celtxman wrote:I am really in the middle on this. During the regular season I truly thought the last guy on the floor I wanted to shoot a clutch shot was Tatum. And that continued through the playoffs and Olympics. His shooting doesn't pass statistical analysis or the eye test.
But the Celtics have changed for the better. Even taking Porzingis out of the playoff equation you have Brown's ascension, White becoming more assertive and Holiday showing how clutch he can be. So many lamented that Tatum needed to round his game - to be a willing passer instead of pounding the ball, to rebound and play defense. He does all of those things better. I am not that guy who says he had a great game after going 7/23 but gets rebounds and assists. But I do think his efficiency has taken a hit as a result.
The name that sprung into my head in this is Dwayne Wade. His playoff stats before Lebron came in was from 3 was 40% on over 7 attempts and it went to the high to mid 20s when things changed with Lebron and Bosh. It's not an exact comparison to Tatum, but I do think his changed role needs work physically and mentally.
What statistical analysis says Tatum's shooting is bad? He shot .376 from three on high volume even though less than half of his threes are assisted and only 6% come from corners. His percentages on wide open and open threes were excellent and in keeping with his other seasons. If anything he showed a slight improvement after a dip in 21-22 and 22-23 seasons. He had a rough playoffs but you are talking 130 or so attempts, it's not going to tell you anything. Steph Curry just shot 36% from the three doesn't mean he's an ordinary shooter.
Also not seeing your assertion that Tatum used to "pound the ball" but started passing it this season. His assist % last four seasons (going backwards) are: 21, 20.9, 21.1, 20.3. He has gotten better at playmaking but lack of willingness was never his problem.
It's like you decided to take playoff 3p% over 138 attempts and headcanon a whole narrative around it.