Jayson Tatum’s Duke career didn’t start out the way anyone expected it to. In mid-October, Tatum suffered a left foot sprain at one of Duke’s fall pro-days. He was originally expected to miss less than two weeks, but it ended being over a month, including the team’s first eight games of the season.
Return from Injury:
In his return against the University of Maine, Tatum definitely showed some rust. Early on, he had games with big numbers but struggled with inconsistency and poor shooting. Tatum finally started to show his real potential over the past month and it has been a large part of the Blue Devils beating North Carolina and Virginia during their rise in the rankings.
During a recent seven game stretch – Duke went 6-1 – Tatum averaged 17.9 PPG – 9.1 RPG – 2.7 APG while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 53 percent from three. In the 13 games prior, Tatum’s numbers were, 15.8 PPG – 6.4 RPG – 1.9 APG on 42 percent shooting and 29% from three.
The most impressive game we’ve seen from Jayson Tatum came against the Virginia Cavaliers on February 15th. Tatum finished with 28 points and 8 rebounds while shooting 8/13 from the floor and 6/7 from beyond the arc. After a slow first half for the Blue Devils, Tatum hit a three pointer less than two minutes into the second half. That put Duke up 28-27 and never lost the lead after that. Just about every time Virginia made a run, Tatum iced it with a momentum stopping shot.
Jayson Tatum has improved in literally every facet of the game since the beginning of the season. He’s turning into the player we all expected of him. Tatum is becoming someone who Duke can rely on late in games, to make a play and hit a big shot. His improved play has been even more important with the inconsistent play of Grayson Allen.
Potential:
The 6’8” forward is a matchup nightmare for a typical wing player. There are very few college players who have the size and quickness to defend Tatum on an isolation. Tatum’s midrange and three point shooting are good enough to keep the defense honest. His real strength is getting to the basket and finishing in traffic.
Tatum has learned to use his body for mismatches and its shown throughout the season. When he has a smaller defender, he can post up or shoot the mid range over him. When a bigger player is tasked with guarding Tatum, he will blow by him just about every time. Tatum’s quickness was something we rarely saw early in the season. The foot injury he suffered certainly was holding him back, but with him at full strength, he gives Duke another reliable weapon.
When Grayson Allen is shooting well, this Duke team will be nearly unstoppable. We already know Luke Kennard can knock down three’s without a problem, so the better Allen and Matt Jones play, the lane will be wide open for Tatum nearly every time.
Jayson Tatum resembles a young LeBron James, both are 6’8” and stronger than most of their opponents. LeBron is now much stronger of course, but that’s the path Tatum should follow. If the Jayson Tatum we’ve been watching recently continues to improve as a shooter, he’ll make an NBA team very happy someday. With just two regular season games remaining, Tatum and the Blue Devils will be put to the test against Florida State and North Carolina.
