Celtics HC defends Jayson Tatum amidst shooting slump

Jayson Tatum hasn't scored at an elite level during his first six games of the playoffs. On Tuesday, the Boston Celtics star shot 7-of-19 from the field and 0-of-5 from deep en route to an 18-point performance. However, Tatum has made up for his scoring struggles by playing a complete all-around game.

Nevertheless, that hasn't stopped Boston's star player from coming under fire from the media and some fan base members. When speaking to The Athletic's Jared Weiss, head coach Joe Mazzulla defended Tatum's level of play. 

“I don’t think he’s being forced to do anything. I mean, he was 1.6 (points per possession) as a screener in our offense yesterday, which would be the best offense in the history of the world,” Mazzulla said. “And he had 11 potential assists and he had 18 points and three blocks. I think he’s doing a great job of taking what the defense gives him and finding any way to impact the game on both ends of the floor. That’s what we need him to be and he’s doing a really good job of it.”

Tatum's game has evolved. Yes, he's still one of the most gifted scorers in the NBA, but he's also become an elite playmaking forward, screener and high-level help defender. 

He is surrounded by All-Star-level talent. As such, he rarely needs to take his offensive game to a new level. Instead, he uses his scoring gravity to draw a crowd and open up opportunities for his teammates.

This year's postseason has been littered with the best young talent in the NBA taking a scoring leap. Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have both been lighting up the Western Conference. As such, Tatum's lack of scoring is being compared when, in reality, he's playing a different role at a different position on a much deeper team.

The Celtics are on track to steamroll their way into the Eastern Conference Finals. They're widely expected to emerge from the East and challenge for the NBA championship. Boston got this far with Tatum playing as a complete player rather than as a go-to scorer. 

It wouldn't make sense for the team or for Tatum to change things up now. Still, there should be no doubt that if required, Tatum could still get hot and score 40 or 50 on any given night. That's the type of scorer he is. He's shown it before. There's no reason to think he can't show it again.