3 Key Questions Facing Jayson Tatum ahead of the Celtics' new season

The first instalment of our "3 Questions" series

We’re deep into the offseason. There’s very little meaningful news at this point in the year. The Boston Celtics haven’t needed to make any significant trades or bring in any new faces. So, figuring out what to write about is a minefield. Over the next few weeks, I will be running some mini-series — mainly for fun. We will have more time for deeper analysis once preseason gets underway. Although, I will probably scatter in some playbook posts to keep things fresh.

The first mini-series we will work through is “3 Questions,” where we look at 3 potential questions for each player on the roster. Sometimes, we will only look at one player in a day; others, multiple. It all depends on the news cycle and how much depth is needed to explore each question.

As an aside, today’s post is free; tomorrow and Friday will be for paid subscribers only — I’m starting to reintegrate that split. And finally, before we jump in, the road to 1,250 subscribers is officially underway. If you know anyone who would enjoy being part of this community, please share this post with them and encourage them to sign up!

🫖 Taylor’s Tea Time

☕ The Tea: Jeff Bezos doesn’t plan on purchasing the Celtics.

“Jeff Bezos doesn’t plan on adding the Boston Celtics to his empire after all,” Jason Clinkscales of Sportico reported. “According to the tech outlet The Information, the Amazon founder and executive chairman is not interested in buying the NBA franchise. For now, this throws cold water on a claim this week from media personality Bill Simmons—one that was pushed throughout sports media—saying Bezos would toss his name in the ring to bid on the Celtics after Wyc Grousbeck’s July announcement that he will be selling the team.”

🗣️ Taylor: This rumor gained traction courtesy of The Bill Simmons podcast. I think Bezos would be an ideal candidate to purchase the Celtics. He has the deep pockets to easily eat any luxury and repeater tax penalties heading Boston’s way. He would also be a candidate to purchase the TD Garden or build a new stadium once the Celtics lease is up — which is pretty far away.

Bezos is the 2nd-richest man on the planet. The Celtics would make sense if he chooses to step into the billionaire playground of owning a sports team due to their rich history and current roster construction. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be on the cards right now, so we continue to wait for updates on potential ownership bids.

☕ The Tea: Jaylen Brown is welcoming all challengers for the Celtics NBA Title.

“We celebrated, we had a good time, it’s been an awesome summer — I’ve been having a great summer by the way,” Brown told NBC Sports Boston. “…Now we got the target on our back. Everybody is trying to come after us, and I’m like, come on!”

🗣️ Taylor: I’m a big fan of this mentality. It’s cliche, but the Celtics will be ‘the hunted’ next season. As such, they must adjust their mindset, and Brown appears ready to lead that charge. Can the season get here already?

☕ The Tea: Steve Bulpett of Heavy on Sports recently spoke with a former NBA talent who has since moved into a front-office role regarding Jayson Tatum’s difficult time at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The anonymous player backed Tatum to use his time in Paris as a motivational tool next season.

“It’s going to be really interesting to see how Tatum reacts to all of this,” he said. “From everything I’ve seen and know, he’ll use it as motivation. The great ones always do. They perceive slights even when they’re not there. [Michael Jordan] took everything personal. That’s how a great player becomes a beast.”

🗣️ Taylor: After reaching their goal of winning a championship, it would be fair to have concerns over the Celtics’ motivation levels coming into next season. However, external factors have ensured that there’s plenty of incentive throughout the team — specifically with Brown and Tatum, who have both dealt with adversity this summer.

Forget about all the conspiracy theories. The fact is, both of Boston’s All-Star forwards are coming into the new season with a point to prove. It will be entertaining watching them make that point over and over again.

🔍 Three questions for Jayson Tatum

Where better to start this mini-series? Let’s jump in.

1. Can Tatum get his shot back on track?

There’s no doubt that Tatum’s perimeter shooting fell off a cliff during the playoffs. For most of the regular season, he hovered between being an average and above-average three-point threat, securing two months of hitting more than 40% from deep.

Here is a month-by-month breakdown of Tatum’s success rate from three-point range.

A lot has been said about Tatum’s shooting struggles, both in the postseason and during the summer with Team USA. So, I took a closer look at his overall playoff shooting metrics using data courtesy of Cleaning The Glass and compiled them into some charts.

For reference, here is a chart of his regular-season production, once again using data from Cleaning The Glass.

Tatum’s offensive role has grown in diversity over the past few years. He’s working out of the post more. He carries an ever-growing responsibility as a playmaker and rebounder. And defenses will do whatever it takes to contest his shot, regardless of where it’s coming from on the floor. Here’s how he fared based on how close his nearest defender was during the regular season.

And here’s how it looked during the postseason.

Clearly, something changed in April. Tatum’s success rate began to decline at that point and has yet to bounce back. Perhaps it’s fatigue. Maybe that pesky wrist injury is giving him some trouble. Perhaps it’s a confidence thing?

We’re on the outside of this whole thing. We don’t know if Tatum’s been working on his shooting mechanics, and we’re witnessing the growing pains. We don’t know if there’s been internal discussions surrounding his slump. And we don’t know when he will bounce back.

Rest assured, though, he will bounce back. Sooner or later, he’s going to explode for 40/50/60 points, and his shooting touch will return. For now, though, asking when or if his shooting touch will return is fair.

2. Will we see more post-play?

According to Synergy, 10.5% of Tatum’s offense came out of the post last season. He shot 50.3%.

A core part of Joe Mazzulla’s sideline out-of-bounds strategy was running Tatum off a slice screen to get him into a scoring position on or near the post.

Tatum’s growth as a playmaker has also shone when he’s working out of the post, as he uses his gravity to draw defenders before making reads to find the open man or get the ball in rotation.

When you factor in Tatum’s struggles from the perimeter and his effectiveness when operating in the post, it’s fair to wonder whether he will spend more time on the block to begin next season. Getting him easy opportunities and touches where he’s comfortable will be integral to helping him find his rhythm.

He could also become somewhat of a DHO hub on the high post, allowing actions to unfold around him before creating for himself others via hand-offs or keep actions.

I’m not saying Tatum needs to spend a ridiculous amount of time on the block, but it wouldn’t hurt to up his time there while he’s working through his shooting struggles.

After all, the more shots Tatum sees fall, the more chance he’s got of snapping out of whatever hex has been put on him. Plus, he has proven to be a serious threat in the post — so why wouldn’t you lean on that whenever possible?

3. Another season of sacrifice?

The main reason the Celtics were so dominant last season was because everybody was sacrificing for the good of the team. Nobody on that roster was having a career year. Instead, everyone played their role and scaled production when they had a hot hand or needed to cover for a teammate who didn’t have it on any given night.

Tatum arguably made the most significant sacrifices. He embraced a bigger role as a playmaker, allowing Brown to become the featured scorer on the roster. He became a willing screener, providing spacing and creating space for others to drive and create for themselves and others. And when driving the lane, he was looking to pass more than he was looking to call his own number.

That’s why I’ve been so vocal about calling Tatum the most complete player on the roster and one of the most complete players in the NBA. He does everything at a high level. Even on defense, he’s become more of a weakside rim protector. He’s a reliable and intelligent help defender, and he still guards his yard at the point of attack.

The question is: Will he do that again this season after so much disrespect has been levied by the media, opposing fanbases and even Team USA’s coaching staff?

I would expect Tatum to stick to the blueprint. It helped him win a championship, after all. However, if he needs 5 or 10 games to remind everyone that he’s got that dawg in him, who are we to judge?

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That’s all for today. Rival rundown and shamrock shorts will return when there’s enough meat on the bone to make them a logical addition.