for added context, Tatum’s 50% shooting on those shots is wildly impressive. Most players who take a lot of those types of looks shoot similarly to what Tatum shot last year (0-of-6).

So far this season, only Tyler Herro has attempted more of these shots than Tatum, and he is 3-of-8. After those two, there is a string of stars who have been woefully inefficient.

Damian Lillard is 1-of-5, Donovan Mitchell is 1-of-4, Trae Young is 1-of-4, Anthony Edwards is 0-of-4, and De’Aaron Fox is 0-of-4.

In fact, the only two players with at least three attempts who are shooting more efficiently than Tatum are Domantas Sabonis (2-of-3) and Jaden Ivey (2-of-3).

Last year, Tatum built up an unfortunate reputation for missing these types of shots. But now, that reputation is fading away. Or at least, it should be.