Tomase: Five lessons Tatum can learn from Butler originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
To be fair, when Jimmy Butler was 25, he wasn’t Jimmy Butler yet, either.
He was a maiden All-Star who had just averaged 20 points for the first time. His Bulls lost in the conference semifinals to LeBron James and the Cavaliers. No one finished that series raving about Playoff Jimmy.
So perhaps it’s unfair to expect Celtics star Jayson Tatum to play with the calm and experience of the grizzled 33-year-old, who didn’t really come into his own until joining the Heat three years ago in what became the perfect marriage of player and culture.
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Tatum may very well win a title this year based on talent – his own and that surrounding him – but he hasn’t yet figured out how to be the night-in, night-out force that Butler becomes in the postseason.
He could certainly benefit from watching his counterpart, though. Butler was everywhere during Wednesday’s 123-116 victory, and here are five teachable moments from his scintillating 35-point, 6-steal performance.
1. This is your team
Marcus Smart tends to play hero ball in the second half of big games, Wednesday’s included. Jaylen Brown periodically engages Shot Mode where his four teammates disappear and he takes on the entire defense by himself. Opponents will live with Derrick White and Al Horford bombing 3’s if it means keeping the ball away from Tatum.
This cannot happen. Tatum just scored a record 51 points in Game 7 vs. the Sixers. The Celtics will go as far as he takes them. And yet here were his shot totals by quarter on Wednesday: seven, six, four, zero.
Meanwhile, Butler took eight shots in the fourth. He only made three, but one was a dagger 3-pointer that benefited from a very friendly bounce.
All of those shots also meant he constantly had the ball, which stressed the defense and allowed him to be the primary decision-maker in Miami’s offense. Which brings us to the second point.
2. Think pass first
Watch Butler probe a defense as he angles into double teams in the midrange. He’s a constant threat to score, yes, but he’s always on the lookout for a cutting Bam Adebayo or a spotting up Caleb Martin, whose late 3 off a Butler feed effectively iced Game 1.
Because Butler’s teammates know he’s just as likely to hit one of them for an open shot as he is to create his own offense, they’re always engaged. He had seven assists in Game 1.
The same can only intermittently be said of Tatum and the Celtics. For all the leaps Tatum made as a playmaker last postseason – remember those 13 assists in Game 1 vs. the Warriors? – he has backslid noticeably, an under-the-radar development that helps explain the team’s inconsistency.
When Tatum puts his head down and draws multiple defenders, he tries to split them and get to the rim as often as he looks to kick. He recorded only one assist on Wednesday. He can’t be that one-dimensional, not when Butler is constantly searching for teammates on the other end.
3. Initiate the offense lower
Butler is a midrange monster, so it makes sense that he often receives the ball in dangerous positions on the baseline or at the elbows. Tatum, meanwhile, typically starts 30 feet from the hoop, wasting a lot of time and energy trying to find a driving lane from the suburbs.
On Wednesday, he was an efficient 9-for-17 from the field, but man did the Celtics make him work for it. The pick-and-rolls that sliced up the Sixers in Game 7 were only intermittently featured against the Heat, Tatum often picking his way through multiple defenders. Typical of his effort was a spin through a triple team into a jump step and hop for an and-one. Degree of difficulty: 10.0. Outside of a fastbreak dunk off an Al Horford steal, few of his baskets qualified as easy. It would be nice to see him get the ball somewhere other than the perimeter once in a while.
4. Pull up
Tatum’s turnovers generally fall into two categories: rushed passes late in the shot clock, and drives into traffic that end with the ball slapped away and Tatum flapping his arms for a foul.
The first are often a result of item No. 3 on this list, Tatum trying to create vs. blitzing defenders well beyond the 3-point arc. There’s a solution for the second and Butler knows it well – rather than trying to bull through defenders, elevate over them for 12-to-15 footers.
We know Tatum has this in his game. It feels like he spent an entire summer perfecting the Kobe Bryant one-legged fallaway, and he needn’t worry about Caleb Martin or Max Strus bothering those shots.
No one’s going to be as efficient in that area as Butler, who made seven of his 12 shots from the midrange, but Tatum could relieve some of the constant pressure to find a lane to the rim if he just takes what’s there.
5. Get to the line
This wasn’t an issue in Game 1, but it should remain a focus. Tatum kept the Celtics afloat by going 11-for-11 from the line. Butler, meanwhile, was his typical 9-for-10. The difference is subtle but meaningful: Butler is averaging 10 free throws a game in the playoffs, while Tatum checks in at a shade under seven. That’s a potential three points a night in a series that already looks like it’s going to be tight.
Tatum must remain aggressive offensively in order to draw defenders and either find teammates or get to the line. It’s what Jimmy would do, and Tatum would be wise to pay attention.