Jayson Tatum Has Added Another Infinity Stone To His Offensive Arsenal

Brian Sevald. Getty Images.

As we've witnessed Jayson Tatum continue to develop into a top 10 (and maybe even higher) player, there are certain areas of his game that have really taken a leap. One area of his offensive arsenal has stood out to me so far this season and it's pretty damn important to the success of this team offensively. In fact, I could argue that it's the one area of his game that will help get him into that upper echelon of the league.

He's figured out his post up offense in a big, big way.

You may be thinking why does this even matter? Well, as Tatum has added muscle and strength to his frame, it was time to take his offensive game to the block. Think of Tatum's offensive arsenal like infinity stones. 

1. Isolation offense

2. Finishing at the rim

3. Side step threes

4. Midrange

5. Post up game

6. Playmaking

Each year we've seen Tatum obtain one of those stones. This season for me, it's all about his post up numbers. Now that Tatum feels more confident in that area, the results are staggering. First, let's put it to the eye test. This is the shit I'm talking about

In only those three examples, anyone who has watched Tatum since he first joined this team can see the obvious development in his post game. Early in his career you know what Tatum does in all of these clips? He spins and takes the fallaway jumper. Well now that he's added muscle to his frame and has improved his footwork, you now see him consistently make that step through move. When he does that, nobody can guard it. You're so worried about him taking the jumper you bite every single time. It's the one tweak to his post game that has made all the difference. 

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Allow me to now dig even deeper.

In post up situations this season, Jayson Tatum ranks in the 92nd percentile. That's pretty good I suppose. He's shooting a ridiculous 68% from the floor, averages 1.31 points per post up possession, and scores around 73% of the time he does it. Now how often does Tatum even do this? So far this season his post up frequency is around 7.9%. Here's how that compares to his previous seasons

2019-20: 5.5% frequency / 0.87 ppp / 40% FG% / 44% score frequency / 36th percentile

2018-19: 8.1% frequency / 0.90 ppp / 40% FG% / 46% score frequency / 43rd percentile

2017-18: 4.1% frequency / 0.91 ppp / 43% FG% / 52% score frequency / 61st percentile

So as you can see, this is a level of production from Tatum we've never seen before at any point in his career which nearly his highest post up frequency ever. If you are someone like me who want to see Tatum draw more fouls, you should be all aboard this post up train. He's getting to the line nearly 27% of the time. Considering he's not getting to the line on drives and has the lowest FT rate of his career (.173), I would LOVE to see Brad put him in more post up situations. This is especially true while Kemba is working his way back and this team needs consistent offense. Outside of everything Jaylen Brown has been doing, there isn't really a better and more consistent option than putting Tatum in post up situations. 

The reason this version of Tatum is so successful is because of the matchup problem he causes. If you put a smaller player on him, he now has the size and the footwork to take them on the block and plow through them. If a team counters with more of a larger player, maybe a small ball four, well then Tatum can simply turn and face and use his quickness to his advantage. If you look around the league at the true superstars at Tatum's position, a post game has been important to every single one of them. Whether it's LeBron, or Kawhi or Durant, it's all a big part of their arsenal. 

Let's look at someone like Durant this season. He currently ranks in the 94th percentile, does it around 7.9% of his possessions and averages 1.33 ppp on 62% shooting with a score frequency of 66%. Uhhhhh…..that's Jayson Tatum. I'd say it's a pretty big deal that he's living in the same area code as Kevin Durant in anything when it comes to offense considering Durant is one of the best scorers in the history of the league. 

Considering the Celts offense can be erratic and not very consistent, it's all about finding what guys do well and then exploiting the shit out of it. Now that they are going to be without Marcus Smart for about 3 weeks, their playmaking is going to take a hit. Making the adjustment and going to more Tatum post ups might be just the thing that keeps this offense on track as well as gives one of their more important players a high percentage scoring opportunity.

Every year we've seen Tatum add something to his bag offensively, but I truly think his advancement as a post up player is going to unlock his ability to get to that truly elite level that this team needs him to reach if they want to be successful.