tfmiii wrote:fallguy wrote:BK_2020 wrote:Jokic, Embiid, Giannis, Curry, KD, AD, Luka clearly ahead of him. There's no way Tatum is in the convo for top 5. It's arguable SGA and Haliburton are ahead though they don't have Tatum's defense or the track record. Butler doesn't have Tatum's numbers but we know that he's in the same tier. I think Tatum belongs in the cluster of late top 10.
Meanwhile the Big Three Celtics had KG who was a top 3 player at worst, Pierce who was clearly top 10, and Ray Allen clearly top 15.
Also we are supposed to have won 70% of the games last year on talent alone despite Joe's bad coaching yet all the former Celtics are stinking it up.
Agree with most of your list. But would excise Haliburton and I expect AD will eventually fall off when he gets hurt. But your point stands. Tatum, however great he has been, isn't top-5 this season.
I think (?) most of the angst on the board with respect to Tatum speaks to a lack of confidence that he can elevate to be a top-5 player for three rounds of the playoffs (we won't need it in round one). Even with our talent advantage, we'll need Tatum to be That Guy™ for the final three rounds. It's fair to wonder if he will be, given that he hasn't done it yet. But it's also fair to believe this is his year given what we've seen from him so far.
My major concern with Tatum is that he's miscast as a "closer" - the guy who can initiate the offense and make the key shot or pass when it's absolutely needed.
I can see why he's been put in that role in the past given the team construction, but I think placing him in that role now is a disservice to him and the team.
He can make the last shot, he's proven that, but I've a problem with him being forced to initiate in those situations, like forcing a square peg in round hole. The end of quarter shots are an exaggerated microcosm of the issue. We shouldn't put him in a position he struggles in.
He's elite at everything else, and that's fine! Lots of all-time greats depended in part on PGs setting the table, it's a team sport after all.
Our recent past playoff struggles have been due to TOs and stagnant offense. Putting JT or alternating with JB at the point of initiative is a large part of the reason why. We have better alternatives now - let's use them.
I mostly agree with this. I think Tatum *can* initiate but please god not at the top of the arc while everyone stands around. Put him in the low post. Put him at the elbow. Get him in motion (not a thing we like to do).
