Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is a star player; a five-time All-Star. However, in those high-pressure moments when stars are supposed to shine, Tatum’s brightness is blocked by some large celestial body, allowing teammates and opponents to eclipse him.
Ignore Brown being highlighted here pic.twitter.com/iB3s9vfJDi
— sfhoops (@_sfhoops) March 29, 2024
Jayson Tatum Responds to Clutch Concerns
On Thursday, Tatum again felt cold sweats with the game on the line. The Atlanta Hawks had just completed their largest comeback in franchise history when they came back to beat the Celtics on Monday, Mar. 25. The Hawks managed to keep it close throughout the game in their next matchup, leading to another closely contested fourth quarter.
With five and a half minutes remaining, the Celtics were up 102-101. A back-and-forth ensued, and Tatum threatened to break the Hawks with a stepback three that put them back up 108-106. 71 seconds, Hawks shooting specialist Bogdan Bogdanovic hit a stepback three of his own to tie the game, 112-112.
sehrthgrth pic.twitter.com/uEMYmSS1dV
— Ben Hustle (@BenHustle4) March 29, 2024
Tatum faltered, missing a driving layup while guarded by Hawks two-way signing Vit Krejci. He missed the tip. He finally made the putback with 1:59 remaining, but it was the last shot he would make in the quarter. Tatum then missed another gimme’ around the rim, this time attempting to bowl over Hawks hero Dejounte Murray. His last shot, the game-winning attempt, was an ill-advised three against a Hawks double-team.
In overtime, Tatum would convert his only field attempt, driving for an and-one against Murray. However, Murray outscored the Celtics 11-10 by himself, and Atlanta escaped with their second win over the best team in the NBA.
Describing his thought process as he took his errant game-winning attempt, Tatum says: “I was trying to get a clean look” (per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe).
“Hold it for the last shot, making sure they didn’t get the ball (back). You can always go back and see something that you could have probably done differently, especially when you lose.”
Addressing his play in the clutch as a whole as he went 3-6 in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime, he says “I know I missed a couple this year.”
However, while cognizant of his underwhelming performances in the final seconds, he doesn’t appear to have lost his confidence.
“…I [have to] be due for one,” Tatum says.
“I had a bunch of them in my career so far. It’s part of it, make-or-miss league. But I really do enjoy being in those situations.”
Tatum leads the Celtics with 83 points when there’s a five-point differential at the end of either half. However, he’s shooting just 36.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent in those situations. Only Payton Pritchard, Luke Kornet, Sam Hauser, and Jaden Springer —a combined 2-8 from the field —have lower field percentages.
In the last 10 seconds of the fourth quarter, Tatum is 2-9 from the field.
Numbers unbecoming of a player of his status, Tatum’s decision-making down the stretch has to improve. If not, neither he nor the Celtics will likely reach their full potential.
