Jayson Tatum has gotten off to a strange start this season.
Through the first two games of the season for the Boston Celtics, the 22-year-old is averaging 34.5 minutes and has scored 50 points on 50 field goal attempts.
But for some reason, Tatum has no free throws made this season. In fact, he hasn’t even attempted one during the campaign.
Ahead of the Celtics matchup Sunday against the Indiana Pacers, head coach Brad Stevens was asked about the phenomenon and provided some context from his perspective.
“I think there’s two folds. Number one is you’re always looking to take what the defense gives you and (opponents are) very dialed in to him,” Stevens said in his pregame media availability.
“He’s done a good job attacking the rim. I thought against Brooklyn he finished better at the rim. He’s going to be such a focal point. I think that, you know, we’ve talked about trying to get a few easier baskets every day and anytime he can get to the line it’s a good thing for us because he makes them. But I think that his lack of getting to the line has a lot more to do with our spacing and our execution than it does his game. So we’ve talked a little about how we can be better.”
Last season, Tatum averaged a career-high 3.8 free throws on 4.7 attempts. We’ll see if he gets back to that.
