Boston Celtics: Jayson Tatum’s 3 keys to success in 2019-20 NBA season
Take the game into his own hands
The player who should benefit the most from the departure of Kyrie Irving is Jayson Tatum.
Although Kemba Walker is a volume scorer himself, he won’t dominate the ball like Irving did. That will leave more opportunity for Tatum to be more of an offensive force.
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Clearly, he will have to take the game into his own hands and be that player he showed glimpses of being during his rookie season and at times during the 2018-19 NBA season.
As is the theme with both Jaylen Brown and Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum has to be more aggressive and attack the rim. With his 6-foot-8, 208-pound frame and long wing span, the third-year Boston Celtics forward should be basically unstoppable when he drives the lane.
Not only does he have elite ballhandling skills to be able to create his own shot off the dribble, he has shown an ability to be a streaky jump shooter. It is when those shots aren’t falling that Jayson Tatum has to make the offense happen in other ways. That involves taking it to the hoop and at least getting to the free throw line to get himself back in the flow of the game and offense.
There were too many times during the 2018-19 season where Tatum was nonexistent on the offensive side of the court. There was a lot of whining to the officials when calls weren’t being made. He can’t allow those types of things take him out of the game.
Being assertive and aggressive will make for a much more effective Jayson Tatum in 2019-20.