What exactly makes Tatum more talked about/ranked higher than Pascal Siakim?

[mademan]

Siakam isn't an outside shooter, comparing his offensive game to Tatum's is apples to oranges. Same with rpm and certain advanced stats. The same comps wouldn't put Marcus Smart over Westbrook and Walker. Plus you can't just dismiss their previous seasons if you want to dismiss their age gap. Leonard, George, etc... were all lottery picks with multiple years in college, how are they more raw than a decent he and done Tatum?

Thats disingenous. Smart may have 1 single metric as rating out as higher than those guys, thats not the same thing at all. Siakim crushes Tatum is almost every metric that measures basketball impact.

And ya, those guys were projects. Years in college dont change how raw they came into the league. Ask Bulls/Pacers/Spurs fans how much of a project those guys were their first 1/2 years in the league. It's a weird comparison to Tatum, who came in with legit skills. Those guys couldnt imagine being legit starting level contributors to a winning team like Tatum was

So you're going to punish the kid for having a nice shot coming out of school? And how does that effect Tatum's ability to develope defensively, passing, rebounding, finishing, etc...? Smart also has a better rpm while being a much better defender than the formers, it's not a big reach in comps, especially when you factor in age. It's just silly to label Tatum a near finished product at twenty and dismiss Siakams previously play to this season.

I didnt label Tatum anything. He can come in next season and look like a superstar, or he can have incremental improvements and just top off as a 'star'. What im saying is i dont know, and i think too many people think that improvement is linear and large improvement is to be expected. I just think people need to slow down with their projections. Like i wrote in an earlier post, in 6 months since the ECF of last year, most people had already went backwards of their projection on Tatum.

[And1+2]

To be fair, Siakam has been talked about far more in the last few months than Tatum, and rightfully so. He's by far the better player, and that not going to change anytime soon.

[Optms]

I think Tatum is vastly overrated but not sure why these two are being compared. Siakam is 24 going on 25. Case closed.

[LAL]

Siakam is ranked above Tatum for me. Tatum is only rated based on last years playoff run in which they lost to a team that wouldn’t have even made the playoffs in the West. His stats and play style do not align with the hype.

[MikeM]

Siakam is older but started playing basketball much later so no one knows his ceiling. All of a sudden he's shooting 37% on threes and last night he showed some yo-yo handles that people were never expecting. It's like a game by game evolution instead of year by year right now.

[The_Hater]

Isn't Pascal factually the better player and better all around?

only thing I can think of is age and shot creating abilities (pascal is still more efficient)

Raptor fan here.

You answered your own question. Tatum is 4 years younger and that has a lot to do with it. That’s not a small number.

That said, Siakam has improved quite a bit since last year while Tatum has flatlined. Tatum is going to be very good though. Siakam, I don’t know what he’s going to be. He’s unique and any Raptor fan who tells you they saw this much improvement coming is lying.

[Prokorov]

Isn't Pascal factually the better player and better all around?

only thing I can think of is age and shot creating abilities (pascal is still more efficient)

Even if Tatum isnt better, he isnt far off. Statistically they score the exact same amount...pascal gets less then 1 more rebound per game and less then 1 more assist per game. basically:

Tatum 16/6/2
Pascal 16/7/3

Pascal 55/37/79 on 63 TS% and 19 PER
Tatum 46/38/86 on 57 TS% and 16 PER

Pascal is more efficient, but Tatum creates more of his own offense.

I dont think any of that is really different enough to offset that Tatum is 4-5 years younger with more growth and higher ceiling (i know i know siakim has only been playing ball for a few years, etc...)

[lars_rosenberg]

In the last few years Raptors fans have overrated a lot of their players like Valanciunas, Van Fleet, OG etc... So probably there was some skepticism around Siakam at least at the beginning and also he didn't show anything spectacular until this season. He was solid, but already 23 and nothing more than a good role in player.
This season he has improved dramatically and he is already a really goodnight player that is making a difference for the Raptors, so this time we can agree he was no overrated and he's really as good as advertised.
I'm a big fan of him, but as a 24 years old you expect less improvement than from a 20 years old player like Tatum so even if Siakam is better today he may not have the highest ceiling of the two.
The draft position and the fact that Tatum was really good (better than Siakam) in his rookie year make him a more touted prospect. Also playing in Boston gives him a lot of exposure.
So it's really not surprising that Tatum is considered more valuable than Siakam even if he is the inferior player. He's still very good for his age.

[Prokorov]

Tatum is 20 and Siakam is 24.

Siakam started playing basketball at 17.

Tatum's been playing since he was a little kid.

that doesnt change either guys birth certificate

[swyftdahoe]

Age and smoothness of his game.

That said, I'm riding with Spicy P. It's not unfathomable to me that he'll end up being a max player and who woulda thunk that just a year ago? I love his growth curve. Seems like he's a sponge, has cardio for days and has that knack that some players just have for always being around the ball.

[Prokorov]

They're at different stages in their developement, Siakam is 25 years old and not really a "prospect" at this point. You also can't just dismiss the postseason play of guys like Tatum and Mitchell as rookies.

Then why is Pascal improving more than Tatum is? Are you not ignoring the fact that Pascal has far less basketball experience than Tatum does?

"far less experience?

You state siakim has only played since he was 17.... thats 7 years with all 7 years basically as an adult,

7 years ago Tatum was 13 years old. is what tatum did with a basketball from ages 8-12 more meaningful then what tatum will do from ages 20-24?

i dont think siakim playing on 8 foot rims as a 10 year old would really change much.

Age is also more about physical prime then expeirence imo

[PierceFan4ever]

Lets compare Tatum in year 6 to Siakam right now to compare what their stats are at age 24...and also let’s wait after the postseason this year too.

[kamby12]

Most likely the age. My biggest question is do people still really think Tatum is better than Ingram and kuzma. That’s laughable me me. I was never THAT high on Tatum anyways as used to laugh at the “future superstar”comments but come on last 15-20 games Ingram and kuzma have been balling. No package Boston can give is better than the lakers whole young core

[Hipster Doofus]

Tatum played very well in last year's playoffs, which is the creme de la creme time of the NBA season.

I suspect Siakam will play very well in the biggest stage in this year's playoffs.

Siakam is a few years older, but he's also currently the better player.

[tdotrep2]

i wouldn't be surprised is siakam ends up a top 10 players... i know its crazy but if it happens i wouldn't be shocked. Not saying he will but again, you could see this kid develop anything he wants to.

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

He's not ranked higher, he might never be (going forward).

The only thing he has on him is a higher draft position 2 vs 27 and a couple years. Siakam will probably be an all-star next year.

[JoseRizal]

Upside based on age. 4 years in basketball life is like a decade in the corporate life...

[Harcore Fenton Mun]

Age only means something if you realize it.

Sam Bowie had 2 years on Jordan.

[Reeko]

That's a pretty silly statement to make. That's like me saying Siakam will never be a top 30 player in the league.

Can't predict the future like that.

Not at all. Pascal has the potential to be a top 30 player if he keeps working on his game he'll get there. It's not a knock on Tatum, some guys just have higher motors than others and it's not really something that can be developed you either have it or you don't. Not saying Tatum has a low motor, just saying Pascal has a very high motor and it's something he came into the NBA with.

Again, you're just totally dismissing an aspect that can be worked on and improved on.

I can say that Tatum will improve his energy when his conditioning is improved and will excel more when being more of a focal point.

I can understand how Pascal has a very high motor, but saying someone "can't" develop something while propping up your own player to say that he can develop into a top 5 two way big man is a bit of a oxymoron no?

Yeah you're right, he can improve. What I meant to say is that I don't believe that playing with Pascal's motor is something you can learn it's something you're born with.

[reload141]

Not at all. Pascal has the potential to be a top 30 player if he keeps working on his game he'll get there. It's not a knock on Tatum, some guys just have higher motors than others and it's not really something that can be developed you either have it or you don't. Not saying Tatum has a low motor, just saying Pascal has a very high motor and it's something he came into the NBA with.

Again, you're just totally dismissing an aspect that can be worked on and improved on.

I can say that Tatum will improve his energy when his conditioning is improved and will excel more when being more of a focal point.

I can understand how Pascal has a very high motor, but saying someone "can't" develop something while propping up your own player to say that he can develop into a top 5 two way big man is a bit of a oxymoron no?

Yeah you're right, he can improve. What I meant to say is that I don't believe that playing with Pascal's motor is something you can learn it's something you're born with.

We've met at a middle ground. Raps and C's fans getting along.