Sports

How Jayson Tatum Carved Up An Elite Orlando Defense In Round 1

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By
Ben Pfeifer
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Ben Pfeifer Sports Editor

Ben Pfeifer graduated from the University of Missouri with degrees in Psychology and Journalism. He has worked in basketball scouting covering the NBA and the draft for over a half-decade, working for various outlets. Now, he covers the NBA, the draft and high school basketball.

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Sports Editor

Published01 May 2025

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For some NBA fans, Jayson Tatum’s recent playoff performances leave them wanting more. Despite winning a title last season as the Boston Celtics’ primary engine, his relative inefficiency and tendency to sit in the background while teammates carried the scoring load led some to question his true greatness.

Those detractors would have felt emboldened after Boston’s Game 1 win over the Orlando Magic in the first round, when Tatum scored just 17 points on 22 shots. Tatum then missed Game 1 while nursing a wrist injury. His slump wouldn’t continue throughout the series, though. Over the final three games, he averaged 36 points (68.1 percent true shooting), 10.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.7 steals, fueled by an uptick in aggression. 

How Tatum Adapted Offensively

Once returning from injury, Tatum’s shifted approach immediately paid dividends, resulting in three straight games with at least 35 points, all on strong efficiency. Orlando’s defense, especially against Boston’s wide five-out alignments, will switch ball-screens and trust its defenders to guard in space.

While the Magic roll out plenty of excellent defensive players, very few of them have the athletic and physical tools to guard Tatum in isolation. The Magic want to limit 3-pointers — in the regular season, opponents attempted 38.5 percent of their shots from deep against Orlando, the lowest of any team — resulting in limited gap help on drives.

Against a Celtics team which takes a higher rate of threes than any other NBA club, Orlando sold out to take away threes. During their first-round series, the Celtics attempted 36.6 percent of their shots from deep, compared to a staggering 50.1 percent in the regular season. This approach largely benefited Tatum, who sized up inferior defenders without worry of helpers digging out his handle or rotating late in drives.

In the regular season, he logged 6.7 isolation possessions per game, creating 1.01 points per possession on those plays. He’s spiked his one-on-one frequency in the postseason, increasing his isolation volume (10.8 possessions per game) and efficiency (1.05 PPP). Even strong defenders like Wendell Carter Jr. and Anthony Black could not reliably slow Tatum when he had space to drive. 

It’s challenging to fluster Tatum at his best, and his composure with the ball shone through in Games 3-5 against Orlando. His time per touch jumped from 3.74 seconds in Game 1 to 4.96 seconds the following three games, reflective of his poise with the ball in those games.

During Game 1, when Tatum struggled, he attempted just four free throws, drawing shooting fouls on 4.3 percent of his shots. He dialed his aggression up once returning in Game 3, nearly quadrupling his shooting foul rate (16.7 percent) and making all of his 37 free throws across those three games.

Tatum converted 60 percent of his shots (3-of-5) at the basket in Game 1 against Orlando, compared to a scorching 85 percent (11-of-13) in his next three playoff games. In Game 1, his approach skewed more ive and he leaned on contested jumpers, resulting in an inefficient day at the office. 

Lineups with spacing big men (Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis) were most effective in facilitating Tatum’s driving threat. When Luke Kornet and Tatum shared the floor, Tatum has less space to drive, as Kornet’s defender clogged the paint without worrying about him burning Orlando from outside. When Kornet rode the pine throughout this series, Tatum’s rim frequency jumped significantly (8.1 percent -> 31.3 percent) and his overall efficiency increased slightly (60.2 percent true shooting -> 62.1 percent true shooting).

More drives to the hoop helped inflate Tatum’s playmaking, as well as his scoring. His assist rate ballooned from 16 percent in Game 1 to 29.3 percent across the next three games, culminating with a 10-assist, two-turnover performance in the Game 5 closeout victory. When Tatum collapsed Orlando’s defense on drives, he easily located teammates with interior es and kickouts for threes.

What This Means Going Forward For The Celtics

Elite players adapt throughout challenging circumstances and Tatum is no different. Regardless of Boston’s position as a higher seed in this series, we shouldn’t let his greatness go unnoticed. After struggling in Game 1, he carved up Orlando’s second-ranked defense, playing like the best version of himself.

The Celtics likely won’t face a defense as formidable as Orlando’s until the Eastern Conference Finals, at the very least (assuming they and Cleveland make it that far). If they’re truly on a collision course with the Oklahoma City Thunder, as it appears, they’ll need to overcome a historic defensive unit to repeat as NBA champions.

For that to happen, Boston will need the best version of Jayson Tatum in all phases of the game. Nothing less will suffice against the NBA’s other giants. The Celtics have a long way to go until they potentially face an opponent of their quality, but Tatum’s performance against an impervious Magic defense should bode well for their chances.