We have enough of a Tatum sample now

[VeryMuchWoke]

Still too early to give up on him, IMO. With that being said, he needs to give up on Drew Hanlen. That guy sucks. Dan Gercart had a great tweet about it.

Read on Twitter

Frankly, I think this is ****. When I heard Drew talk about what he worked on with Tatum is was getting comfortable taking a variety of shots from 3 point range, and his 3PAs are way up and he's setting them up with step backs, side steps, and all kinds of dribble moves. Besides if he said he focused on finishing through contact, that's good, because that's one of his weaknesses.

I think people don't like Hanlen because he's so much more visible than most trainers.

[31to6]

My mail carrier messed up slightly today. I’m DONE with them.

Then Tom Brady threw an interception. FINISHED with this garbage!

Then my kid dropped a fork at dinner. POSER TIMES UP!

[Tai]

Still too early to give up on him, IMO. With that being said, he needs to give up on Drew Hanlen. That guy sucks. Dan Gercart had a great tweet about it.

Read on Twitter

Frankly, I think this is ****. When I heard Drew talk about what he worked on with Tatum is was getting comfortable taking a variety of shots from 3 point range, and his 3PAs are way up and he's setting them up with step backs, side steps, and all kinds of dribble moves. Besides if he said he focused on finishing through contact, that's good, because that's one of his weaknesses.

I think people don't like Hanlen because he's so much more visible than most trainers.

I mean, it'd be nice for Tatum's work with said trainer to pay off on going to the hoop stronger, but to your point, people thought Tatum took too many bad shots last year, right?. Assuming Hanlen was referring to this past offseason, it seems that part of Tatum's game has improved and the work has paid off there.

Sounds simplistic, but I feel like Tatum could be looking like a real star if he just finished better at the hoop more. I'd love to know how much of the 2 for 13 games he had Friday night are a product of missing 4 or 5 layups cause he didn't finish strong.

[zoyathedestroya]

Still too early to give up on him, IMO. With that being said, he needs to give up on Drew Hanlen. That guy sucks. Dan Gercart had a great tweet about it.

Read on Twitter

Frankly, I think this is ****. When I heard Drew talk about what he worked on with Tatum is was getting comfortable taking a variety of shots from 3 point range, and his 3PAs are way up and he's setting them up with step backs, side steps, and all kinds of dribble moves. Besides if he said he focused on finishing through contact, that's good, because that's one of his weaknesses.

I think people don't like Hanlen because he's so much more visible than most trainers.

I mean, it'd be nice for Tatum's work with said trainer to pay off on going to the hoop stronger, but to your point, people thought Tatum took too many bad shots last year, right?. Assuming Hanlen was referring to this past offseason, it seems that part of Tatum's game has improved and the work has paid off there.

Sounds simplistic, but I feel like Tatum could be looking like a real star if he just finished better at the hoop more. I'd love to know how much of the 2 for 13 games he had Friday night are a product of missing 4 or 5 layups cause he didn't finish strong.

If he'd been making his shots from within 5 feet as accurate as he did last season, his TS% would go up from 53.4% to 56.3%. Current league average is 58.8%. He'd only add about a little more than a point per game to his scoring average. If my math is correct. For all our handwringing about his missed layups, what would really change the equation for him is if he makes/takes more 3s and/or get to the FT line more. All the current top 10 scorers get to the line more than him. Half take/make more threes than him.

But then none of those top 10 scorers have three other capable 20-pt scorers playing alongside them.

[OldCeltics]

Is this a joke thread?

Brown/Tatum are the only things that mater. Not Walker, Smart, Hayward. Brown/Tatum are the engine of this team.

[return2glory]

Tatum is 21 and putting up 21 and 7 and some of you are still not grateful for what he is doing?

He is still getting better. Tatum, Kemba and Brown have been playing close to NBA all star levels this season.

We have the 3rd best record in the league. Let’s be happy with that.

Tatum has been improving. But if you want to compare him to guys like Luka who come around once every 10 years or so, then you might be disappointed.

We don’t need Tatum or Brown to be superstars. We need them to be like all-stars and play along with one or two other all stars like Kemba and Hayward when he gets it going. Or eventually acquire a super star to play along with Tatum and Brown.

[celticfan42487]

I generally wait till a player's 4th year when they've shown potential like Tatum before I give into the probability being more likely he won't pan out how we like.

But I completely see and understand what the OP is saying. If Tatum is playing like this next year then I'll agree with him too.

He 100% could be right.

[GuyClinch]

I generally wait till a player's 4th year when they've shown potential like Tatum before I give into the probability being more likely he won't pan out how we like.

But I completely see and understand what the OP is saying. If Tatum is playing like this next year then I'll agree with him too.

He 100% could be right.

It does take some guts to continue to shoot even when its not going well. And on many teams a guy like Tatum needs to do this. But because this team is very good - has players with equal or superior talent - he should on occasion dial it back.

We shouldn't overreact because he has a terrible shooting night - its not like this doesn't happen ever to Kemba or Hayward. He just needs balance - I think Brown has achieved that balance. He is better at dialing back when its not going his way or cranking it up when it is.

Its possible Tatum will go Antione Walker on us and never develop that balance. But he might end up more like Pierce - and be an excellent team player.. I bet on the Pierce root. i don't feel he is a selfish guy at his core.

Now that being said CAN WE STOP GIVING straight +/- so much credit. For example Tatum had a good game Sat but a mediocre +/-. The main reason? Smart has sucked since he returned.. If Kemba was playing it would have been glowing..yesterday.

[fallguy]

This thread is silly and the original post is a joke.

[Homerclease]

Legendary thread. This one will be brought up in passing for years to come

[Feed Your Head]

Legendary thread. This one will be brought up in passing for years to come

Yeah but is Tatum a STUD?

[reload141]

Legendary thread. This one will be brought up in passing for years to come

Totally agree.

[bs_and_cs]

What a dumbass take. We have a 21 year old who is putting up 21/7/3 while playing elite level defense and people want to cut bait.

**** those idiots. There, I said it. **** those idiots.

Are there things to improve.....of course he's **** 21.

[return2glory]

Is this a joke thread?

Brown/Tatum are the only things that mater. Not Walker, Smart, Hayward. Brown/Tatum are the engine of this team.

I don’t know what to call this thread. I would say typical because it comes after a player has a bad game. And when a player has a really good game, they are superstars in the making according to most threads. Why can’t it just be a bad game and move on. Amen Tatum responded greatly vs the Bulls the very next game.

Also, Kemba matters and so does Hayward.

[celticfan42487]

I generally wait till a player's 4th year when they've shown potential like Tatum before I give into the probability being more likely he won't pan out how we like.

But I completely see and understand what the OP is saying. If Tatum is playing like this next year then I'll agree with him too.

He 100% could be right.

It does take some guts to continue to shoot even when its not going well. And on many teams a guy like Tatum needs to do this. But because this team is very good - has players with equal or superior talent - he should on occasion dial it back.

We shouldn't overreact because he has a terrible shooting night - its not like this doesn't happen ever to Kemba or Hayward. He just needs balance - I think Brown has achieved that balance. He is better at dialing back when its not going his way or cranking it up when it is.

Its possible Tatum will go Antione Walker on us and never develop that balance. But he might end up more like Pierce - and be an excellent team player.. I bet on the Pierce root. i don't feel he is a selfish guy at his core.

Now that being said CAN WE STOP GIVING straight +/- so much credit. For example Tatum had a good game Sat but a mediocre +/-. The main reason? Smart has sucked since he returned.. If Kemba was playing it would have been glowing..yesterday.

Yeah that seems to be the trajectory.

Today he's a solid traditional 3rd banana for a 2 MVP team. Like he'd thrive in the Bosh role for a Wade and LeBron team.

He doesn't seem to have any playmaking skill in him though, so to raise him to the next tier... I'm guessing he's going to have to find a way to become extremely efficient as a scorer. And that means finishing consistently at the rim and in the mid range. And maybe upping his 6.6 3PAs per game to at least 9 3PAs per game.

Traditionally studs make other players better on offense and play a PG like role for the team. Tatum hasn't shown anywhere near the ball control to do that, but he has show he can get his shot off so if he can just convert them at an elite rate he could be a star without that almost necessary skill.

Dropping something like 28 ppg on roughly 47/38/90 will let him get there without the PG like skills that he doesn't have.

He'll be missing the 8 aspg that guys like Trae Young, Luka (both younger than Tatum), LeBron and Harden do on top of that request, but unlike them he's a tremendous team defender (not great one on one) and that will be how he helps to make that up that lack of making his team mates better on offense gap.

[sam_I_am]

I generally wait till a player's 4th year when they've shown potential like Tatum before I give into the probability being more likely he won't pan out how we like.

But I completely see and understand what the OP is saying. If Tatum is playing like this next year then I'll agree with him too.

He 100% could be right.

Sorry but this is 100% wrong. Tatum has special ability. He is a splash brother separated at birth from Curry and Klay. He is 21 and far from perfect. But his 12-15 game yesterday is no surprise to me and could have been a lot better if he didn’t make youthful mistakes. This guy can drop 20 in a quarter....easily. Yesterday was just a teaser as to how good he will be 5 years from now when he is 10 lbs heavier, physically at his peak and has another 4 years of playoff experience. At 21, Tom Brady was in college. At 23 he was a 4th string quarterback drafted in 6th round. At 19 Tatum dunked over Lebron and was team’s highest scorer and series best player in a 4-1 beat down of Simmons and Embiid. This thread sucks and should be burned.

[celticfan42487]

I generally wait till a player's 4th year when they've shown potential like Tatum before I give into the probability being more likely he won't pan out how we like.

But I completely see and understand what the OP is saying. If Tatum is playing like this next year then I'll agree with him too.

He 100% could be right.

Sorry but this is 100% wrong. Tatum has special ability. He is a splash brother separated at birth from Curry and Klay. He is 21 and far from perfect. But his 12-15 game yesterday is no surprise to me and could have been a lot better if he didn’t make youthful mistakes. This guy can drop 20 in a quarter....easily. Yesterday was just a teaser as to how good he will be 5 years from now when he is 10 lbs heavier, physically at his peak and has another 4 years of playoff experience. At 21, Tom Brady was in college. At 23 he was a 4th string quarterback drafted in 6th round. At 19 Tatum dunked over Lebron and was team’s highest scorer and series best player in a 4-1 beat down of Simmons and Embiid. This thread sucks and should be burned.

That's great, 5 years from now he'll be 27 and no one on the current roster will be under contract. (he'll be 22 in a couple of months).

You can't make moves today on an UNCERTAIN future like that.

A Curry and Klay brother separated at birth doesn't average 37% 3 point shooting on 5.25 3PAs in the past two seasons. He's shooting almost exactly the same percentage 3 this year and last. (FYI league average in any given year is roughly 35- a little over 36%)

There is more evidence to suggest this is his norm than not. Progression and improvement is not guaranteed in player development and even regression is a solid possibility.

Going off and saying he's guaranteed to transform into one of the greatest shooters of all time in 5 years which is so far out the team can make zero moves off that unless it's guaranteed is not only hot take police central it's also an unusable take for GM of this franchise.

Hell we literally have no one signed that far into the future for a reason.

The only teams that could use that to their advantage are those with very young MVPs under long term team control. Like a DAL or a MIL.

Just for reference

Curry's previous 2 seasons: 10.75 3PAs per game on 43%
Klay's previous 2 seasons: 7.4 3PAs per game on 42.1%

Which is essentially the same as their career average 3 point shooting percentages.

[No-Man]

I think people don't understand how to look at Tatum, yes he was underrated pre-draft by some but some of the factors for doing so were legit, he has limited hops and his strength is never going to get there due to his built and the way his body functions, looks at how his shoulder limit his movement when he has to finish

He is what he is, really good player, team defender, can hit shot, tough ones too, can self-create some, but he is never going to be a good finisher or creator to be a franchise player, and that's okay

He is an ideal guy to have around as a compliment, the problem Boston got is that they do not have anybody, in house, or in the pipeline, nor the means to acquire through the draft or trade at the moment, a real franchise talent and without one of those even if you have 4 top30-40 players, it's a very uphill battle to be a true contender in the NBA

[ballup]

Kawhi and Duncan were stone faced players and Dirk wasn't exactly the heart and hustle guy either. Kobe was the epitome of bad shot selection.

The question is whether Tatum is a selfish player. Yes, he can be, but he isn't as detrimental as you make him to be. Of course he isn't a number 1 right now, but that doesn't mean he will never change. He has already shown the willingness to make changes. He has shown the capability of stepping up his game in the playoffs.

Even if Tatum doesn't seem like a "winning player" to you, this typing you seek can come short when it matters. Look at Lowry, the one all star who personifies winning intangibles. His playoff resume has been rattled with awfulness.

I'm not willing to seal a promising player's fate before his rookie contract is up.

[24istheLAW]

If he's not a winning player, why exactly are they SO very much better with him on the court? And why does he rank so high in the impact stats?

He's definitely struggling with his efficiency, everything else has been really freakin good. If anything he's been more of a winning player than a raw stats star. What a silly, reactionary thread.

Yeah, OP is really missing the point here. Tatum is a stud defender, and a big net positive outside of scoring. That's why he has #2-on-a-title-team upside.