Jayson Tatum disappointed in his sophomore season. Struggling to find his niche in the Boston Celtics' offense, Tatum began forcing the issue far more often than he did as a rookie, trading spot-up three-pointers and dribble drives for pull-up long twos. His efficiency suffered as a result, and so did the Celtics at large. A trendy championship pick during the preseason, Boston fell well short expectations in 2018-19, beset by the relative struggles of Tatum and several other players on the roster.
With Kyrie Irving and Al Horford playing elsewhere, Tatum is poised to shoulder the biggest offensive load of his career in 2019-20. And as his shove and crossover of a young camper makes clear, it certainly seems like he's set to re-prioritize getting to the rim going forward.
That wasn't very nice, @jaytatum0 😂
(via @justlobs) pic.twitter.com/uwXrQQS3wI
— ESPN (@espn) July 13, 2019
Tatum averaged 15.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game last season – all improvements on his standout rookie campaign. But he shot worse from both the field and the three-point line, taking a significantly smaller share of his shot attempts near the rim.
Obviously, there's still time for Tatum to live up to the promise he showed in his NBA debut. Adjusting his shot chart will be key to him doing so, and the surest means of taking more efficient field goal attempts is penetration, a reality he now seems to fully understand.
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