Back in June, in the aftermath of the loss to Golden State, I wrote that part of the path to Jayson Tatum’s improvement included “cleaning up his dribble to get it lower on his drives rather than leaving it hanging out where has less control. Also, playing off two feet and using his sizable shoulders and body to get to his spots, and to finish stronger.”
That was no big secret. You didn’t need some magical hoops degree to recognize that. Tatum knew it as much as anyone, and he spent the summer setting out to fix a flaw in his game.
“Our big focus is if we improve his driving angles, if we focus on finishing instead of drawing fouls, it will actually result in more trips to the line,” Tatum’s trainer, Drew Hanlen, told the Herald’s Mark Murphy. “That’s our focus — the stuff we can control, which is better driving angles, more ball security, improved finishing. Those will result in better numbers at the rim, less turnovers, and more free throws.”
Tatum also worked with Kevin Durant, picking his brain about how to protect his dribble as a super-tall wing.
What we’ve been seeing in the preseason, and what was on full display in the season opener, was the culmination of this work. It has been most impressive.
He showed it to us right away, attacking PJ Tucker on a drive early in the game where Tucker had no chance.
Whenever you hear the phrase “Tatum had him on his heels,” this is the play you should picture. Tucker was on his heels and backpedaling the entire drive.
At the hashmark, Tatum cranks the drive into another gear. Halfway down the lane, he’s in a full crouch. By the time he gets to the restricted area, he looks like a running back coming through the pile at the goal line.
When Joel Embiid comes over to help, Tatum absorbs that contact and draws the foul, and nearly the and-1.
Watch it again with this picture in mind:
Tatum never deviated from that path until the very end when he found space for a shot attempt.
Straight-line drive, attacking the front of the rim, playing through contact. Let’s go back to Hanlen’s quote:
Better driving angles - check.
More ball security - check.
Improved finishing - check
I’m giving Tatum the improved finishing check because he gave himself a good chance at that 3-point play. In that situation, getting the ball softly onto the rim after all that contact is all you need. A lot of those will fall. Paul Pierce was a master of getting the ball softly onto the rim after a foul. Tatum is figuring that out.
Here’s a nice isolation move that accomplishes another goal:
Tatum is rocking the defender to sleep here, using the hesitation to keep De’Anthony Melton off balance. When Tatum decides to go, though, he goes. One dribble after his decision, Melton is already on Tatum’s hip.
Pierce was a master at this too: Tatum turns his inside shoulder so it rubs past Melton’s chest, then he squares back up to naturally push the defender behind him. That means any reach has to come across Tatum’s body and naturally cause a foul. This isn’t foul-grifting like James Harden, who flails his arms into defenders to cause the contact. This is putting defenders in a position where they have to foul if they're going to challenge.
Oh, and speaking of Harden, I’ll give Tatum credit for recognizing Harden is “helping” off Grant Williams and not giving a damn that there's help coming from the ball side. That's not even a half-hearted help attempt. It’s no-hearted.
Tatum applied the lessons in the open court as well.
Just picture a straight line down the middle of the floor. Tatum isn’t playing games with Tobias Harris, charging straight at him and hitting him with a hesitation. Harris never had any say in this drive, never came up to meet Tatum or angle him off to his weak hand. It’s weak defense and Tatum took full advantage.
Again, Tatum never really deviates, and only adjusts to a reverse layup as a way of getting the ball up after getting fouled.
Tatum playing bully-ball is going to be something that gets him into the MVP conversation. Tucker is on this Sixers team to be that kind of defensive bully, but Tatum never shied away from contact, keeping Tucker on his heels all night.
The running theme here is Tatum burying his shoulder into defenders and moving them to get where he’s going. His shoulders are weapons and shields at the same time, and he’s finally starting to use them as both effectively.
In each of these clips, Tatum uses his broad shoulders to both create space but also put his body in position to protect the ball. Tatum has always been more of a finesse player, but in the few weeks of preseason and now regular season, he’s adding a lot more wrecking ball to his game.
“A lot has to do with just health and how I feel, being able to get the proper amount of rest coming into the season and kind of go through the stages of proper offseason,” Tatum said after the opener. “I felt as good as I possibly can going into training camp, started the season from a physical standpoint from the way my body feels, my legs and the weight I’m at, it’s the best I’ve felt probably coming into a season in the last 2-3 years, so I think that helps.”
The jump shots and step-backs and all the other fancy stuff comes off these kinds of drives. This is how Tatum sets the tone for his entire night. If he can continue driving at this level, with this level of physicality, precision, and intelligence, then we’re going to see a different Tatum this year.