As a distributor/playmaker, Jayson Tatum was incredible during the Boston Celtics' season opener (good!). But as a scorer, he was abysmal, and it might have been one of the worst performances of his career (very, very not good!).
In the loss to the Detroit Pistons, the Duke alum dished out 11 assists and turned the ball over just twice, but he scored 13 points on 6-for-23 (26.1%) shooting, including 0-for-7 from deep. He also shot just one free throw, and it was off an and-one within the first two minutes of the game.
Tatum has always been a do-it-all type of player. He can score. He can pass. He can defend. He can rebound. And he has incredible basketball IQ. He has long been a selfless player, always trying to get his teammates involved, and that's mostly been fine, but this is his team now. And for the Celtics to be a contending team this year, they're going to need a lot more assertiveness (maybe even full-on selfishness) from their star.
Jayson Tatum needs to do more as a scorer for the Celtics
To be clear, this point-forward role that Tatum has embraced can absolutely work. His playmaking and facilitation against Detroit were incredible. He did a great job of finding the open man, and he was making some great reads. He also made some really nice passes (even though some of them sailed out of bounds).
But the problem is that it looks like he's still in pass-first mode, and that's a balance he and the Celtics are going to need to find.
Boston doesn't have Jaylen Brown, who was a threat to score 25 points every single night, anymore. Without him, Tatum doesn't have a consistent backup plan to get points on every possession (I'm not Nostradamus, but something tells me Paul George isn't going to score 38 points every game), and it's up to him to be a little more selfish and aggressive and get those points himself.
He needs to do a better job of getting to the rim and getting to the free-throw line, especially if his long ball isn't falling.
After all, the Celtics' entire system is built around Tatum's strengths and gravity, but if he's not scoring as well as he should be, then it's going to be much easier for opposing teams to zero in on everyone else and mess up their game plan.
There is hope for Jayson Tatum as the No. 1 guy in Boston
Remember, it's just one game. Tatum has always been streaky, and maybe he's just finding his footing as the Celtics' clear-cut No. 1 option. Plus, he at least did some good looks; they just didn't fall.
The St. Louis native has a lot on his plate right now. He's expected to score, shoot, pass/facilitate, be Boston's offensive hub, rebound, and defend, all at a high level. Tatum is crucial to the Celtics' success, but he's going to need some time to figure out how to balance everything.
There's a ton of basketball left, and Tatum is too talented to have another game this bad again. He'll have his ups and downs, but he's the Celtics' lone star now, and once he figures it all out, he's going to take his game to a different level.
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