BOSTON — Jayson Tatum and his trainer Drew Hanlen began tweaking his jump shot weeks ago in preparation for a better three-point shooting season following a slump that persisted through the NBA Playoffs and then into the Olympics. Tatum didn’t make a jump shot outside the paint, missing all 10 threes he attempted during the tournament. He finished the playoffs 28.3% from deep after falling to 26.3% in the Finals.
“Watched a lot of film,” Tatum said. “Been working with my trainer Drew (Hanlen) a lot recently in the last few weeks. A few mechanical things, pick-up points, hand placement, getting lower, keeping my shoulders forward and things like that.”
Tatum acknowledged that he felt a problem with his form during the playoff run and didn’t have time due to a condensed schedule and needed recovery time to address it fully. He shot well during the regular season, posting his highest effective field goal percentage in seven seasons (55.2%) driven by his best three-point efficiency in three years (37.6%). That fell into a postseason where he believed he still managed to play well, but couldn’t shake his jump shooting slump.
“There are some things I could’ve fixed, but in the midst of the playoffs, trying to manage your rest, it’s a little tough and I’m still playing well, just wasn’t shooting the ball as well as I would’ve liked. It wasn’t the time or place to try to fix things.”
Media day also gave Tatum and Jaylen Brown the opportunity to address their Olympic snubs in full. Tatum, after teasing a reporter with a general question about his Olympic experience, asking for which part he wanted to know more about, admitting that sitting out two Olympic games was difficult. Brown brushed off being left off the team entirely, Derrick White adding there’s no elephant in the room between them, while Tatum sought advice from Mazzulla about how to handle his experience.
“You want (me) to address that I didn’t play in those two games?” Tatum said. “Motivation. I guess you could say that if you want to simplify it. In real time, it was tough. I talked to Joe a lot. Joe was probably the happiest person in the world that I didn’t win Finals MVP and I didn’t play in two of the games in the Olympics. That was odd, but if you know Joe, it makes sense. Did I need any extra motivation going into this season? No, I’m not gonna give anybody in particular credit that they’re motivating me going into this season. It was a unique circumstance, something that I haven’t experienced so far in my playing career, but I’m a believer that everything happens for a reason. I was coming off a championship, the highest of the highs, cover of 2K, new contract and that happened. Whatever the reason is, I haven’t figured it out yet, but I am a believer that everything does happen for a reason.”
