Jayson Tatum has been unusually quiet in the scoring department across the first two games of the NBA Finals.
Although he’s had two well-rounded games that have contributed to the Celtics’ two dominant wins, the forward is averaging just 17 points, to go with ten rebounds and 8.5 assists on 4-14 shooting from three and 12-38 shooting from the field.
Connecting shots from the field during the Finals seems to be somewhat of a weak point for the C’s star, since he has the worst career Finals shooting (35.4 percent) since the NBA / ABA merger.
The 26-year-old recognises that he needs to step up offensively and is drawing on Finals past experience to help him through.
“I think being in the Finals two years ago has helped me in this moment,” Tatum said at a press conference in Dallas on Tuesday.
“Like I said, I understand that I do need to be more efficient. I do need to shoot the ball better, I would not disagree with anybody on that. But I’m not letting it bother me. I’m still trying to find ways to impact the game and dominate the game in other areas.”
Dallas have done a good job of limiting Tatum on offense and have double teamed or even triple teamed him at points, so he’s had to pass the ball to one of his teammates to score instead.
But to win the series, the Celtics will need some more points from Tatum soon and he is confident they will come.
“I understand that it could take one game,” Tatum said. “One game, I could explode. All the percentages and things like that could change. So it’s just that mindset of, I’m one game away or whatever that means. Like I said the other day, I know what it’s like to be in this position and lose. This time around, trying to do any and everything possible to have a different outcome.
“So, yes, I know I need to shoot the ball better. And I plan on it. Not letting that affect everything else that I need to do on the court to help us win.”
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