Looking at his shooting from Monday night's matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, it would be a complete understatement to say that Jayson Tatum had an off night from the floor for the Boston Celtics.
The third-year forward had an uncharacteristically awful shooting night on Monday, with Tatum going 1-of-18 against Dallas. Unfortunately for the 21-year-old, his forgettable performance entered the record books for all the wrong reasons:
Jayson Tatum finished Monday 1-18, the 2nd-worst shooting performance by a Celtics player over the last 65 seasons (min. 15 FGA).
It is also tied for the 2nd-worst shooting percentage by any player in a win over the last 65 seasons (min. 15 FGA).
(h/t @EliasSports) pic.twitter.com/elde5zK8jS
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) November 12, 2019
That's not a very good look for Tatum, who has actually seen a significant dip in his shooting percentage this season. This could, however, be attributed to the fact that he is taking a career-high 18.2 attempts per contest, as he has now become more of a focal point of Boston's offense. Furthermore, this 1-of-18 shooting performance dropped him about 4 percentage points.
Nonetheless, his 39.0 percent shooting clip (vs. a career average of 45.6 percent) leaves a lot to be desired right now. Despite the shooting woes, it is worth noting that Tatum is also putting up career-high scoring numbers at 19.4 per game, and he has had a significant positive impact on the Celtics overall.
Fortunately for Tatum, his historically poor shooting night still resulted in a win for Boston, as they fended off a formidable challenge from the Mavs, with the game finishing with a 116-106 final score. Tatum will have to thank teammates Kemba Walker (29 points, eight 3-pointers) and Jaylen Brown (25 points, 11 rebounds), who carried much of the load for Boston in Tatum's stead.
Tatum will need to shoot much better than this moving forward, with the Celtics looking to him as one of their primary go-to guys this season. The loss of Gordon Hayward (left hand surgery, out six weeks) adds further pressure on Tatum, as the team will need to find more offense in the wake of Hayward's unfortunate injury.
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