Is more ‘Point Tatum’ a good thing for Celtics’ offense? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
“Point Tatum” is not a new phenomenon. The Boston Celtics have routinely asked All-Star forward Jayson Tatum to bring the ball up the court and initiate the offense. The departure of Marcus Smart will simply provide more opportunities during the 2023-24 season for Tatum to operate as the quarterback of the offense.
The question to be answered: Is more Point Tatum a good thing for the Celtics?
One of the greatest areas of growth from Tatum in recent seasons has been his ability to create for others. As we often see with star players, the game slows down, their court vision improves, and teammates generate better looks because of it. It’s not as jarring now for Tatum to come off a pick-and-roll and whip a LeBron-like cross-court path to an open shooter.
While there is a certainly a balance that needs to be struck in allowing players like Derrick White to initiate the offense and limiting just how much Tatum has to work on that end, the numbers do suggest that Tatum can thrive with increased ball-handling responsibility.
Last season, Tatum spent 416 minutes on the court with neither Smart, Malcolm Brogdon, nor Payton Pritchard on the floor. Boston posted a +16.3 net rating with a 123.3 offensive rating in that span, per PBP Stats.
Only 12 of those minutes were spent without White alongside, so it’s vital for Boston to have another ball-handler (and willing ball-mover) on the floor with Tatum. But it’s encouraging that Boston’s offensive numbers were as robust as they were without a so-called pure point guard in the mix.
A look at Boston’s advanced numbers based on floor time shared with Tatum last season (per PBP Stats):
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If Tatum is to spend more time initiating Boston’s offense, he does…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/more-point-tatum-good-thing-173211534.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2023-09-21 17:32:11
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