Jayson Tatum 2nd season expectations thread

[Curmudgeon]

I don't care where he shoots from, so long as it is a good shot within the context of the game. But he can't be a ball stopper. He has to play with his head up, unselfishly.

This team desperately needs less dribbling and more ball movement, and Tatum needs to be a big part of that.

[24istheLAW]

His instinct to be a volume shooter is good. The problem with his midrange shooting is both settling there rather than going hard to the cup and not being efficient at it.

Like I've said on here before. The great scorers give you efficient offense when it's available, and have the ability to reach into their bag of tricks and get you difficult, low-percentage offense when the defense forces it.

It's great that Tatum has shown the ability at a young age to reach into his bag of tricks and create a shot. But that's when Kawhi and Durant and those guys go mid-range iso - when the defense takes away everything else.

To become a real star scorer, Jayson needs to figure out the high-percentage offense aspect of the job.

[g5781]

Kevin Durant was the most efficient midrange shooter from 16-24 ft. last season, shooting 53.5% at 3.3 FGA/game. He's also near the top from 8-16 ft. at 52.5%. So to match the most efficient midrange shooter in the NBA, you only have to shoot 35.67% from 3, which is just a shade above league average.

There are certain situations within a game where you want your guy (who hopefully is KD-like in the midrange) to take a midrange shot. But generally, an average shooting guy from 3 can be just as efficient, if not more. Math wins.

Mid range killers are still valuable though. The way modern defenses are geared to push everything to that spot makes it a great weapon to have.

Esp. in tight games when whistles are less generous and the quality of looks tends to go down.

Tatum's problem is that he settles for the mid-range out of lack of complete comfort with deep range and lack of confidence for challenging the trees in the paint.

His comfort/preference for mid-range gets dangerous when combined with his instinct to be a volume scorer.

His instinct to be a volume shooter is good. The problem with his midrange shooting is both settling there rather than going hard to the cup and not being efficient at it.

Problem is he lacks elite explosiveness to just get to the cup when he wants. When you add in that he lacks strength he’s easily moved out of where he wants to go so he ends up settling for the jumper.

The explosiveness you can’t really change but strength is key for him to develop as he ages so he can hold up against stronger defenders.

[BillTheGOAT]

Thread was bumped, title is misleading.