Swishes with Sampson: Jayson Tatum is a Fast-Break God, Sticky Fingers in OKC, Joe Harris Got Game

by Brian Sampson in Swishes with Sampson

Welcome to the debut of Swishes with Sampson, where I’ll take a weekly look around the NBA and share five things I found, let’s say, interesting. Some of them may be good, and some may be bad. Some of them might be otherwise. I’ll let you decide.

Sometimes, the takeaway might be as simple as all of a certain player’s assists leading to threes for his team (hint, hint). Other times, I might be taking a deep dive into a play that caught my eye or trends in stats (this is NBA Math, by the way).

Overall, I hope to prove to you, contrary to popular belief, we numbers guys do watch basketball. Sometimes. On Fridays. When there’s a waxing crescent moon. I’ll also try to attack these articles with a sense of humor only a mother could love.

So, without further ado, let’s dive in.

1. Jayson Tatum is a Transition Opportunist

“Transition Tatum” is becoming a real thing in the Boston Celtics Twitterverse, thanks to his gaudy numbers in the open court. The nickname was further encouraged when he dropped eight points on the run, including two shots from downtown, against the Detroit Pistons Monday night.

So far this season, the former Duke Blue Devil is averaging 1.37 points per possession in transition, which is better than fastbreak phenoms such as LeBron James (1.28), Giannis Antetokounmpo (1.28) and James Harden (1.31). NBA Math’s deputy editor Dan Favale says it best:

Tatum boasts an uncommon combination of above-average athletic ability, a quick first-step and grown-man strength that matches his supreme scoring potential. All those skills play a big part into his early-season success in the open floor.

He blows right through the simple reaches that slow down other youngsters on their way to the rim:

The rookie does a great job of quickly pushing the ball, keeping the defense on its heels and ensuring opponents are backpedaling the length of the floor. The elementary dribble with his left hand as soon as he crosses half court may go unnoticed, but it sets the table for him to put his head down and drive hard with his strong right hand. He then quickly cradles the ball like a running back going through the line of scrimmage and lays it off the glass with the touch of an angel.

While these skills may be fine and dandy, they aren’t the biggest factor in his success. That award is attributed to his opportunistic nature.

Tatum has a great understanding and awareness of when to sprint down the floor and possesses an innate ability to know where the defense is and if he can beat foes to the hoop. Sometimes, he’ll even take off before his team has corralled the rebound:

Leaking out allows him to maintain his extremely high field-goal percentage on the break, which sits at an incredible 69.4 percent.

He’s already developed a wonderful rapport with his teammates, and they know when to look for the streaking forward. Without Gordon Hayward, maximizing the number of easy buckets the Celtics get will be a key element to their future success, especially when facing the powerhouses of the NBA.

Hopefully, we continue to see the amazing superpowers of “Transition Tatum.”

2. Ricky Rubio Drops 7 Dimes Against the Milwaukee Bucks…All for 3s

I’m sure it’s happened before, but I found it incredibly awesome that all seven of Ricky Rubio’s assists in a 121-108 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night went for threes. And for your enjoyment only, I’ve compiled all of them into one neat video:

This is a nice development for an offense that has scored like a roller coaster this season: 97 points one night, 74 the next, then 114 and finally 98. It’s been exhausting for Utah Jazz fans to watch, as they never know which team will show up.

The Jazz’s 103.4 offensive rating ranks 20th in the league, and they only average 101.5 points per game (25th). These numbers can improve greatly if Utah can continue to utilize Rubio to get its shot-makers open looks from downtown, since that is one of the primary strengths. So far this year, the team averages 30.6 three-point attempts per 100 possessions (11th in the league) and knocks down 38.0 percent of them (eighth). That percentage basically holds true when the Spaniard is setting up his teammates, as they are knocking down 37.7 percent of Rubio-assisted outside shots.

The most-likely result of a Rubio pass is a catch-and-shoot opportunity, and oh boy do the Jazz have some good spot-up shooters.

Rodney Hood, Donovan Mitchell and Joe Ingles combine to take 18.2 threes per game, with 11.7 of them coming in the catch-and-shoot variety. Combined, they knock down 43.6 percent of those shots, which is similar to the Golden State Warriors’ Big Three of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant (44.1).

When you add in other players such as Jonas Jerebko (54.5 percent), Thabo Sefolosha (38.5), Alec Burks (37.9) and Raul Neto (46.7), you can’t help but wonder why Rubio isn’t allowed to set his teammates up for success even more frequently.

By granting the seven-year veteran more leeway, they could see an uptick in three-point attempts. This will do nothing but wonders for a team that struggles to find players who can consistently create their own shots. Plus, how much fun would it be to let Rubio have free rein and whip no-look passes all over the court?

3. A Sticky Ball in Oklahoma City

Raise your hand if you thought a team with Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony would have such a difficult time sharing the ball. Yeah, hindsight really is 20/20, huh?

The rock isn’t moving much in Oklahoma City these days, as the team ranks last by a long shot in passes made per game (257.5).  That’s almost 100 fewer passes than the league-leading Philadelphia 76ers (352.4). Yuck.

Unsurprisingly, one of the main issues is their infatuation with isolation basketball. The Thunder run such plays on 13 percent of their possessions, which is more than any team in the league.

Even with their love of one-on-one, they don’t score as often as you’d think, averaging only 0.91 points per possession (12th in the NBA). Oftentimes, their trips down the court end with four players having a courtside view of Anthony, Westbrook or Paul George chucking up a highly contested shot:

After Westbrook catches the pass, Raymond Felton moves out of the way and joins his other teammates in this spectator sport. The former UCLA product takes a quick rhythm dribble with his left hand before hoisting up a tightly contested three with nine seconds left on the shot clock. Not exactly a coach’s dream.

As unbearable as this aspect of Westbrook’s game can be, Anthony’s reputation has taken it upon himself to be the iso-King of the NBA. He uses the clear-out on 26 percent of his possessions—third-most in the NBA and just slightly behind James Harden (26.9). To make matters worse, Melo only scores 0.83 points per possession, which ranks in the 36th percentile. Double yuck.

All this has led to an underwhelming start for the Thunder, who find themselves in 11th place in the Western Conference with an 8-12 record.

In order for them to turn it around, they must discover, much like an ice-cream cake, their whole is greater than the sum of their parts.

4. Joe Harris is for Real

I’m proud to announce Joe Harris is here to stay. And there’s nothing you can say or do about it!

Ever since averaging 2.5 points per game during his first two years with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Harris has worked his tail off and proved he belongs in the NBA. Although he’ll never be a go-to scorer, that doesn’t stop him from bringing an extremely valuable skill to the table: shooting.

The former Virginia Cavalier has turned himself into one of the better outside marksman, which isn’t news to those who watched him knock down 40.7 percent of his shots behind the arc in college.

After struggling a bit during his stint with Cleveland, he was traded to the Orlando Magic in January 2016, who then promptly released him. Fortunately, the Brooklyn Nets signed him to a multi-year deal for the veteran’s minimum the following summer, and he’s seen his career blossom this year.

The biggest change? Health.

So far in his career, he’s been bludgeoned by injuries, including missing 30 games last season. Knock on wood, but he’s been healthy so far, and we’re just beginning to see the kind of impact he can have on a game. Harris’ biggest strength is shooting off the catch, where he’s knocking down 40.5 percent of his opportunities. The Nets often like to run a double-stagger screen to get him these open catch-and-shoot looks:

Harris begins in the corner and quickly runs his man off two screens. As he catches the ball, he performs a nice little rhythm hop and gets his shoulders and feet squared up with the rim. His motion is constant, and he never stops until the ball goes through the hoop.

The way he runs the arc and uses it as a weapon to get his defender to overplay him before hitting him with a perfectly timed backdoor is reminiscent of a former Blue Devil named J.J. Redick.

If Harris can stay healthy this season and continue to produce like he has, he’ll earn himself some big-time money this summer. Despite the lack of available cap space, teams will always make space for a dead-eye like of this caliber.

5. TPA King from 11/20-11/26: James Harden

Last week was the first time all season James Harden enjoyed a full seven days with his partner in crime, Chris Paul, on the floor beside him.

And oh, what a week it was!

Houston only played two games from November 20-26, but that didn’t stop The Beard from becoming the weekly TPA King. His score of 147.16 barely edged out LeBron James (145.67), but it stood far and away from the rest of the pack.

With Paul back, look for Harden and the Houston Rockets to continue racking up the wins. This one-two punch has looked lethal during its short time together. Defenses are unsure how to play against both guards, especially with CP3 attacking the driving lanes:

Paul keeps his defender off-balance with a series of fakes before taking a dribble left and crossing over right. Because of the mismatch with Mason Plumlee, Will Barton is forced to help all the way at the elbow, and that allows Paul to kick it out to Harden, who drains the shot from College Station.

This is the type of the pick-your-poison play Rockets general manager Daryl Morey envisioned when he traded for the Point God in the summer.  Without the help, the defender is barbecue chicken and gives up a bunny around the rim. With the help, Harden is left all on his lonesome to bury the ball in nylon. The defense just can’t win.

Unfortunately for coaches around the league, this dynamic duo is just getting started.

Follow Brian on Twitter @BrianSampsonNBA.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from NBA Math, Basketball Reference or NBA.com and are current heading into games on November 29.

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