Can Jayson Tatum still shoot?

Jayson Tatum’s soar shot has change into a serious speaking level amongst not solely Celtics followers, however all through your entire NBA neighborhood. Can Jayson Tatum shoot? Did his time within the weight room break his soar shot? Does it even matter if Tatum can shoot?

For a participant that’s had as a lot success as Tatum, it’s somewhat weird how hyper fixated individuals (myself included) are on his jumper. The fact is that on the subject of taking pictures an orange ball right into a basket 24 toes away, there is a component of luck and variance. That is true for all basketball gamers. Not simply Jayson Tatum.

For instance, Luka Doncic missed 21 straight three pointers within the NBA Finals. It’s exhausting to just accept as basketball followers that generally taking pictures, particularly within the playoffs, comes all the way down to luck. Followers don’t care about giant pattern sizes and statistical phrases like “variance” after we’re on our knees begging for a Tatum three pointer to go in. Gamers can have total seasons the place they shoot nicely above their profession averages whereas then again, gamers can have season-long taking pictures slumps.

Can Jayson Tatum shoot in any respect? The reply is unequivocally sure. Throughout a seven-year profession (common season and playoffs mixed), Tatum has made 1,559 out of 4,215 three pointers or 36.98%, which is above the league common ~36%. Extra not too long ago, Tatum simply loved his greatest common season taking pictures the ball because the 2020-2021 season – delivering a three-point proportion of 37.5%. That’s an elite quantity while you think about Tatum’s excessive quantity and excessive issue three level shot weight loss plan.

Over the previous season, there have been 55 whole gamers that took at the least six three pointers per sport. Tatum ranked twenty seventh in three level proportion amongst them. Notable gamers that had a worse three level proportion than Tatum final season have been Donovan Mitchell, Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, Trae Younger, Tyrese Maxey, Darius Garland, Tyrese Haliburton, and Mikal Bridges. Of the 26 gamers forward of Tatum, I labeled 14 of them as catch and shoot specialists – Luke Kennard, Malik Beasley, Donte DiVincenzo, Michael Porter Jr, and so on. The purpose is, Tatum had a very spectacular common season taking pictures the ball while you take a look at his three-point shot profile.

Nevertheless, that proportion cratered within the playoffs to twenty-eight.3%. Within the Finals, he made simply 10-of-38. The Olympics weren’t any higher. He missed all 4 for Workforce USA. So, the query stays: can Tatum nonetheless shoot?

The Muscle Concept

Some have hypothesized that Tatum has gotten too jacked, that the elevated dimension of his *superb* deltoids and biceps have impacted his taking pictures type and taking pictures potential. That is nonsense. As I simply laid out, Tatum shot 37.5% from three-point vary this previous common season, his highest mark because the 2020-2021 season. Did the muscle tissues solely affect Tatum’s taking pictures within the playoffs? If something, gamers are inclined to lose a small quantity of muscle via the common season and postseason as there isn’t sufficient time of their schedule to carry as usually as throughout the offseason. To not point out, there are numerous examples of gamers getting considerably greater and stronger all through their profession whereas not dropping their taking pictures potential with Steph Curry being the obvious instance right here.

I’m not going to fake to be an expert shot physician. I simply bought again from the park the place I shot 39% (being beneficiant) on solo jumpers. However I’ve pulled collectively a number of three pointers from every of Tatum’s 2020, 2022 and 2024 playoff runs to check his shot type.

I have to emphasize how a lot I’m not a taking pictures professional. If the title of the superstar taking pictures coach that fastened Grant Williams’ soar shot is Deadly Shooter, my superstar influencer taking pictures title could be Innocent Shooter. That being mentioned, I can’t make out any noticeable variations in Tatum’s taking pictures type. The primary takeaway from that video is what number of big pictures Tatum has hit in his younger profession.

Is the dangerous taking pictures a playoff-specific drawback? Tatum has shot a mixed 30.4% from three over his final two playoff runs. These samples are simply too small to make sweeping declarations a couple of participant’s taking pictures potential. Throughout the final two playoffs mixed, Tatum shot 304 whole three pointers, which might make up solely half of Tatum’s 2024 common season three-point makes an attempt. We’re solely two playoffs faraway from the 2022 Finals run the place Tatum shot 39.3% from three which was seemingly a little bit of an outlier within the different path. It might be nice if we may simply get Tatum’s profession three-point common each night time. Sadly, the variance gods don’t function that manner.

Shot choice

Tatum takes powerful pictures. A number of them he has to take, however a few of them he most likely doesn’t should take. The fact is, superstars should take powerful pictures. Whenever you break down which pictures Tatum made versus which pictures he missed within the 2024 Playoffs, it’s very clear that the pictures that didn’t fall have been the tightly contested ones.

Tatum merely shot higher on tightly contested three-point makes an attempt within the earlier two playoff runs, 27.9% in 2023 and 29.2% in 2022 in comparison with 10.4% within the 2024 Playoffs per Synergy monitoring.

Do you need to make the case that Tatum ought to simply take much less powerful pictures and drive to the rim extra? Certain, however the factor is, the numbers would point out that Tatum agrees with you. Tatum took much less tightly contested threes per sport within the 2024 Playoffs than in each the 2023 and 2024 Playoffs.

Additionally, simply whole three-point quantity. This previous playoffs was Tatum’s lowest mark since he grew to become The Man within the 2019-20 season. Tatum took much less threes per 36 minutes within the 2024 Playoffs than each playoff run going all the best way again to the 2018-19 season.

Did Tatum really feel that the three ball wasn’t there so he didn’t power it? Did it change into apparent that the proper strategy was getting downhill and collapsing the protection time and again so he may spray passes out to elite shooters all around the court docket? In all probability somewhat little bit of column A and somewhat bit from column B. The truth that Tatum barely altered his strategy to higher affect the crew in a manner that I didn’t beforehand discover till diving into that is such a quintessential Jayson Tatum trait. He’s been miscast as a Kobe disciple when he’s actually a wing model of Tim Duncan.

Does Tatum’s taking pictures actually matter?

It is best to now consider deep in your coronary heart that Tatum truly is an efficient shooter. We are able to now transfer on to the extra fascinating query of whether or not it truly issues if Jayson Tatum is an efficient shooter. The reply is not any, it doesn’t matter.

To place it merely – if Jayson Tatum had hit yet one more three pointer per sport within the playoffs, he would have shot 42% from three and the Celtics would have gone 16-3 on the best way to the title. That is what makes Jayson Tatum particular and distinctive as a participant. His affect shouldn’t be outlined by his three-point shot entering into.

So long as groups proceed to protect Tatum as if he can shoot, that’s all that actually issues. Simply the specter of Tatum’s pull-up three opens up all of the driving lanes we noticed within the Finals. He has to maintain taking them. And extra importantly, it doesn’t matter if Tatum isn’t an important shooter as a result of he’s wonderful at each different side of the sport of basketball which is why Tatum’s affect on successful shouldn’t be on the mercy of the taking pictures variance gods.

That is simply absurd versatility and affect. Firstly, Tatum is guarding the opposing heart Evan Mobley, which isn’t one thing you may ask many wings within the NBA to do. Max Strus finds Isaac Okoro on a slip to the rim. Tatum helps off Mobley to guard the rim and forces the miss. This results in a wide-open Al Hoford three in transition, which he misses, however that’s okay as a result of Tatum will get the offensive rebound with a managed tip again to Horford. Al then finds Tatum within the publish. Tatum skips a move to Jrue Vacation within the nook for a large open three. That’s a five-point swing in a 1-1 playoff sequence on the highway. I’d like to spend extra time speaking about all of the alternative ways Jayson Tatum impacts a basketball sport, however we’ll have to avoid wasting that for an additional day.

It wasn’t an accident that Jayson Tatum led the Celtics in playoff factors, rebounds and assists; whether or not or not Tatum’s three-point shot falling or not was largely irrelevant. Clearly, the orange ball going within the basket extra usually could be higher for each Tatum and the Celtics. However while you’re the engine of probably the greatest offenses and defenses within the NBA, one additional three-point basket per sport shouldn’t be meaningfully altering the fortunes of the Boston Celtics.