NBA: Draymond Green praises Jayson Tatum's Finals performance despite shooting slump
FollowThe former NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Draymond Green, praised the young Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum despite his poor scoring.
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Jayson Tatum has struggled to score in the NBA 2022 Finals so far. While the star has jointly led his team in scoring with 22.3 points per game, he's doing so very inefficiently. Tatum is only making 34% of his field goals, and that's despite a staggering 45% shooting from three. The wing has struggled with his two-point shot, whether it may be driving to the room or a mid-range jump shot. Tatum is only shooting 29% from two-point shots. For context, his team-mate Jaylen brown is shooting from two-point. Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green thinks that Tatum has still played well, largely thanks to his playmaking.
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"It's tough. You're experiencing something for the first time. I think he's [Tatum] handled it well. He's maybe not shot the ball as well as he'd like or everyone else would like, but overall, I think he's been playing well, and that's why it's a 2-2 series, coming back for Game 5. I think he's handling it all extremely well. He's taking what the defence gives him, and that's what great players do. But, I think he's doing a good job," voiced Green.
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Tatum has impacted the game with his playmaking. In Game 1, despite shooting 3/17 from the field, Tatum could impact the game positively because of his playmaking which led to him getting a final-debut record of 13 assists. While Jaylen Brown has been a more efficient scorer for the Celtics in this series, Head Coach Ime Udoka did not know that Brown was getting more favourable matchups (partly due to Tatum).
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Udoka articulated, "They [Cletics] are switching off-ball stuff, and we get some favourable matchups. But, they are not guarding him [Brown] like Jayson. I think they are guarding him more one-on-one. He's a high-level scorer that can take advantage of that. Putting Green on the perimeter a little bit takes Green out of his comfort zone, and he's one of their best help defenders. He's had some advantages, where they don't like switching off-ball."
