Jayson Tatum and the always delicate question of “money-time”

While they led by 22 points (93-71) 9 minutes from the end, the Celtics have just lost the advantage on a tap from Dean Wade (104-105). Their streak of 11 consecutive victories is in great danger, but there are still 19.1 seconds left on the clock. Plenty of time for Boston to avoid the Cavs hold-up.

Faithful to his philosophy of empowering players, Joe Mazzulla does not call a timeout and lets Jayson Tatum recover the favorable duel against Darius Garland. Many dribbles later, the winger ends up unleashing a particularly complicated mid-range shot. And if he initially thinks he will get the fault, this will ultimately not be the case, after slow motion analysis. Result: a jump ball in the middle of the field, and not enough time on the clock (0.7 seconds) to call a time-out and snatch the victory.

Better manage the clock to leave yourself a mattress

“We have to play faster in these situations” admitted Joe Mazzulla. “I thought D-White gave us the duel we wanted. We just need to play a little faster. At -1, we try to get a few more possessions. We just have to set things up faster, go faster, and extend the match. »

Even if Boston dominates the regular season, this setback has upset the (admittedly demanding) fans of the Celtics, annoyed by the choices of Jayson Tatum when “money time” arrives.

As a good Kobe Bryant fan, the winger loves to score the important shot. The one who kills. Preferably at or near the buzzer. But in these situations, it's not really the best choice, as this ultimately canceled foul by Darius Garland illustrates. It is indeed better to leave yourself a mattress for a few seconds.

“Obviously I know how much time is left on the clock and I probably should have gone a little faster, in case some shit like that happens.” regretted the person concerned, whose clock management during these situations had already been questioned in recent seasons. “Then we could have had a little more time, or another chance. »

It is in any case an area of ​​work in view of the playoffs for Boston (48 victories – 13 defeats) and Jayson Tatum, whose attraction for fadeaways in the “clutch” was the subject of an unfavorable montage on Reddit.

Too much of a Kobe Bryant fan?

And in fact, when we look at the statistics in ultra money-time, that is to say the last two minutes, when the gap is five points or less, over the last three seasons, the figures are not very flattering for Jayson Tatum. If we use the TS%, which takes into account the value of the 3-pointer and the free throws obtained, he ranks among the least efficient players in each of the last three seasons.

This season, he has only converted 9 of his 26 shots in the last two minutes of close matches, or 34.6% success rate. It's a little worse than last year (35.6% at 16/45) but a little better than two years ago (33.3% at 14/42). But these percentages are among the lowest, among players who often have the last shots.

In his defense, however, we can note that he finds his teammates better in these situations this year (9 assists for 3 turnovers) compared to last year (5 passes for 10 turnovers). Nevertheless, his shooting efficiency at the end of knife matches clearly remains an area for improvement.

How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.