What is Jayson Tatum's ceiling?

[Feed Your Head]

Oh baby, zoya will love this.

Since Jan. 23, Tatum ranks in the top 20 in assist points generated. Only Nikola Jokic, Pascal Siakam, and DeMar DeRozan had more assist points among non-point guards in that span.

And people called him soft lol.

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[zoyathedestroya]

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[Feed Your Head]

These numbers have been pretty consistent all year, but you want to see what a superstar buying in looks like? The top picture is last year, the bottom is this. That is a massive difference, especially because this current style of play wasn’t anything Tatum was comfortable/familar with.

[zoyathedestroya]

These numbers have been pretty consistent all year, but you want to see what a superstar buying in looks like? The top picture is last year, the bottom is this. That is a massive difference, especially because this current style of play wasn’t anything Tatum was comfortable/familar with.

Catch-and-shoot frequency UP, pullups DOWN.
0-2 dribbles frequency UP, 7+ dribbles DOWN.

And if there's a stat tracking the number of times a player acts as a screener in a possession (not necessarily screen assist), I think that has increased this season for Tatum too.

Tatum making quicker decisions with the ball and willingness to be more of a threat or decoy offball are key elements to our offense flowing better. There are still games where both him and Jaylen revert to old habits but for about two months now, the above has increasingly been the norm. Less offensive load for JT, easier looks, and it empowers everyone else on the team to make plays instead of just standing around the perimeter and watching the Jays do their thing.

[zoyathedestroya]

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[Wolverine44]

How many players(if any) would the bloggers here trade Tatum for at this point? for me it's only one ,Luka.
I'm taking the players age and that of the Celtics current roster into consideration which is why I didn't choose an older player like Durant for example. Some would argue Durant could put you over the top but he's too much of an injury risk at this point, in my opinion.

[Feed Your Head]

How many players(if any) would the bloggers here trade Tatum for at this point? for me it's only one ,Luka.
I'm taking the players age and that of the Celtics current roster into consideration which is why I didn't choose an older player like Durant for example. Some would argue Durant could put you over the top but he's too much of an injury risk at this point, in my opinion.

Giannis, Jokic, and Luka. Though I love Tatum’s defense so much that Luka would be tougher.

[1st banana]

How many players(if any) would the bloggers here trade Tatum for at this point? for me it's only one ,Luka.
I'm taking the players age and that of the Celtics current roster into consideration which is why I didn't choose an older player like Durant for example. Some would argue Durant could put you over the top but he's too much of an injury risk at this point, in my opinion.

Giannis, Jokic, and Luka. Though I love Tatum’s defense so much that Luka would be tougher.

Idk about the Luka one he’s so harden like to me. The lack of defense and off-ball ability gives me hesitation.

[Shak_Celts]

so wait, what is luka better at tho? screw him! Tat all day and when it's said and done, history will show that luka was great but he was no tatum!! i would say luka can't defend me but i dont watch him enough to know. i just know if you think he's SLIGHTLY better offensively than tat, there is a chasm between their levels of defense, so that makes tat better EASILY!! he's not even much younger than tat.

[steefP2]

Ok so luka. The he doesn’t play defensive thing is sooooo 2019. While no Tatum, he’s fine now and can even be good on individual possessions but he carries such a load, they spare him from those assignments. Either way, he’s got enough size, smarts and good hands, he’s definitely a + there. He also is better at midrange scoring, beating switches and passing. And still a full year younger. Now don’t get me wrong, Tatum’s development in his all around game has for sure closed the gap but imo there’s still a small one.

But depending on the speed of curry, KD, Lebron decline and how kawhi comes back, I can easily see Tatum rounding out that top 5 of Jokic embiid Giannis luka (not in any order) Tatum for the foreseeable future. Behind him coming Ja, Trae and Mitchell. I think for sure Tatum and Luka are the 2 best guys under 25 right now.

Could see Tatum win an mvp in ideal circumstances but it’s gonna be a tricky scenario. Needs to play 80 games, put up prime kawhi like numbers with 60+ ts, be recognized for his defense and have the Celtics win 60 games.

[sam_I_am]

I think Luka is amazing but I do wonder when his career plateaus and declines. He doesn’t seem as fit as Tatum and the main reason I would never trade Tatum for Luka is I think Luka will age faster and decline sooner. Obviously that is a wildly hot take as nobody knows what the future holds, however looking at their fitness levels today I think Tatum is more likely to maintain his peak abilities for longer.

[Feed Your Head]

I think Luka is amazing but I do wonder when his career plateaus and declines. He doesn’t seem as fit as Tatum and the main reason I would never trade Tatum for Luka is I think Luka will age faster and decline sooner. Obviously that is a wildly hot take as nobody knows what the future holds, however looking at their fitness levels today I think Tatum is more likely to maintain his peak abilities for longer.

I’d have to think real hard about it. I couldn’t do it because I’m such a sucker for Tatum’s defensive upside, ontop of the scoring.

But the other side of what you’re saying, what if Luka gets into great shape? Imagine what he’d be able to do.

[Fencer reregistered]

Ok so luka. The he doesn’t play defensive thing is sooooo 2019. While no Tatum, he’s fine now and can even be good on individual possessions but he carries such a load, they spare him from those assignments. Either way, he’s got enough size, smarts and good hands, he’s definitely a + there. He also is better at midrange scoring, beating switches and passing. And still a full year younger. Now don’t get me wrong, Tatum’s development in his all around game has for sure closed the gap but imo there’s still a small one.

But depending on the speed of curry, KD, Lebron decline and how kawhi comes back, I can easily see Tatum rounding out that top 5 of Jokic embiid Giannis luka (not in any order) Tatum for the foreseeable future. Behind him coming Ja, Trae and Mitchell. I think for sure Tatum and Luka are the 2 best guys under 25 right now.

Could see Tatum win an mvp in ideal circumstances but it’s gonna be a tricky scenario. Needs to play 80 games, put up prime kawhi like numbers with 60+ ts, be recognized for his defense and have the Celtics win 60 games.

Some of the younger-yet players, like this year's top rookies or guys not yet in the league, could reach the top too.

[steefP2]

I think Luka is amazing but I do wonder when his career plateaus and declines. He doesn’t seem as fit as Tatum and the main reason I would never trade Tatum for Luka is I think Luka will age faster and decline sooner. Obviously that is a wildly hot take as nobody knows what the future holds, however looking at their fitness levels today I think Tatum is more likely to maintain his peak abilities for longer.

I’d have to think real hard about it. I couldn’t do it because I’m such a sucker for Tatum’s defensive upside, ontop of the scoring.

But the other side of what you’re saying, what if Luka gets into great shape? Imagine what he’d be able to do.

I’d do it. Come at me.

[Feed Your Head]

I think Luka is amazing but I do wonder when his career plateaus and declines. He doesn’t seem as fit as Tatum and the main reason I would never trade Tatum for Luka is I think Luka will age faster and decline sooner. Obviously that is a wildly hot take as nobody knows what the future holds, however looking at their fitness levels today I think Tatum is more likely to maintain his peak abilities for longer.

I’d have to think real hard about it. I couldn’t do it because I’m such a sucker for Tatum’s defensive upside, ontop of the scoring.

But the other side of what you’re saying, what if Luka gets into great shape? Imagine what he’d be able to do.

I’d do it. Come at me.

Typical soft euro.

85%+ of people would take your side, though. I’m just irrational, duh.

[sam_I_am]

I think Luka is amazing but I do wonder when his career plateaus and declines. He doesn’t seem as fit as Tatum and the main reason I would never trade Tatum for Luka is I think Luka will age faster and decline sooner. Obviously that is a wildly hot take as nobody knows what the future holds, however looking at their fitness levels today I think Tatum is more likely to maintain his peak abilities for longer.

I’d have to think real hard about it. I couldn’t do it because I’m such a sucker for Tatum’s defensive upside, ontop of the scoring.

But the other side of what you’re saying, what if Luka gets into great shape? Imagine what he’d be able to do.

He might suffer more wear and tear and end up with back trouble. Better to be in shape and stay in shape than go in and out of it. That said, Luka is a beast and unlike Tatum has never played alongside an elite player even close to him in talent. Imagine how good he’ll be when that happens.

[Shak_Celts]

Luka has an offensive load, forgive his not defending anyone real. Tatum has no load, so he should keep defending. Smh

I didn't mean what is he better at in terms of small things, I mean offense or defense as a whole. If you break it down then you'll need to do the same for Tatum because he's also better at things than luka.

Tatum is offensively comparable to luka. without the excuse of load (lmao at load, SMH), is he comparable to Tatum defensively? No. So IMO Tatum wins this debate. One whole year, Tatum probably calls him a young whipper snapper.

Edit: I need to watch more luka admittedly, but come on now, y'all act like he's lebron vs RW offensively, both very good, but one is LBJ!

[zoyathedestroya]

I'm a believer. The sample size is enough. MVP is in the cards. Gonna be tough with Jokic and Giannis still in their prime and guys like Doncic and Ja still emerging but I think he can be in the discussion every year if health permits and Cs have considerable success. The shift from mainly a scorer/good defender a couple of years ago into a complete player is in full swing. Next goal post is game-to-game consistency (Jokic and Giannis has this for a couple of years now). Usually the top top tier guys kill it not only in advanced stats (impact on winning, on/off) but also raw numbers and efficiency.

[zoyathedestroya]

Bigs have an advantage here so this is more anecdotal data than anything but looking at BBRef's Game Score for every game of Jokic, Giannis, and Tatum this season:

Tatum has 25 of his 61 games under a game score of 15.
Giannis has only 6 such games out of 53.
Jokic has only 2 such games out of 56.

Barely any nights off for Freak and Joker.