“Jayson Tatum has made just 2 3-pointers in 17 clutch games”: Celtics star’s inconsistent season is underlined by a terrible efficiency stat after loss to Giannis’ Bucks on NBA Christmas

Jayson Tatum and Giannis were tales of contrast through the closing period of their Christmas Day clash. Where the former went cold, the latter grabbed the game by the scruff of its neck and took the dub home.

The Boston Celtics showed just why they’re a .500 team this year with some terrible late-game execution. They held a double-digit lead for large parts at Fiserv Forum, keeping the crowd out of the equation for long periods.

However, the Bucks came out with a vengeance in the 3rd quarter, erasing the deficit and building their own momentum. Despite this counter-punch, they found themselves 12 points down early in the 4th.

What happened then underlined just why the Milwaukee Bucks are the reigning NBA champions. Led by Jrue Holiday’s spectacular two-way play and Khris Middleton, they reduced the game to 2 possesions.

It then fell to Giannis, who put them on his back and led them home down the stretch.

The Celtics were up 13 with 5 minutes left in the 4Q. Then:

Giannis dunk
Giannis dunk
Giannis assist
Giannis two
Jaylen two
Giannis FTs
Giannis dunk
Giannis layup
Jaylen FTs
Matthews threes (Bucks take lead)

Giannis finishes with 36/12/5 and 2 blocks. pic.twitter.com/hMf9ERHL3s

— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 25, 2021

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Jayson Tatum stank it up again in clutch against the Milwaukee Bucks

If there’s one thing you might’ve noticed in the tweet above, it doesn’t reference any made bucket or free throw by one Jayson Tatum. And this has been a theme all season long for the 24-year-old.

Gone are the days when we could chalk up Tatum’s questionable shot selection in the clutch to being green. He’s now a 5th-year guy in the middle of a max extension.

There are bound to be harder questions surrounding his play – especially when the team looks to him for wins in signature games. This game was a chance for both him and for Jaylen Brown to seal a famous Christmas Day game.

Instead, what we saw was the duo taking ill-advised long mid-rangers early in the shot clock. The same thing transpired with 30 seconds left in the game when Jaylen got the brown. StatMuse did the needful for questioning NBA fans by providing some more context for Jayson’s clutch stats this season.

Jayson Tatum in the clutch this season:

35.3 FG%
2-16 3P
51 FGA (2nd in NBA)
4 AST
9 TOV

He was 0-2 with 2 turnovers in the last 5 minutes vs the Bucks today. pic.twitter.com/DU46KF2nY9

— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 25, 2021

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A cursory look at nba.com’s stats section tells us the same story. The Celtics are 6-11 in 17 clutch games this season, and Tatum has roughly the same field goal percentage as their win percentage.

He definitely needs to find better shots – especially in terms of forcing his way into the paint. Ime Udoka and Brad Stevens will doubtless be in his ear, but its a matter of listening to them at this point.