Why ‘Inconsistent’ Jayson Tatum Continues To Struggle At Olympics

Jayson Tatum has tried to find his groove on Team USA. It sure hasn’t been easy for the Boston Celtics superstar.

He looked like he turned a corner in the final group-play game against Puerto Rico. He turned in his best performance since getting to Paris with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three assists and two steals.

But Tatum went back to being a non-factor in Team USA’s quarterfinal win over Brazil. Tatum tallied just five points on 1-for-5 shooting with three rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.

During the latest episode of NESN’s “Hold My Banner” podcast, hosts Travis Thomas and Ountae Campbell brought up Tatum’s rough Olympics and why he hasn’t looked like himself.

“How about our guy Jayson Tatum, who has been inconsistent at best. He continues to struggle,” Thomas said. “I thought against Puerto Rico, he had a double-double, he looked good, he looked comfortable. … Well now, I assumed against Brazil, Tatum would also eat while, you know, everybody else is eating in this game. Apparently not.”

Campbell had a theory for Tatum’s struggles.

“It’s as simple as this: He’s tired and he looks tired,” Campbell said. “It’s been a long journey.”

Tatum certainly has played a lot of basketball over the years with two of the past three NBA seasons going into the middle of June with the Celtics making runs to the NBA Finals.

Perhaps fatigue is factoring into how Tatum has played during the Olympics, but winning another goal medal, which Team USA is just two wins away from doing, would take some sting out of his individual showing.

You can catch all episodes of the “Hold My Banner” podcast on YouTube or Spotify.