Context:

The Boston Celtics find themselves at a disadvantage against the New York Knicks, largely due to their inability to perform in the fourth quarter, with Jayson Tatum struggling significantly. Tatum's performance has been hindered by O.G. Anunoby's strong defense, as Tatum has only managed to score 2-of-13 in the critical moments of the series. The Celtics have also failed to capitalize on better ball movement, recording only eight assists compared to the Knicks' eleven in the latter parts of the games. Tatum's tendency to settle for pull-up jumpers, where his shooting percentage is low, further exacerbates the problem. To address these issues, the Celtics need to improve their strategic approach, focusing on better ball movement and leveraging matchup advantages more effectively in the final quarters of the games.

Dive Deeper:

• Jayson Tatum's poor shooting performance in the fourth quarter and overtime has been a major factor in the Celtics' struggles against the Knicks, with Tatum shooting just 2-of-13 in these critical moments.

• O.G. Anunoby's defense has effectively neutralized Tatum's isolation plays, holding him to 1-of-7 shooting when matched up directly, highlighting the need for Tatum to avoid one-on-one plays against strong defenders.

• Despite having opportunities to exploit mismatches, Tatum often settles for pull-up jumpers instead of attacking the basket, resulting in a low shooting percentage that has worsened against the Knicks.

• The Celtics' overall ball movement has been lacking, with only eight assists recorded in the fourth quarter and overtime, compared to the Knicks' eleven, indicating a need for more dynamic offensive strategies.

• Tatum's teammates have not been making necessary cuts or movements to create open shots, leading to stagnant offense and missed opportunities to break down the Knicks' defensive schemes.

• A strategic pivot is needed for the Celtics, focusing on increased ball movement and exploiting mismatches more effectively rather than relying solely on isolation plays from Tatum and Brown.

• Improving their fourth-quarter performance is crucial for the Celtics, as consistent ball movement can lead to cleaner three-point opportunities and mitigate the defensive pressure applied by the Knicks.

• It's no secret why the Celtics find themselves in an 0-2 hole against the Knicks. They've suffered epic collapses in both of those games, due largely to a complete inability to score late. Boston shot just 20 percent from the field in the fourth quarter of both games and averaged a measly 16.5 points in that final frame. 

• No Celtic has played particularly well, but Jayson Tatum has been the worst of the bunch. He's just 2-of-13 in the fourth quarter and overtime of those games. He's had some awful misses and turnovers, including one on the last play of Game 2. 

• Jayson Tatum is 2-of-13 in the fourth quarter + OT of this series. All of his shots:
  
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• — Steph Noh (@stephnoh.bsky.social) May 9, 2025 at 12:26 PM The Celtics aren't going to keep shooting 25 percent from 3 every game. As that normalizes, they will look better. But bad luck isn't the only culprit in these losses. There are things that they can do better at the end of these games. It starts with Tatum. 

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• How Celtics can fix Jayson Tatum's clutch issues

  Stop isolating against O.G. Anunoby

  Tatum is normally a pretty good isolation player. He ranked in the 78th percentile during the regular season. But O.G. Anunoby is one of the best defensive wings in the league. Tatum doesn't have an advantage on these types of plays. 

• Anunoby has held Tatum to 1-of-7 shooting when he is the primary defender in this series, per NBA Stats. The Knicks have been willingly switching Anunoby off with other weaker defenders on Tatum's pick-and-rolls, so he has way better opportunities than to settle for these one-on-one chances against their best on-ball defender. 

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• Don't settle for pull-ups against mismatches

  When Tatum has gotten Anunoby switched off him, he's had a significant size advantage over Jalen Brunson or speed advantage against the Knicks centers. 

• When he has tried to leverage that speed, he's blown by defenders like Mitchell Robinson. He threw down a thunderous dunk in that fashion for his only fourth quarter field goal in Game 2.  

• Instead of attacking Robinson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Brunson every time that way, Tatum has settled way too often for pull-up jumpers. Those aren't good shots for him — he hit only 35.2 percent of them during the regular season, including 32.9 percent on his 3's. 

• Those numbers have gotten even worse against the Knicks. He's down to 24.0 percent shooting from the field on his pull-ups in this series. 

• Tatum has had prolonged cold streaks like this before. He's had to tinker with his form in order to get out of them. Until he can figure out some sort of mechanical fix, he needs to scale back on those attempts. 

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• Get the ball moving

  Tatum has recorded only two assists during the end of these games. One of them came almost by accident, after a busted possession. 

• Payton Pritchard was open before Tatum lost the ball, as Mikal Bridges was forced to guard two Knicks on the perimeter. Tatum got to the right decision eventually, but he should have made that initial pass rather than getting blocked first. Those passes have been there when he's driven the ball.

• The problems don't just land on Tatum. The Knicks wings are stunting at him when he has the ball or closing off gaps with aggressive nail help. The easiest counter to that strategy is to cut behind the that help, opening up layup opportunities. His teammates haven't been making those cuts. Instead, they've stood still on the 3-point line, failing to pressure the defense.

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