Tatum’s lack of scoring hasn’t been major concern
the celtics mostly have had their way during these playoffs. Aside from their game 2 loss in the opening round against the Heat that was an outlier due to miami’s unusually hot 3-point shooting, they have trailed for a total of just nine minutes over their five wins, with plenty of massive leads mixed in.
there was a big talent gap between the celtics and the undermanned Heat, and there appears to be another one in this conference semifinal series against the cavaliers, which the celtics lead, 1-0, following their 120-95 demolition at tD garden tuesday night.
So the results are not surprising, but the fact that the celtics have cruised despite Jayson tatum’s lack of scoring is unusual.
tatum has not reached the 30-point mark in any of the six playoff games. He is averaging 21.2 points while shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 25 percent from the 3-point line, both career postseason lows. on tuesday, he was 7 for 19 from the field and 0 for 5 from beyond the arc.
but the celtics insist they are not at all concerned. they say the attention tatum draws from defenses is opening avenues elsewhere, and tatum continues to be a willing passer. He is averaging 5.3 assists and just 1.7 turnovers per contest. When he finds himself covered by one defender — a rarity — he looks to attack. but when he is swarmed by two or more, he makes the right play without hesitation.
“i think he’s becoming a playmaker,” point guard Jrue Holiday said. “He’s been a playmaker. not that he’s being a sacrificial lamb, but he’s making a lot of the right plays, he takes his chances where people are going to double-team him, and he’s going to take some of those shots. but i think he’s getting everybody open looks.”
When coach Joe Mazzulla was asked Wednesday about tatum’s shooting struggles, he quickly pointed out that the celtics are generating 1.6 points per possession when tatum serves as the screener, “which would be the best offense in the history of the world.”
“i think he’s doing a great job of taking what the defense gives him and finding any way to impact the game on both ends of the floor,” mazzulla added. “that’s what we need him to be, and he’s doing a really good job of it.”
mazzulla said he has been pleased with tatum’s shot selection and will continue to urge him to fire away. Also, the sample size is so small that one or two big offensive sprees could flip his lukewarm statistics in an instant.
it is clear that the lack of scoring punch is not affecting tatum’s effort. He has tallied 10 or more rebounds in five of the six playoff games, and he registered three blocked shots in game 1 against the cavaliers.
“it’s just the casual [fans] who think it’s all about the shots,” guard Payton Pritchard said. “but there’s so many different areas he can affect the game. if he only gets 18 points but we get a win by 25 points, he was very impactful.”
light workload
celtics center kristaps Porzingis, who remains out with the calf strain he suffered during the game 4 win over the Heat last week, was doing some very light shooting without much movement when the end of practice was opened to the media Wednesday.