Obvious Jayson Tatum tweak would kickstart Celtics' playoff offense

One of the biggest takeaways from Brad Stevens’ end-of-the-year press conference was his insistence that the Celtics have struggled to generate quality shots in the playoffs in recent years. Most people assume the solution to this issue is for Brad to add talent to the roster and find players who can score and create for others.

But there’s a much simpler way to shake up the offense without a major overhaul, and that’s by making Jayson Tatum more of a forward and less of a point guard. JT has become an incredible passer and playmaker, but his isolation possessions in the playoffs have been disastrous, and as a pick-and-roll handler, things haven’t been much better.

As a screener and off-ball shooter, he has been unstoppable, and the team has been humming when actually using their guards to run offense. Payton Pritchard has been the best PNR ballhandler in these playoffs and has proven capable of running the show and setting the table.

Yet, for whatever reason, the Celtics keep falling into old habits; giving the ball to Tatum and getting out of the way. He’s such a good player, and there’s enough talent around him that it can be effective, but clearly, it’s not good enough.

Tatum as lead ballhandler is wasting his talent

This shouldn’t be interpreted as a knock on Tatum by any means. He’s absolutely one of the best players in the NBA, but as he gets older, adds size and strength, and continues his recovery from a torn Achilles, there’s simply no reason to overburden him with inefficient on-ball reps.

Regardless of who is or isn’t on the team next season, the Celtics need to have table-setters like Pritchard and Derrick White who can get them into their sets and bend defenses so that Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and whoever else is able to capitalize.

It’s a winning, tried and true strategy that we’ve seen lead to one championship and plenty of other playoff success. Nobody is saying that JT needs to turn into Shaq and constantly set screens and live in the post, but at the same time, he’s not James Harden either.

He should be celebrated for the all-around player he has become, but trying to turn him into a heliocentric offensive player like Harden, Luka Doncic, and others is just not a good use of his skills. It’s clear from watching, and the stats back it up. Hopefully, the Celtics figure it out and come back with a better approach next season.

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