Klomp wrote:I finally got around to watching some video on Tatum after my work shift tonight.
I will start out by saying he's considerably more athletic than I thought he was. I don't know why, but I thought he was an unathletic wing. While I wouldn't put him in an athletic category with Wiggins and LaVine, he's more than capable in that department. I was also impressed by his ability to create his own shot with his handle. We've seen Wiggins struggle in that area, so it's nice if we want an alternative option there. He's also clearly got an NBA ready body. It is strange how wrong his numbers seem by looking at him.
All that being said, I'm somewhat concerned with how much iso I saw. I don't know if that's Duke's system or just Tatum's style, but I was hoping to see more versatility. I think the heavy iso and mid-range game is good to have, but there needs to be more in his arsenal for me to be totally convinced. I also didn't really see much defensive/rebounding highlights, so I can't really say how that might translate.
So basically, my impression of him has improved, but probably not enough to make me pull the trigger with no questions asked.
Glad you've seen more of him and discovered a couple new things, like his handle, which is real good for a 6-8 / 6-9 forward and will allow him to create more for him and for others.
However, as I've said before, it is games that should be watched when you want to get to know a player. Highlights always focus on the same aspects and you miss on a lot of the nuances of the game, like how a player reacts in each situation, his awareness, his character and general disposition, his consistency, his effort levels throughout the 48 minutes (40, in this case), how he moves around the court, his off the ball work on offense and defense... Those are things that define a player's success as a pro and how he fits a certain team, but you can't watch them on 5 minute videos filled with 5 second sequences that try to summarize a few basic aspects with a just a handful of plays inside a full season. And of course, you have to consider the opposition. Since these are such short sequences many NBA fans don't get how bad the competition is most of the time compared to what they're going to face in just a few months. Keep in mind there are 350 teams in the D-I, and over 95% of those kids won't get to be professional players (nor they intend to), let alone make it to the NBA.
It goes without saying that not everyone has the interest and/or time to watch college basketball, but not having watched these kids leads to unrealistic expectations (see our 5th pick last year) and plenty of misjudgements, as we see daily on this and so many other boards. Everyone's reading the same scouting reports and watching the same Mike Schmitz videos (and he's the best when it comes to covering different and more specific aspects, but he's limited too in terms of length and amount of plays), then making their own assumptions based off whatever has stuck to them the most. And then we end up reading people hell-bent on their opinions, as misguided as they might be, like how Zach was similar to Russell Westbrook (just because someone saw athleticism and UCLA and threw it out there), how Murray could be a PG cause they had seen a video were he played the point with Canada at 17yo against weak competition, or how guys like Isaac or Tatum are often labeled as unathletic simply because people don't see them as explosive leapers or emphatic dunkers (when athleticism is just as much about other factors like north-south speed, first step, ability to move your feet on defense, second-jump reactions...).
Anyway, I digress, so to get back on topic, this is probably the year were the Wolves needs are more defined and they're drafting in a position where hopefully they won't have to think about too many options: this team needs a forward who projects to have the tools to help on defense and rebound the ball, stretch the floor beyond the 3 pt line and be fine without a leading role in an offense that already features three 20PPG scorers. There are 3 of those guys in this draft and one of them should fall to 7th pick if the Magic and Kings go with the script and select guards right before us (not the most predictable teams when drafting with Ranadivé and an out-of-the-box thinker like Hammond, but still...), so whoever it is that gets there should be our pick.
