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Let’s Enjoy Watching Jayson Tatum Throw a Tantrum After Losing to Houston
By Matt Schultz
Published:
Do not let Jayson Tatum’s counting stats fool you: He is not having a good year. In fact, he’s kind of playing like ass. He’s doing all the worst-case-scenario Tatum stuff. You can see it in his numbers:
He’s averaging 27 points, 6 rebounds, and almost 8 assists per game, which sounds good until you check his shooting percentages. He’s 22.9% from three on 7 attempts per game! He’s barely shooting over 40% from the field! He’s chucking over 20 shots per game and making just 8 of them! If you’re the Celtics, this is not what you want from your star player, and it looks like the sub-par play is starting to get to Tatum:
The Celtics lost to the Rockets 109-93 on Monday night. Tatum went 5-of-16 from the field (31.3%) and 1-of-7 from three (14.3%). He had 19 points, but 8 of them were free throws. He also turned the ball over 5 times. Woof.
It makes sense that Tatum is frustrated. It makes sense that he got so upset that he slapped a hand sanitizer dispenser (that Baylor Scheierman quickly ran over and picks up, good teammate, good to see that at least one person on the Celtics respects Houston’s hand sanitizer dispensers/property). It makes sense that he left his former teammate Marcus Smart hanging when Smart tried to dap him up:
Seeing all this unfold, I personally can’t help but wonder: Did Boston choose the wrong guy? Was Jaylen Brown the better player all along? Did Brad Stevens out-think himself by moving on from JB and surrounding Tatum with a bunch of elderly basketball players/minimum guys? Is Boston’s 5-2 record fake as hell? Is it bad that the bulk of their wins are against shit teams like the Bulls, Nets, and Magic? Is it a concerning sign that their star player is shooting about as well as the average guy at the Cherry Hill JCC? That he’s coming up on 30 and already had a devastating Achilles injury? That Tatum’s best days look like they may be in the rearview mirror?
Just some interesting stuff to think about. Gonna keep an eye on this.
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…) email: M.Schultz@sportradar.com