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i saw the paul george comparision recently for tatum and now i am wondering how i had not thought of it before

which one do you think was a more impactful player ?

I'd take Tatum over any Eastern Conference version of Paul George.

Statlanta wrote:I'd take Tatum over any Eastern Conference version of Paul George.

what about oklahona or clippers version?

They seem similar caliber, probably a small edge to George given their playoff performances.

falcolombardi wrote:

Statlanta wrote:I'd take Tatum over any Eastern Conference version of Paul George.

what about oklahona or clippers version?

I like OKC PG and i think that version was better than current Tatum.

I will go George probably because I think his defense was really outlier. One of the greatest defensive wing peaks ever and I think him being a better athlete thsn Tatum is helpful here.

I'm surprised this is as close as it is. I don't remotely see the argument for 2014 PG over Tatum.

LukaTheGOAT wrote:I will go George probably because I think his defense was really outlier. One of the greatest defensive wing peaks ever and I think him being a better athlete thsn Tatum is helpful here.

Yeah he would be the best defensive wing in the league today. And even the best perimeter defender as well.

Stan wrote:I'm surprised this is as close as it is. I don't remotely see the argument for 2014 PG over Tatum.

Significantly better postseason than Tatum (at least so far) and better defender?

It's a good question who's better on defense... When added to offense it's definitely Tatum.

Dr Positivity wrote:It's a good question who's better on defense... When added to offense it's definitely Tatum.

What does Tatum do on offensive end that makes him definitely better? He's not a better shooter, he might be slightly better finisher (it's arguable) and what else? I guess Tatum might have a slight edge as a creator, but it's one of his weaknesses actually and I find George to be more impressive off-ball player.

Dr Positivity wrote:It's a good question who's better on defense... When added to offense it's definitely Tatum.

I see it otherwise, in fact. I'd say peak Paul George is his 2019 OKC version (but of course there are arguments for other years, especially 2014, 2016), and he was a better offensive player than Tatum (albeit probably worse defensively at that point).

70sFan wrote:

Dr Positivity wrote:It's a good question who's better on defense... When added to offense it's definitely Tatum.

What does Tatum do on offensive end that makes him definitely better? He's not a better shooter, he might be slightly better finisher (it's arguable) and what else? I guess Tatum might have a slight edge as a creator, but it's one of his weaknesses actually and I find George to be more impressive off-ball player.

I'd say Tatum is a more skilled creator (both driving and on the perimeter) than 2014 George

Dr Positivity wrote:

70sFan wrote:

Dr Positivity wrote:It's a good question who's better on defense... When added to offense it's definitely Tatum.

What does Tatum do on offensive end that makes him definitely better? He's not a better shooter, he might be slightly better finisher (it's arguable) and what else? I guess Tatum might have a slight edge as a creator, but it's one of his weaknesses actually and I find George to be more impressive off-ball player.

I'd say Tatum is a more skilled creator (both driving and on the perimeter) than 2014 George

I'm not sure, I'm not that impressed by his creation ability. I find his defense underrated, but his offense overrated.

70sFan wrote:

Dr Positivity wrote:

70sFan wrote:What does Tatum do on offensive end that makes him definitely better? He's not a better shooter, he might be slightly better finisher (it's arguable) and what else? I guess Tatum might have a slight edge as a creator, but it's one of his weaknesses actually and I find George to be more impressive off-ball player.

I'd say Tatum is a more skilled creator (both driving and on the perimeter) than 2014 George

I'm not sure, I'm not that impressed by his creation ability. I find his defense underrated, but his offense overrated.

Where you would rank Tatum's offense vs Middleton? Would you entertain Middleton being better despite Tatum's higher PPG? I think Pacers George being Middleton level on offense (slight edge to Middleton to me)+elite D is not a bad comp.

Dr Positivity wrote:

70sFan wrote:

Dr Positivity wrote:
I'd say Tatum is a more skilled creator (both driving and on the perimeter) than 2014 George

I'm not sure, I'm not that impressed by his creation ability. I find his defense underrated, but his offense overrated.

Where you would rank Tatum's offense vs Middleton? Would you entertain Middleton being better despite Tatum's higher PPG? I think Pacers George being Middleton level on offense (slight edge to Middleton to me)+elite D is not a bad comp.

i think pacers george athletic ability to drive to the rim and get free throws or kicks out may be more valuable that middleton stronger shooting and perimeter scoring

Dr Positivity wrote:

70sFan wrote:

Dr Positivity wrote:
I'd say Tatum is a more skilled creator (both driving and on the perimeter) than 2014 George

I'm not sure, I'm not that impressed by his creation ability. I find his defense underrated, but his offense overrated.

Where you would rank Tatum's offense vs Middleton? Would you entertain Middleton being better despite Tatum's higher PPG? I think Pacers George being Middleton level on offense (slight edge to Middleton to me)+elite D is not a bad comp.

That's a good comparison actually. Middleton is actually better midrange shooter, although I don't think he's the same level of slasher.

Middleton vs Tatum is a lot closer on offense than some may believe. Tatum shots a lot more because of rosters structure, but I don't think he's far more capable of carrying heavier load. I have to give Tatum the edge because he's actually Celtics best offensive player, but I don't find them to be far apart.

Celtics team is very deep on both ends of the floor and I don't think people realize how much of their success is about team play and not Tatum being some kind of ATG player. Not saying that you view him that way, but some people called him MVP candidate, but is he better than Jimmy Butler?

falcolombardi wrote:

Dr Positivity wrote:

70sFan wrote:I'm not sure, I'm not that impressed by his creation ability. I find his defense underrated, but his offense overrated.

Where you would rank Tatum's offense vs Middleton? Would you entertain Middleton being better despite Tatum's higher PPG? I think Pacers George being Middleton level on offense (slight edge to Middleton to me)+elite D is not a bad comp.

i think pacers george athletic ability to drive to the rim and get free throws or kicks out may be more valuable that middleton stronger shooting and perimeter scoring

Despite having dunk contest athleticism I find George has always been perimeter orientated and finesse on offense, likely due to his average ballhandling. His athleticism shows out more in lateral movement and fluidity to me. He may be better driver than Middleton but Middleton does some things better on him than offense as well.

70sFan wrote:

Dr Positivity wrote:

70sFan wrote:I'm not sure, I'm not that impressed by his creation ability. I find his defense underrated, but his offense overrated.

Where you would rank Tatum's offense vs Middleton? Would you entertain Middleton being better despite Tatum's higher PPG? I think Pacers George being Middleton level on offense (slight edge to Middleton to me)+elite D is not a bad comp.

That's a good comparison actually. Middleton is actually better midrange shooter, although I don't think he's the same level of slasher.

Middleton vs Tatum is a lot closer on offense than some may believe. Tatum shots a lot more because of rosters structure, but I don't think he's far more capable of carrying heavier load. I have to give Tatum the edge because he's actually Celtics best offensive player, but I don't find them to be far apart.

Celtics team is very deep on both ends of the floor and I don't think people realize how much of their success is about team play and not Tatum being some kind of ATG player. Not saying that you view him that way, but some people called him MVP candidate, but is he better than Jimmy Butler?

I think Butler has a pretty good case to be better than Tatum and I'm personally a Butler guy, though I think Butler also has a strong case to be better than 2014 George unless they're playing beside a slasher who's better than him like D Wade or something

Dr Positivity wrote:

70sFan wrote:

Dr Positivity wrote:
Where you would rank Tatum's offense vs Middleton? Would you entertain Middleton being better despite Tatum's higher PPG? I think Pacers George being Middleton level on offense (slight edge to Middleton to me)+elite D is not a bad comp.

That's a good comparison actually. Middleton is actually better midrange shooter, although I don't think he's the same level of slasher.

Middleton vs Tatum is a lot closer on offense than some may believe. Tatum shots a lot more because of rosters structure, but I don't think he's far more capable of carrying heavier load. I have to give Tatum the edge because he's actually Celtics best offensive player, but I don't find them to be far apart.

Celtics team is very deep on both ends of the floor and I don't think people realize how much of their success is about team play and not Tatum being some kind of ATG player. Not saying that you view him that way, but some people called him MVP candidate, but is he better than Jimmy Butler?

I think Butler has a pretty good case to be better than Tatum and I'm personally a Butler guy, though I think Butler also has a strong case to be better than 2014 George unless they're playing beside a slasher who's better than him like D Wade or something

I'd take Butler over both, but I don't consider Butler an MVP level player. My point is that Tatum shouldn't be viewed as such.