Jayson Tatum, trainer Drew Hanlen plan to work on getting to the line more in 2021-22
Expect to see a lot more of Boston Celtics All-Star wing Jayson Tatum at the free throw line in the coming 2021-22 season. With it evident at this stage of his career that the St. Louis native is nearly unstoppable when he takes it to the cup, opponents often find themselves fouling Tatum in order to stop his seemingly endless arms from getting the biscuit into the basket.
Working with longtime trainer Drew Hanlen, the Duke product is focusing on attacking the basket this offseason with an eye to expanding Tatum’s comfort with perhaps his most lethal means of putting points on the board according to the Boston Herald’s Mark Murphy.
“The big thing for me is that he has to be able to initiate contact instead of letting the defender get to him first,” related Hanlen to the Herald.
In a June 28 appearance on Kicks’ “Beyond the Press” podcast, former teammate Jayson Tatum stuck up for Kyrie Irving in a discussion with host Ashley Nevel. https://t.co/s4lpZ9pdTv
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) July 2, 2021
"He has to be able to act before the defender gets to him, because if the defender gets to him, he can bump him off of his line," he added. "But if Jayson gets into the defender and starts veering, and they impede his balance or his angle, that dictates the foul."
"No. 1 is getting downhill. You’ve seen him grow during the season in that category, but getting downhill will be No. 1, and being able to finish when you do get downhill ... The second thing — last year he started to see different schemes and coverages thrown at him, so being able to prepare for some of those next-level things so he can become a playmaker when teams try to squeeze the ball out of his hands."
"The (primary) thing is just giving him things to do while he’s away on his own with USA Basketball, so he can prepare for next season as a Celtic," explained Hanlen. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1411380972872818688?s=20
"USA is going over there to win a gold medal and represent the U.S., but we don’t want to lose five, six weeks of our offseason training," offered Tatum's trainer. "Just so we can develop a little routine for him to work on things for next year, when he’s in a Celtics journey." https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1411388566039629825?s=20
Known to be something of a sponge when it comes to learning new skills, the Missourian forward will have some exceptionally talented teammates on Team USA to work with.
"One thing Jayson really enjoyed when he was with USA Basketball the last time was being able to compete against all the guys in practice," suggested Hanlen, "and play one-on-one against the guys to push himself, scrimmage with the guys, and being able to pick the brains of some of the best basketball players in the world."
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