Jayson Tatum has been underwhelming so far by his standards. He has had a few good games, but he has not been at his best and not helped the Boston Celtics compete favorably.
Tatum’s inconsistency shooting the ball has started to draw a reaction from head coach Ime Udoka and teammates. After a disappointing 91-89 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Udoka had this to say about Tatum’s struggles:
“A little frustration on missed shots, letting it affect him on the other end. Just got to play through that.”
Ime Udoka on Jayson Tatum's (8-22, 1-8) shooting struggles: "A little frustration on missed shots, letting it affect him on the other end. Just got to play through that."
— Mark Murphy (@Murf56) November 14, 2021
Marcus Smart has also called out Tatum and Brown, stating that they would need to pass the ball more. That inspired a response from Tatum in what turned out to be a messy situation as you never want to see teammates going at each other.
Amidst all the trust issues, Dennis Schroder has shown his support for Tatum. After the horrible loss to the Cavs where they blew a 19-point lead, Schroder had this to say about Tatum:
“End of the day, he’s doing everything right. He’s working. He’s doing everything, every day – going into the gym, being the first guy in, last guy out. You’re taking him all day, I’m taking him all day. I’d go to war with him. He’s going to figure it out.”
Schroder on Tatum: "End of the day, he's doing everything right. He's working. He's doing everything, every day – going into the gym, being the first guy in, last guy out. You're taking him all day, I'm taking him all day. I'd go to war with him. He's going to figure it out."
— Mark Murphy (@Murf56) November 14, 2021
The box score will show that Tatum finished the game with 21 points, four rebounds, and two assists. But he also had six turnovers, shot 8 of 22 from the field, and converted only one three-pointer on eight attempts.
There is no way the Boston Celtics will have a successful season if Tatum continues to play like this. The Celtics will have an opportunity to exact revenge on the Cavs in a rematch on Monday.
It has been a rough 2021-22 season for the Celtics, ranked 10th in the Eastern Conference standings. If they hope to make the playoffs, they will need to go on a winning run soon.
