JTs shot is not a recent problem. its been a problem for the past 3 seasons (since 2021-2022). ever since he bulked up. i dont know how it screwed with his mechanics though. what i'd like to see is some self-awareness and adjustment from JT. i've been clamoring for him to use those big shoulders and arms more. Less 3pt jumpers, more drives and post-ups. Basically be a better playmaking giannis. I'm not saying he totally abandon the 3. Still have to space the floor and keep the defenses honest. JT has been taking about 8 3PA. i'd just like for him to shave that down to 4-5 3PA and convert those shots into 3-4 more drives. it is a concern and a concern i'd like to see fixed this offseason so we can repeat.
Agreed. First 5 years of his career he hovered around 40% on pull up jumpers and was typically in the high 30s or better from 3 on pull ups. Last year he shot 30% even on pull ups overall and 29% from 3. This year 33% on pull ups only because he was better from three due to two red hot stretches of the season. Remove those hot streaks and he was as bad if not worse than the year prior. The added muscle just restricts natural range of motion and flexibility which is obviously needed to have a quick and functional shooting motion/release. He is still the same from the ft line for the most part and in reg. season at least has been solid on open catch and shoot, but the pull ups which are often contested just don't fall anymore and used to be a strength of his from 3. Not sure he is athletically built to be a great downhill player though, so getting the pull up three ball back is still important to his overall game even if it would be good to see 1-2 less per game on average
@@josepha.1315 agreed on all points except about not being athletically built to go downhill. His built, broad shoulders, height and handles are fine for that. I mean look at yabu scoring on drive after drive. No ones going to claim Yabu is more built for going downhill than tatum is. IMO when it comes to driving more for JT, its about intent and endurance. Driving takes more energy and gets more contact. You have to have the endurance to do it night in and night out for 100 games. it expends more energy which could be allocated to defense and rebounding. So either JT builds up his stamina or plays slightly less mins. I'd go with the latter as i didnt like that he was averaging 36 mpg last season. 32 mpg this season after coming from the chip/olympics should be fine. That should open up more development time as well for tillman.
@@TheRobversion1 I said not athletically built to be great downhill, in that he just isn't hyper explosive or vertical to where he's unstoppable getting to and finishing at the rim. Also, considering he was much skinnier as a rookie and was more of a finesse player back then, I don't think his default is to go through contact or initiate it. Tatum isn't naturally a contact seeking player and has only recently started to try and go through people rather than euro step around everyone at the rim which is probably what he prefers. If he's going to take the most shots and be the number one scoring option again this year, someone with his athleticism level needs to be able to hit some shots off the dribble, even if it is just a few times a game or in late game situations where his jumper has been atrocious the last few years. And I agree with the driving being more difficult. He would 100% rather take a step back three where you don't get hit and it takes less energy. Also think another area where added muscle and weight has hurt is in not just slowing you down some, but also potentially draining endurance just carrying around another 20+ lbs all game
@CelticsChronicle I'm also not a fan of his inverted elbow/shooting from almost the center of your body. It just makes those tough leans and post shots so much harder when you have to bring it across your body some and not right into the shooting pocket. Is that caused by his muscle gain? We can speculate but im not sure Drew Hanlen has had a great impact on his mechanics. You're right Tatum is incredible because despite some poor mechanics, he's still top 10
I have over 100 clips of elite offense from the Celtics postseason run. Mazzulla's offense is well designed, and generates good shots across the board.
Its his shooting pocket. He's releasing the ball too high. In Feb and March he lowers the pocket and goes off
JTs shot is not a recent problem. its been a problem for the past 3 seasons (since 2021-2022). ever since he bulked up. i dont know how it screwed with his mechanics though. what i'd like to see is some self-awareness and adjustment from JT. i've been clamoring for him to use those big shoulders and arms more. Less 3pt jumpers, more drives and post-ups. Basically be a better playmaking giannis. I'm not saying he totally abandon the 3. Still have to space the floor and keep the defenses honest. JT has been taking about 8 3PA. i'd just like for him to shave that down to 4-5 3PA and convert those shots into 3-4 more drives.
it is a concern and a concern i'd like to see fixed this offseason so we can repeat.
Agreed. First 5 years of his career he hovered around 40% on pull up jumpers and was typically in the high 30s or better from 3 on pull ups. Last year he shot 30% even on pull ups overall and 29% from 3. This year 33% on pull ups only because he was better from three due to two red hot stretches of the season. Remove those hot streaks and he was as bad if not worse than the year prior. The added muscle just restricts natural range of motion and flexibility which is obviously needed to have a quick and functional shooting motion/release. He is still the same from the ft line for the most part and in reg. season at least has been solid on open catch and shoot, but the pull ups which are often contested just don't fall anymore and used to be a strength of his from 3. Not sure he is athletically built to be a great downhill player though, so getting the pull up three ball back is still important to his overall game even if it would be good to see 1-2 less per game on average
@@josepha.1315 agreed on all points except about not being athletically built to go downhill. His built, broad shoulders, height and handles are fine for that. I mean look at yabu scoring on drive after drive. No ones going to claim Yabu is more built for going downhill than tatum is.
IMO when it comes to driving more for JT, its about intent and endurance. Driving takes more energy and gets more contact. You have to have the endurance to do it night in and night out for 100 games. it expends more energy which could be allocated to defense and rebounding. So either JT builds up his stamina or plays slightly less mins. I'd go with the latter as i didnt like that he was averaging 36 mpg last season. 32 mpg this season after coming from the chip/olympics should be fine. That should open up more development time as well for tillman.
@@TheRobversion1 I said not athletically built to be great downhill, in that he just isn't hyper explosive or vertical to where he's unstoppable getting to and finishing at the rim. Also, considering he was much skinnier as a rookie and was more of a finesse player back then, I don't think his default is to go through contact or initiate it. Tatum isn't naturally a contact seeking player and has only recently started to try and go through people rather than euro step around everyone at the rim which is probably what he prefers. If he's going to take the most shots and be the number one scoring option again this year, someone with his athleticism level needs to be able to hit some shots off the dribble, even if it is just a few times a game or in late game situations where his jumper has been atrocious the last few years. And I agree with the driving being more difficult. He would 100% rather take a step back three where you don't get hit and it takes less energy. Also think another area where added muscle and weight has hurt is in not just slowing you down some, but also potentially draining endurance just carrying around another 20+ lbs all game
His gather is very awkward on pull ups. Theres too much going on with the lower body for a smooth/quick pull up. I think its all mechanics issues tbh.
It never used to be so clunky. Perhaps an overcorrection coupled with the added size…?
@CelticsChronicle I'm also not a fan of his inverted elbow/shooting from almost the center of your body. It just makes those tough leans and post shots so much harder when you have to bring it across your body some and not right into the shooting pocket. Is that caused by his muscle gain? We can speculate but im not sure Drew Hanlen has had a great impact on his mechanics. You're right Tatum is incredible because despite some poor mechanics, he's still top 10
JT isn't on same level as most of the players on the US Olympic team. He is a good player just not elite.
I think it’s because he lifts before game
Mazzulla's solution to everything is to shoot more threes. Celtics' offense in post-season was really bad. Defense was great.
I have over 100 clips of elite offense from the Celtics postseason run. Mazzulla's offense is well designed, and generates good shots across the board.