Jayson Tatum struggles late vs. Nuggets, should Celtics be concerned? | Hoops Tonight
Now I wanted to kind of go through some of the specific notes that that that kind of just screamed off the screen in this particular game first of all Nicole yoka is just the best player on the floor and it’s not close like Tatum is really good the
Dude’s On The Rise I’ve said this on the show before but like I think Tatum by the time he’s in his late 20s being in the conversation for best player in the world is as sure of bet as you’ll find in the league he just continues to add
Strength he continues to add versatility all a lot of this issue for Tatum is mostly reled to just kind of him learning how to win at this this this type of game and like I it frustrates me that he made the decision to lean into this pullup three thing because again I
I talked about on the show like it’s can he keep making him 22 for 45 over 10 game span that’s great but he missed it for two and a half years before that and here we are a big game one for eight from three it’s just a really tough shot
It’s just a really tough shot to be hunting as often as he hunts it right but like yic is just clearly the best player that that’s the first thing that screamed off the screen uh also big shock but porzingis and Horford can’t guard Nicole yic in the post one-on-one
They’re going to have to do some sort of like double team uh in rotate approach to kind of deal with that one of the looks that I really liked was when they put porzingis on Aaron Gordon and there were multiple possessions in this game where christops porzingis actually
Caused an issue for yic where the lob pass to Aaron Gordon was kind of open but porzingis is so damn long that getting the pass over the top of him m is kind of low percentage and there were multiple times where yic saw that develop and didn’t throw the pass
Because he thought it was too risky and so that’s kind of an interesting thing that I could see them doing in a playoff series that other teams kind of have tried and failed with which is porzingis is kind of uniquely long enough to cover that much kind of like air space and
Ground space around the rim which I think is super valuable the porzingis pick and pop generated a lot of open shots especially earlier in the game I thought that was really interesting uh Jamal Mur shot making the question was Boston has all these lanky Wings is
Jamal Murray going to be able to hit his same tough twos over them that he hit over everybody in the playoffs last year absolutely no problem he was unbelievable in this game he was hitting him over Jaylen Brown he was hitting him over Jason Tatum he was hitting him over
The guards he was hitting him over everybody uh Jaylen Brown 13 points on 19 shots once again like just kind of taking a lot of really difficult shots and then struggling to knock down the catch and shoot ones that were available in that physical game ignoring Aaron Gordon and pton
Watson this was a consistent issue for Denver specifically in the corners Boston was ignoring those two guys in particular now pton Watson had a couple of crazy sequences he had a crazy helps side block he had some run outs in transition he did hit a big three there
Was a double close out he had in the um early second half where he chased Horford off of of shooting a three on the left wing and then closed out to the corner and got a good contest on Jaylen Brown his athleticism is just so interesting he just I thought he settled
For a lot of jumpers that he probably didn’t need to take specifically in the mid-range um where like I think that’s why they ended up going away from him he was four for 11 from the field and the catch and shoot threes are one thing but
I don’t think he needs to rush kind of mid-range jump shots early in the clock uh but Aaron Gordon in particular they were leaving wide open in the corner and he was missing badly that’s kind of an interesting thing to keep an eye on neither team really trusts anyone on
Their bench as a matter of fact every single starter except for Drew holiday played at least 36 minutes in a regular season game that’s pretty uh uh revealing and the reason why Drew played 30 was they were leaning a lot on Al Horford and they’re kind of two big
Groups both teams were excellent on the offensive glass there were a bunch of shots where like uh nuggets Players missed but then Michael Porter Jr and Aaron Gordon were active on the backside Denver’s starting lineup over the course of the season has grabbed 75% of available defensive rebounds which would
Rank number one in the league Sacramento is number one at 7 4% in defensive rebounding percentage they gave up what 12 offensive rebounds in this game and there were multiple sequences where Denver starters gave up multiple offensive rebounds in the same possession that to me is the biggest
Testament of Boston’s big advantage and this is where like if Boston’s going to win this is how they win and that is they they are one of the few teams in the league that has the amount of ball handling and speed and passing and shooting ability to truly spread Denver
Out and wear them out with speed and I thought Denver looked tired for stretches I thought that was what caused them to struggle on the offensive with offensive rebounding um from Boston was just literally they look tired from Boston’s speed I thought that was a real Advantage drik white in particular was
Getting everywhere he wanted he was cooking yic with some pull-up jump shots there in that third quarter too that to me is Boston’s biggest advantage in this kind of matchup is they are much faster Denver’s bigger Boston is faster but again like I I I I want to be clear
Boston Denver’s not an easy team to beat they’re the best team in the league in my opinion they’re my Championship Contender I’ve said this on the show before I believe if if Denver’s core five are healthy they’re going to win the title but Boston has advantages in this series
And Boston is capable of beating Denver in a series but they have to find a way to win ugly they’ve got to find a way to turn more of these mismatches into Tatum right at the damn basket and yes there were some plays where Tatum drove and
Got layups and dunks and he had a floater over kcp had a nasty drive on Aaron Gordon for two-hand flush like Tatum can beat people off the dribble but Denver’s helps side defense was weak in that situation in a large part because they were so fatigued like they
Have to find a way to like defender on Tatum’s backside get him closer to the rim so he can get easy shots right near the basket that is vitally important in my op opinion but man what an entertaining basketball I want to shout out both teams too just for all their Stars
Playing how often this year have we seen like oh this guy’s feeling a little sore he’s going to sit out no these guys love basketball and they wanted to go out and they wanted to compete I respect the hell out of them for doing so and then
Lastly I wanted to complain about the officiating for a second Boston got was on the short end of a really bad call at the end of the game which was the over thebat call of porzingis on Nicole yic where had an offensive rebound and kind
Of took away a chance for Boston to tie now you know my thing as it comes to the teams uh don’t complain about officiating it’s one play it’s outside of your control so it’s a complete waste of your effort to even think about but big picture we had a hanging on the rim
Technical on Jason Tatum we had that over theb call from Chris Ops porzingis NBA officials are the one thing standing in the way of this league reaching its full potential because they keep doing stupid stuff like that huge game huge possession late two centers battling for
A rebound and you calling over the back foul are you serious joic wasn’t even boxing him out he was just standing there and like and like here’s the thing by the book it’s an over thebat call but it should not be called in that specific situation the the the hanging on the rim
Technical I swear they need to like set up a trampoline at the NBA referee training center and just have these dudes run and dunk so that they can understand how difficult that is and I don’t know maybe try having fun every once in a while but like again I don’t think it
Had an impact on the game I I I I’m a staun Believer not even approaching that in terms of a mentality but that was kind of annoying and kind of took a little bit of the Shine off the apple of a great basketball Game He
Jason Timpf discusses Jayson Tatum’s late-game struggles vs. Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. How big of a concern should this be for the Boston Celtics as they look to return to the NBA Finals. Is Boston capable of beating Denver in a potential NBA Finals?
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15 Comments
JT struggling in pressure-packed situations? Who'd a thunk it?
Tatum just isn't a good jump shooter anymore. As he has continually put on muscle every year, his off the dribble shooting numbers declined and he's one of the worst in nba on pull ups. C's for some reason feel the need to get him the ball late for shots that he can't hit consistently. Used to be much better as an overall jump shooter but just doesn't have it anymore very streaky should play downhill with force and mix in some post play
Like I said the over the back call was correct zingus was elbow jokic in the back and the hanging in the rim Tatum literally did a pull up on that rim he didn’t just hang on the rim and let go right away those calls had to be whistled
Celtics in a 7 game series would gas Jokic. There’s only so much he could do in so many minutes.
I don’t agree with the rule, but Tatum did do a whole ass chin up on the rim where there was no need, just hang
But Jokic works endlessly on strength, footwork, shooting from every level, improving defense. He works with all the great Nuggets coaching staff. Jokic builds his game, improving each season. Jokic takes the team and puts them on his back in big moments. What does Tatum do? Tatum shoots threes, settles for bad shots, drives once in a while, shrinks in big moments. It’s not comparable.
the last foul on KP is huge mistake! Glad someone speak it up.
Keep with the Celtics content please.
Tatum is an above the average star, not a superstar. There are plenty of guys who can get a 40 piece one night and then be ass the next game. Tatum is that but he’s excellent in rebounding and a good defender. Also, his decision making is below average.
celtic stars didnt show up in key situations while denver's stars played up to their superstar status
Murray and jokic scored 30+ while brown and Tatum were ass. This would be a great series. Boston is right there
Tatum is PG 2.0. He can be really good, even elite sometimes, but will be better as a number 2 best player because he always shrinks in crunch time
Hard disagree. I don’t think the refs were good, but the KP rebound when he just comes running with speed and shoves jokic out of the way? I’d rather have seen the lane violation called when jokic tricked them, but they got bailed out with a jump ball.
This game from Tatum is the perfect example of why I'll never believe in the Celtics. The other team is almost always going to have the best player on the floor and Tatum consistently shrinks in the biggest moments. In large part because he just makes dumb decisions and takes a lot of stupid shots. Until that changes I don't care how much talent is on the team. It won't be enough to win a chip.
So since the game is close, fuck the rules 🤨 bro what nd how does what you said make any sense