Questionable crunch-time habits resurface for Jayson Tatum against Pacers

The Celtics have little margin for error in the first half of the season without Kemba Walker, which makes losing a game when the team shoots over 50 percent from the field a little bit tougher to swallow for them (first time that’s happened in 25 months). The Celtics have had more than their fair share of heartbreaker losses over the years in Indiana but this one will sting a bit against a team that was not only playing on the second half of a back-to-back (Boston was rested) but were also without star guard Victor Oladipo. The table was set for a crucial road win but two major blunders in the final 10 seconds of this one dropped the Celtics to 1-2 on the season.

There are a lot of layers to Celtics squandering this game away. Countless unforced turnovers combined with the inability to slow down a bench unit with the necessary personnel, a problem that may need to be addressed sooner rather than later if it costs C's more games. Despite these woes, the Celtics still were in control of their own fate in the final seven seconds in a one-point game. However, the Celtics came out of a timeout with one of the more underwhelming sequences you’ll see from a Brad Stevens team in a set play situation.

Tatum got the ball at the top of the key needing just two points for a win. Against a run-of-the-mill Pacers defense (and defender in Malcolm Brogdon), Tatum committed two cardinal sins in a late-game spot. He let the clock run down (foolish when trailing by one since it limits offensive rebounding chances on a miss) and he settled for a 3-point shot when it wasn’t needed.

Unlike opening night against the Bucks, he didn’t have luck on his side this time as he threw up a low percentage shot. Whatever play was supposed to happen on this play wasn’t executed well (Grant Williams slipped a screen but there wasn't meaningful action beyond that), leaving Tatum hoisting up what Brad Stevens even admitted was a challenging look for the situation.



“We were looking for a little bit of action off of an entry where they were denying,” Stevens said. “It went to Tatum at the top as an option. Grant tried to slip out of that thing and Tatum got separation, but that’s obviously a tough shot. But he made it the other day. And one of best players and certainly a guy you want to have the ball with a game on the line in the league. That was the positive, I guess.”

Getting the ball to the right guy is one thing but that guy needs to be showing far better awareness in that situation given this stage of his career. It’s one thing for Tatum to pull up for 3 against the Defensive Player of the Year in Giannis Antetokounmpo as the clock is winding down (his wingspan makes getting a shot up on the drive far from easy). However, this time around, Tatum had an undersized defender on him in Brogdon who is a mediocre defender (at best). Tatum completely let him off the hook with the long jumper, something he admitted postgame.

“That was on me,” Tatum said of the sequence. “I should have put more pressure on the defense. Obviously that's a shot I take a lot and I can hit, but I gotta put pressure on the refs and the defense in that situation. It wasn't the exact play we drew up, but I should have just put more pressure on them. That's on me in that situation."

The miss capped a relatively disappointing night for the All-Star despite some solid all-around numbers (25 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists). While Tatum earned his first four free throws of the season, he still has not drawn a shooting foul in a half-court situation despite taking 71 shots this season. Whether or not that factored into his settling in the late-game spot is unclear, but his all-around play in crunch time was far from stellar after a promising start to the year against the Bucks in those critical spots before his game-winner.

This time around against the Pacers, Tatum oversaw some lackluster Celtics offense in the closing moments of a nip-and-tuck game even before missing his game-winner. He turned the ball over on errant passes after drives into the paint (team-high five turnovers) and had a couple other near turnovers that led to wayward possessions in the final few minutes. His offensive game was also iso-heavy in the fourth quarter (zero assists in the period, C’s had two assists as a team in the frame on 10 made field goals), letting the Pacers off the hook for their pedestrian team defense by trying to do things himself.

One critical example of this before Tatum’s potential game-winner? With the C’s trailing by two in the final minute, he had a transition opportunity in the open court and missed a wide-open Rob Williams rolling to the rim unmarked as he put his head down to drive early. That lack of vision was a sharp contrast to the way the C’s played late against the Bucks before his game-winner (probing for good shots and the open man). Instead, it was yet another opportunity that slipped away in what was a very winnable game.



“I take full blame,” Tatum said of his effort. “I didn't play nearly as well as I needed to, as I'm capable of, and teammates, people expect of me. I gotta take that on the chin.”

“We definitely beat ourselves tonight, and we still were in an opportunity to win the game, and we gave it up at the end,” Jaylen Brown added. “But we’ve just got to come back and get ready to play the next game and be better. Be better with the ball, be more physical, be more solid on defense.”

The responsibility taken among Boston’s young core is a promising sign but these hot shooting nights are games the C’s can’t afford to lose, especially when the bench continues to show no signs of slowing the competition (Boston ranks 26th in defensive efficiency through three games).

The road gets tougher now in a rematch against a Pacers team that will now be better rested and have Oladipo available on Tuesday night. That repeat test will be a good gauge on whether Tatum can start playing smarter in these spots or revert to bad habits that got him in trouble against the Heat last postseason.