Something Great Could Come From Jayson Tatum's Shooting Slump

There was a point in November when it looked like Jayson Tatum had found his shot again. Three straight games shooting over 50 percent after starting off the year at just 38.6 percent through his first 14 games, we started to see the old Tatum again.

Apparently, he's not out of the woods yet, coming off another cold shooting night for a third straight game heading into the Wednesday matchup with the Sixers.

Tatum is too talented to keep this up, and Boston needs the career 45-percent shooter to find his rhythm again.

Small Sign of Growth?

Tatum's shooting this year has been a mystery, and brought on some controversy as well. The lack of consistency combined with his selfish play according to Marcus Smart, hasn't done anything to help the Celtics through some tough early-season stretches.

Smart, who called out Tatum and Jaylen Brown back on Nov. 1 saying "they don't want to pass the ball," wanted to see both the young stars learn.

Over Tatum's last three games, though, he's back to his old shooting issues, at a miserable 27 percent from the field, and 19 percent from 3 while averaging 15.7 points per game.

There may be a silver lining to this, though, and a sign of that growth Smart was asking for earlier in November.

Tatum started just 1-of-9 through the first three quarters Sunday against the Raptors, but five of his season-high 10 assists came in the fourth quarter, helping Boston to a much-needed win, even with his 2-for-16 shooting overall.

He'd averaged just 2.7 assists per game over the previous three.

Small Steps

Look, Boston needs Tatum to be everything for this team, and he's obviously shown it in the past. Defensive stopper, scorer, even a playmaker given that until this year his assists per game had gone up every season of his career.

Right now, though, he has to figure out how to lead this group with what's working under first-year head coach Ime Udoka, and if it's being more of a facilitator until his shot finds its way back, then so be it.

Every player goes through tough stretches in their careers, but it's the best ones who find their way out of it while growing in the process.

That right now is the goal for Tatum and the Celtics.