Jayson Tatum, who is still just 19-years old, continues to dazzle Celtics fans on a nightly basis. We already looked at how much better his shooting has been than anticipated from the rookie, but there’s been another element of his game that’s quietly developing into a major weapon for the C’s: shot creation in crunch time.
Look no further than the closing minutes of Sunday’s win over the Toronto Raptors. The No. 3 overall pick scored six of Boston’s 18 points in the final frame, including the basket that proved to be the game-winner with just over a minute remaining.
On the surface, it looked like nothing was there for Tatum after Terry Rozier dished the ball to him following a drive. However, Tatum’s awareness and savvy were far beyond his years in this moment. He saw that Al Horford was out of the lane and had taken the only shot-blocking threat on the floor (Serge Ibaka). With a smaller defender on him (Kyle Lowry) cutting off his right-handed drive and respecting his shot, Tatum blew by the speedy Lowry with his left hand (defenders have to respect his 47.6 percent 3-point shooting now).
Once Tatum got by Lowry, he passed Ibaka, who stayed home on Horford, and the last line of defense was none other than 5-foot-11 point guard Fred Van Fleet. Tatum saw this, went hard at the rim and finished with his right hand as he used his length effectively to put the Celtics up 95-90 with just under two minutes remaining. Boston wouldn't score again in the 95-94 win.
"It's just matchups," Tatum said. "Sometimes when guys get a paint touch and kick it out and the defense is on their heels, that's a sign that it's a good time to attack, not always for your own shot but another paint threat."
An injury to Gordon Hayward was assumed to have left the Celtics incredibly short-handed in the crunch-time shot creation department out of the gate, outside of Kyrie Irving. Plays like Tatum’s on Sunday afternoon are proving that’s not the case. With the Celtics down on scoring options in the fourth quarter of their last two wins, there’s been one main constant: Tatum stepping up his aggressiveness and making an impact.
The 6-foot-9 forward has scored six points in each of the last two fourth quarters and is now averaging 4.3 points per fourth quarter during the team’s 12-game winning streak, the second-highest mark on the team behind Kyrie Irving (6.0 points per fourth quarter).
"I think that's where Jayson comes alive," Jaylen Brown said after Sunday’s win. "A lot of players on this team come alive in the fourth quarter, and Jayson is one of them. When the game is on the line is when we perform the best, and Jayson is one of those types of players that you give him the ball in the clutch, he can make something happen. Even in summer league he was making shots like that, just he's beyond his years, and he's going to continue to get better."
Marcus Morris can be used as a creator from the midrange, as we saw Friday night against the Hornets, but he’s a guy you don’t necessarily want as the second option in your offense. He’s not afraid to take shots, but they aren’t necessarily high percentage looks. That hasn’t been the case with Tatum. Look at the quality of these looks he got against the Hornets on Friday night in the final frame:
The Duke product is shooting a sensational 59 percent from the field and 55 percent from 3-point range in the fourth quarter across the C’s winning streak. He’s also second on the team in free throw attempts while leading the team in free throw accuracy (90 percent).
"He's always been a guy that's been wired to make plays and to score the ball,” Brad Stevens said Sunday after the win over the Raptors, “So it's not a huge surprise that he feels comfortable in those moments. In the last couple of games, and specifically Friday night, we really needed him to make those plays. Today he was playing more against close-outs because other people were drawing the attention instead of just individual isolation plays. And he took advantage of that."
The most encouraging part about this development? Tatum has been doing this kind of damage while the Celtics have been shorthanded. Once the team has its full arsenal of offensive weapons healthy, the window of opportunities should only grow during crunch time as opposing defenses have more guys to worry about spread across the floor.
As for next year, good luck to those trying to figure out an effective way to defend Irving, Horford, Hayward, Tatum and player X out of a Stevens timeout. The future is bright in Boston and Tatum’s development as a closing option is just one of the reasons why. So are takes like this:
Tatum on the baseline... Whoa. ??? pic.twitter.com/mV58a0rcko
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 12, 2017