What is Jayson Tatum's ceiling?

Some of you who post on the GB have seen me say it before, but I’m not sure there isn’t a more under appreciated young star than Tatum. His ceiling is just as high as Luka and I expect both to be perennial top 8 players for the next decade. Some pre bubble numbers

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Post #991 » by **Feed Your Head** » Tue Jan 5, 2021 3:39 am

Time to bump this thread.

After tonight he’s averaging 26/8/4/1/1, a 59% TS, and a +8 net rating, the only starter with a positive net somehow. Also by far his career high in assist to turnover, which I LOVE. His turnover rate is now just under 8, which is pretty crazy for his usage/defenses gameplanning their defenses around slowing him down.

playa-hater · Post #992 » by **playa-hater** » Tue Jan 5, 2021 4:09 am

ceiling?? How about multi-championships and Multi-MVPs I hope..

Ill News · Post #993 » by **Ill News** » Tue Jan 5, 2021 4:16 am

His ceiling is perennial MVP candidate, winning 1 or 2. Ainge just needs to surround him with the right players and he'll take it from there. I can't wait to see him when he's 26 and in his prime, he'll probably have an absolute killer mentality by then that makes him unbeatable in the clutch, much like Kobe or Pierce.

His absolute ceiling though? I'd guess top 25 player of all time, if things shake out right. The numbers he's put up at his age have only been achieved by top 10 players all time, so that seems about right.

GoGreen · Post #994 » by **GoGreen** » Tue Jan 5, 2021 7:10 am

Really like Jaysons play tonight. He had a couple ugly chucks, but he drove to the rim more! That's what I want to see. More aggression and facilitation, which he's also continuing to improve at. Love it love it.

zoyathedestroya · Post #995 » by **zoyathedestroya** » Tue Jan 5, 2021 12:32 pm

One of those rare super efficient shooting nights from JT where he was hot from three and got to the line repeatedly. Only the 4th game of his career where he scored 30+ on 20 or less shots. Also his third game not missing a free throw (min 10 FTAs).

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Gomes3PC · Post #996 » by **Gomes3PC** » Tue Jan 5, 2021 3:00 pm

EASILY his best game of the year offensively. Got to the rim repeatedly, and most importantly he took full advantage of getting in the bonus early in the 2nd quarter. He really needs to do that every night. 8+ FT/g are there for him if he wants it.

The one thing I will say, and Scal pointed this out, is that it is no surprise that he got to the rim more the moment we dropped the stupid double-big lineup and used Grant/Semi at the 4. Neither are ideal options there but neither is Theis, and at least those two are taking & making 3s this year. The added breathing room creates the bit of oxygen Tatum needs to succeed in the paint.

Post #997 » by **ParticleMan** » Tue Jan 5, 2021 3:24 pm

Gomes3PC wrote:EASILY his best game of the year offensively. Got to the rim repeatedly, and most importantly he took full advantage of getting in the bonus early in the 2nd quarter. He really needs to do that every night. 8+ FT/g are there for him if he wants it.

The one thing I will say, and Scal pointed this out, is that it is no surprise that he got to the rim more the moment we dropped the stupid double-big lineup and used Grant/Semi at the 4. Neither are ideal options there but neither is Theis, and at least those two are taking & making 3s this year. The added breathing room creates the bit of oxygen Tatum needs to succeed in the paint.

agreed about spacing with the 4-shooter lineup. but it also seemed like tatum made an effort to go straight at the rim more, and not try to just get close and flip up some weak shot. like when he just plowed into Len, might have been an offensive but he's a superstar he will get that call more often than not. he's got to be willing to take that contact and believe he'll get the call, so that was good to see.

zoyathedestroya · Post #998 » by **zoyathedestroya** » Tue Jan 5, 2021 3:30 pm

Yeah, team should impose something similar to a swear jar, where Tatum gets penalized every time he throws up one of his weak-ass flip shots or floaters that barely grazes the rim. Love it when he stops, fakes, lifts his defender, and fishes for the foul instead of throwing up a prayer on his drives. (Or when he kicks out if the defense collapses.)

ddb · Post #999 » by **ddb** » Tue Jan 5, 2021 3:44 pm

Jayson Tatum is already a Top10 player in the league at 22. That’s factoring in his moments where he still forces shots and tries to do too much. There’s another level he’s capable of getting to in the years to come and that’s a league MVP level. He’s already close, but as he develops further and matures he will start dominating pretty much every game and that’s when you win MVP awards.
Such a special player. And his demeanor is that of the greats. He knows it. But seems modest about it.

If Tatum stays in Boston long-term and wins championships he has the potential to go down as the 3rd greatest Celtic of all-time behind Russell & Bird. That's how good he is. And to take it a step further, if he wins 3 and plays longer than Bird did, and puts up better overall numbers, then he's right there with Bird too which is just crazy to think about.

Lets just pray that he stays healthy, stays in Boston, and that St. Louis never gets an NBA team again.

Gomes3PC · Post #1000 » by **Gomes3PC** » Tue Jan 5, 2021 4:29 pm

ParticleMan wrote:
Gomes3PC wrote:EASILY his best game of the year offensively. Got to the rim repeatedly, and most importantly he took full advantage of getting in the bonus early in the 2nd quarter. He really needs to do that every night. 8+ FT/g are there for him if he wants it.

The one thing I will say, and Scal pointed this out, is that it is no surprise that he got to the rim more the moment we dropped the stupid double-big lineup and used Grant/Semi at the 4. Neither are ideal options there but neither is Theis, and at least those two are taking & making 3s this year. The added breathing room creates the bit of oxygen Tatum needs to succeed in the paint.

agreed about spacing with the 4-shooter lineup. but it also seemed like tatum made an effort to go straight at the rim more, and not try to just get close and flip up some weak shot. like when he just plowed into Len, might have been an offensive but he's a superstar he will get that call more often than not. he's got to be willing to take that contact and believe he'll get the call, so that was good to see.

Totally agree he needs to just force the issue. Biggest thing is he needs to start leaning in on drives and creating contact vs falling away and trying to hit a high degree of difficulty shot.