Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka addressed Jayson Tatum’s offensive struggles in the Finals series vs the Golden State Warriors. Udoka admitted Tatum missed some easy shots when you think his usual effectiveness in that area.
“We do want him to be aggressive and find that balance, as he’s done all year. With Golden State specifically, they are trying to take him out at certain times of the game.
But it’s on him to read that and us to put him in positions where, understanding he’s going to be doubled and be the bait at times, get everybody else involved,” said Udoka
Tatum is shooting 37.3 percent from the floor through five Finals games. In the last game, he finished with 27 points in the defeat, but he was 1-of-5 from the field with only five points in the final quarter.
“I wouldn’t say his fourth is not as good or as bad as some of the other quarters. He’s had some stretches where he missed. Game 1 stands out, open shots throughout the game,” Udoka continued.
“From a scoring standpoint at times this whole series, not only fourth quarter, he’s missed some things that he usually makes.”
We want him to be aggressive and make the right read, which he’s done all year against all the coverages that he’s seen,” Udoka concluded.
The Celtics superstar has found other ways to make an impact in this series — he’s averaging a Finals-best 7.0 assists per game. But the Celtics need him to score more, as they struggled in the offensive end as a team.
Boston is only scoring 107.3 points per 100 possessions in five games vs Golden State. Their defensive play remains solid allowing just 110.0 points per 100 possessions in the last five games of the postseason.
In three losses vs the Warriors, Boston has only an offensive rating of 91.3 points per 100 possessions in the fourth quarter of the games. Tatum was a non-factor in those games shooting only 23.8 percent in the final quarter of the last five games.
“You playing in the half court, let them set their defense, they’re really, really good. I think obviously it starts with getting stops, then kicking the ball ahead when you do get a stop, playing in transition,” Tatum said.
“Even if you don’t score, just putting pressure on the defense, then bring it back out and set something up.”
The Celtics face a must-win challenge once again in these playoffs they went through the same situation against the Bucks and the Heat so they need to do that for two finals games in order to become champions.
Game 6 is on Thursday night at Chase Center.
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