It’s a bet Atlanta Hawks head coach Quinn Snyder certainly wouldn’t make heading into Thursday night’s Game 6 against the Boston Celtics.
Snyder heavily doubts that Celtics star Jayson Tatum will have the same type of showing he had in Game 5 from beyond the arc again.
Tatum had an abysmal long-range shooting performance in the stunning 119-117 loss, knocking down just one of his 10 attempts. And Snyder understands that trend probably won’t continue as the Hawks look to keep their season alive.
“Well honestly, my guess is he won’t be 1-for-10 (from 3-point range) tonight,” Snyder told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston. “He’s too good a player.”
Tatum is shooting 34% from the deep in the series, but also struggled from 3-point range in Game 4 despite netting 31 points. He shot 4-for-13 on 3-point attempts in that contest.
Due to his struggles from beyond the arc, it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Tatum tries to attack the basket more often and get to the free-throw line, something he hasn’t done enough of at points in the series. Tatum took only two shots from the charity stripe in the Game 5 defeat as he finished with just 19 points on 8-of-21 shooting — he converted seven of the 11 shots he took inside the arc. Tatum also only made two trips to the foul line in Game 1 and didn’t make a single one in Game 2.
So while Snyder is predicting to see more shots from Tatum fall from long range, it would be wise to expect more free-throw attempts as well.
