Tatum is getting to the line consistently, but his three-point shot isn’t falling at the rate it did to start the season.
Jayson Tatum and the Celtics beat the Hornets 113-103 on Saturday, pulling out their second win over Charlotte in as many nights to improve to 6-1.
Here are the takeaways: Jayson Tatum is getting to the free-throw line a lot but his 3s are gone.
Much was made during the preseason about Tatum’s new shooting form, which was supposed to fix his streaky 3-point shot. During preseason games, Tatum appeared comfortable and confident, and he came out firing against the Knicks in the opener. Some fans (and some people who write takeaways for Boston dot com) wondered what a consistent 3-point shot might do for Tatum’s season, particularly in the MVP chase.
Since then, Tatum has gone ice cold again. In his last four contests, he is a frigid 10-for-44 from 3-point range (22.7 percent), firing up triples at a high volume with very limited success. On Saturday, he went 1-for-9.
Tatum is still scoring a ton of points — 30.5 per game so far this year — largely thanks to his sky-high free-throw numbers. He finished with 29 points on 15 shots on Saturday largely thanks to a 14-for-17 performance at the free-throw line – his third game in a row in the teens (15 against the Pacers, 13 on Friday against the Hornets). He’s been aggressive getting to the rim, despite his high volume of 3-point attempts.
But once again, Celtics fans (within reason, given how good the Celtics have been) might lament what it would mean for Tatum’s MVP odds and the team overall if his 3-point shot was a little more consistent.Boos for Grant Williams.
The Celtics were less than pleased with their former forward Grant Williams after Friday’s fracas, when Williams plowed through Jayson Tatum with the game already decided down the stretch. Williams told reporters afterward that the play wasn’t intentional, but Jaylen Brown compared the moment to Ray Lewis coming across the field to tackle an opponent and said he thought Williams and Tatum were friends, tacking on an ominous “I guess not” to the end of his answer.
On Saturday, Williams was given a microphone to deliver a message about voting. In front of a Charlotte crowd that included a lot of green jerseys, Williams was resoundingly booed (although the boos turned to cheers after a few seconds).
