Jayson Tatum’s Recent Numbers Are Further Proof He’s Been Unstoppable Of Late

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chrisgrenham/2020/02/27/jayson-tatums-recent-numbers-are-further-proof-hes-been-unstoppable-of-late/#14add7b7bf45




Jayson Tatum’s Recent Numbers Are Further Proof He’s Been Unstoppable Of Late



Chris Grenham
Chris GrenhamContributor




SALT LAKE CITY, UT - FEBRUARY 26: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics attempts a shot over Royce ... [+] GETTY IMAGES



Stop me if you’ve read this before: Jayson Tatum is on another level right now.

The 21-year-old’s month of February has been impressive, to say the least. If there was any game for him to come back to Earth, it likely was going to be Wednesday’s. The Celtics were on the second night of a back-to-back, wrapping up a four-game road trip in Utah. He put up 36 points in 34 minutes less than 24 hours prior vs. Portland, but the Jazz still couldn’t slow down Tatum. At this point, it’s beginning to seem like nobody can.

Tatum concluded the six-day West Coast swing with 33 points on an efficient 13-of-20 clip en route to a 114-103 win. It was the All-Star’s fourth 30-point performance in his last five games, and the sixth over his last nine contests. That’s three consecutive 30-point games for the first time in his career. Want more? Ok, here’s more. He shot 60 percent or better from the field in all three of those games, which makes him the first Celtics player with three straight 30-point/60-percent performances since Kevin McHale did so in 1987, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

He’s averaging 30.5 points on 51 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent from deep since Jan. 30. That’s an absurd stretch, for lack of a better term, but Tatum’s last five games have been even better. Over that span, he’s putting up 35.4 points per game on 57.5 percent shooting (54.8 percent 3-pt). It’s a ridiculous leap, especially considering where Tatum was at some stages earlier this season.

Let’s reiterate: Tatum is averaging 30.5 points on 51 percent shooting over the last 28 days. Through Jan. 30, he was averaging 21.5 points on 44 percent shooting and 36 percent from beyond the arc. Yes, those are good numbers, but nowhere near the All-NBA performances he’s strung together of late. He’s hit more 3-pointers in February than anyone else in the league. That’s not something anyone predicted would happen even one month ago.

Tatum’s ability to finish at the rim was still a work in progress at the beginning of the regular season. He struggled in traffic, at times going through rough patches that would bring out the Twitter critics amid postgame reactions. It wasn’t any catastrophic struggles, but it was clear he was still developing, just as any third-year player does at this point in their career. Now, he’s suddenly finishing with ease over defenders like Rudy Gobert and working off the dribble with the ball on a string.


NBA

@NBA
Tatum 3rd straight with 30+ PTS @jaytatum0 scores 33 PTS, lifting the @celtics in Salt Lake City! #Celtics
https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1232907463206277120


Tatum has had just two offensive ratings below 111.2 since Jan. 16. More importantly, this hot offensive patch hasn’t hindered his defensive contributions. Entering Wednesday’s game, Tatum had a block in eight consecutive games — the second-longest streak in the NBA behind only Gobert.

His team defense has excelled this season, quietly playing a major role in Boston’s success. Some young players would let that portion of their game slide while averaging 35 points a game, but Tatum has not, and that’s part of what makes him great.

The Celtics went through their post-All-Star break road trip without Kemba Walker, yet they head home with a 41-17 record after taking three of four games from the Western Conference slate. Early in the season, fans likely would be concerned about missing a key contributor like Walker, but that’s no longer the case. With Tatum, Jaylen Brown and others stepping up, Boston is in very good shape for the stretch run.



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