Thoughts on LeBron starting over Tatum in the Olympics? Is it unfair veteran privilege?

[fuller4379]

Bron > Tatum

This isn't 2020.

You’re right, it’s 2024, and LeBron is still better.

How many playoff games did LeBron win this year? 1 token game against the Nuggets.

[thebigbird]

This isn't 2020.

You’re right, it’s 2024, and LeBron is still better.

How many playoff games did LeBron win this year? 1 token game against the Nuggets.

Oh the Celtics were better than the Lakers? Well that surely must be because of “Jayson Tatum” and have nothing to do with the guy who won FMVP or the two other Celtics actually contributing to Team USA.

Tatum stans are embarrassing themselves.

[tsherkin]

You’re right, it’s 2024, and LeBron is still better.

How many playoff games did LeBron win this year? 1 token game against the Nuggets.

Oh the Celtics were better than the Lakers? Well that surely must be because of “Jayson Tatum” and have nothing to do with the guy who won FMVP or the two other Celtics actually contributing to Team USA.

Tatum stans are embarrassing themselves.

Yeah, I mean, playoff wins are dictated by team quality, not merely quality of focal player.

Tatum is a very good player. Lebron is better, that's not a sin. Lebron is a guy who has been in the GOAT conversation for some time now, so it's not really a terrible thing for Tatum to start finding himself in such conversations. He doesn't have Lebron's on-ball value, they match one another roughly in rebounding and Lebron is considerably more consistent as a scorer due to his far lower reliance upon 3pt shooting. AND he surrendered 3% TS to Lebron last season even still, on similar enough volume. And continues to have mediocre to poor showings in the playoffs. Lebron went down to the Nuggets throwing up 28/7/9 on 63% TS on about +7% rTS compared to playoff average. Tatum was at 54.9% under 56.6% on the playoffs, and was at 50.5% in the Finals. He's got defensive consistency value well over Lebron at this stage, but there's still an obvious gap on offense.

And that shouldn't really be viewed as a bad thing by Tatum fans. Lebron is still REALLY good. He's a major outlier in league history in regard to his longevity and retention of impact. He's an insane athlete even now, and he's developed his skill profile over his LONG career.

It isn't about disrespecting Tatum; it's just that Lebron is THAT good. And now in the Olympics, he's crushing it again for various reasons. He's much more well-suited to that role than Tatum, so starting over him is obvious.

Tatum not playing at ALL against Serbia was a little wild, though.

[bigboi]

You’re right, it’s 2024, and LeBron is still better.

How many playoff games did LeBron win this year? 1 token game against the Nuggets.

Oh the Celtics were better than the Lakers? Well that surely must be because of “Jayson Tatum” and have nothing to do with the guy who won FMVP or the two other Celtics actually contributing to Team USA.

Tatum stans are embarrassing themselves.

Bron is not better than Tatum. Stop it, if both players switched teams. Lakers would be a perennial WCF team while Celtics would’ve lost to the bucks nd 6ers while hearing all types of excuses for Bron as per usual. Can you imagine Tatum with AD? Lmao. Jaylen Brown doesn’t work with Bron’s playstyle at all

[bigboi]

How many playoff games did LeBron win this year? 1 token game against the Nuggets.

Oh the Celtics were better than the Lakers? Well that surely must be because of “Jayson Tatum” and have nothing to do with the guy who won FMVP or the two other Celtics actually contributing to Team USA.

Tatum stans are embarrassing themselves.

Yeah, I mean, playoff wins are dictated by team quality, not merely quality of focal player.

Tatum is a very good player. Lebron is better, that's not a sin. Lebron is a guy who has been in the GOAT conversation for some time now, so it's not really a terrible thing for Tatum to start finding himself in such conversations. He doesn't have Lebron's on-ball value, they match one another roughly in rebounding and Lebron is considerably more consistent as a scorer due to his far lower reliance upon 3pt shooting. AND he surrendered 3% TS to Lebron last season even still, on similar enough volume. And continues to have mediocre to poor showings in the playoffs. Lebron went down to the Nuggets throwing up 28/7/9 on 63% TS on about +7% rTS compared to playoff average. Tatum was at 54.9% under 56.6% on the playoffs, and was at 50.5% in the Finals. He's got defensive consistency value well over Lebron at this stage, but there's still an obvious gap on offense.

And that shouldn't really be viewed as a bad thing by Tatum fans. Lebron is still REALLY good. He's a major outlier in league history in regard to his longevity and retention of impact. He's an insane athlete even now, and he's developed his skill profile over his LONG career.

It isn't about disrespecting Tatum; it's just that Lebron is THAT good. And now in the Olympics, he's crushing it again for various reasons. He's much more well-suited to that role than Tatum, so starting over him is obvious.

Tatum not playing at ALL against Serbia was a little wild, though.

No. Bron is not better

[thebigbird]

How many playoff games did LeBron win this year? 1 token game against the Nuggets.

Oh the Celtics were better than the Lakers? Well that surely must be because of “Jayson Tatum” and have nothing to do with the guy who won FMVP or the two other Celtics actually contributing to Team USA.

Tatum stans are embarrassing themselves.

Bron is not better than Tatum. Stop it, if both players switched teams. Lakers would be a perennial WCF team while Celtics would’ve lost to the bucks nd 6ers while hearing all types of excuses for Bron as per usual. Can you imagine Tatum with AD? Lmao. Jaylen Brown doesn’t work with Bron’s playstyle at all

This has absolutely no basis in reality.

[tsherkin]

No. Bron is not better

Yeah, he is. Tatum is a better defender, but Lebron is still visibly and evidently superior overall. And certainly on offense.

[bigboi]

Oh the Celtics were better than the Lakers? Well that surely must be because of “Jayson Tatum” and have nothing to do with the guy who won FMVP or the two other Celtics actually contributing to Team USA.

Tatum stans are embarrassing themselves.

Bron is not better than Tatum. Stop it, if both players switched teams. Lakers would be a perennial WCF team while Celtics would’ve lost to the bucks nd 6ers while hearing all types of excuses for Bron as per usual. Can you imagine Tatum with AD? Lmao. Jaylen Brown doesn’t work with Bron’s playstyle at all

This has absolutely no basis in reality.

Except it does. Tatum has played pretty much every position on the Celtics, was playing center/PF for us for a good chunk of the playoffs. Tell me how in tf you see Bron and JB working? Be fr. JB is an iso scorer that’s focused on midrange and drives. That’s the exact opposite type of player that works with Bron. Not to mention, Bron doesn’t even play defense anymore. Tatum with AD is instant boost an offense and the way that the offense plays completely changes. Tatum has been in ECF at minimum for last 3 years, where has Bron been? Oh, that’s right

[tsherkin]

Except it does. Tatum has played pretty much every position on the Celtics, was playing center/PF for us for a good chunk of the playoffs. Tell me how in tf you see Bron and JB working? Be fr. JB is an iso scorer that’s focused on midrange and drives. That’s the exact opposite type of player that works with Bron. Not to mention, Bron doesn’t even play defense anymore. Tatum with AD is instant boost an offense and the way that the offense plays completely changes. Tatum has been in ECF at minimum for last 3 years, where has Bron been? Oh, that’s right

Probably much the same way that he does with Tatum. Lebron worked pretty well with Kyrie, after all, and he shoots better than he did in Cleveland.

But again, making arguments based on team performance is a non-starter, because Boston is an extremely deep, well-coached team. The Lakers have Lebron and AD, but they have struggled with spacing, guard play, their bench, and they have been playing in the West, which is far from an easy conference.

Lebron can and does occupy many of the same scoring sets and spaces as does Tatum. He does post, and he runs the PnR about as often as does Lebron. Tatum also had the second-most isolation possessions per game in the entire league last year, whereas Lebron was at 20th.

So some of your narrative doesn't really add up.

And there is also the very large difference in scoring efficiency and consistency, as well as the notable difference in playmaking.

[thebigbird]

Bron is not better than Tatum. Stop it, if both players switched teams. Lakers would be a perennial WCF team while Celtics would’ve lost to the bucks nd 6ers while hearing all types of excuses for Bron as per usual. Can you imagine Tatum with AD? Lmao. Jaylen Brown doesn’t work with Bron’s playstyle at all

This has absolutely no basis in reality.

Except it does. Tatum has played pretty much every position on the Celtics, was playing center/PF for us for a good chunk of the playoffs. Tell me how in tf you see Bron and JB working? Be fr. JB is an iso scorer that’s focused on midrange and drives. That’s the exact opposite type of player that works with Bron. Not to mention, Bron doesn’t even play defense anymore. Tatum with AD is instant boost an offense and the way that the offense plays completely changes. Tatum has been in ECF at minimum for last 3 years, where has Bron been? Oh, that’s right

Tatum, a much worse offensive player than LeBron, would be an instant boost on offense? lol. LeBron is a better, more efficient scorer than Tatum and a much better playmaker.

LeBron and Brown would be just fine. and you really must never watch LeBron if you think giving him the best 3pt shooting team in the league would be a bad thing.

And once again you cite team results to argue that Tatum is better. No one cares that the Celtics are better than the lakers. It means nothing when comparing two individual players. There’s absolutely no reason to believe that the Celtics wouldn’t have also won the title last year if you swapped the two. LeBron was better individual and just as healthy.

[SeattleJazzFan]

This isn't 2020.

You’re right, it’s 2024, and LeBron is still better.

How many playoff games did LeBron win this year? 1 token game against the Nuggets.

it's cute that you think lebron is playing alone against nuggets. moronic if you think he should be expected beat them 1 against 12.

when you average 28, 7 and 9 with 2.5 steals on 64% TS - YOU don't lose to anybody. You played more than well enough to win. but another team can still certainly beat your team.

[JonFromVA]

LeBron's old. He can't play hard for 40+ minutes per game on both ends of the floor for 82 games and the playoffs, but his mind is sharp and he's got a lot of help, and the Olympic team just let's him do what he's good at. He's a human basketball computer and the perfect pickup player. There's a reason in every all-star or Olympic tourney not coached by Larry Brown the ball has found it's way in to his hands.

[ConSarnit]

Not sure if it’s been mentioned but Tatum is in a bad spot given Kerr is the coach. Kerr hates guys who hold the ball too long. Tatum holds the ball too long for the style Kerr wants team USA to play.

[KGtabake]

Not sure if it’s been mentioned but Tatum is in a bad spot given Kerr is the coach. Kerr hates guys who hold the ball too long. Tatum holds the ball too long for the style Kerr wants team USA to play.

The only reasonable take.

[SK21209]

This has absolutely no basis in reality.

Except it does. Tatum has played pretty much every position on the Celtics, was playing center/PF for us for a good chunk of the playoffs. Tell me how in tf you see Bron and JB working? Be fr. JB is an iso scorer that’s focused on midrange and drives. That’s the exact opposite type of player that works with Bron. Not to mention, Bron doesn’t even play defense anymore. Tatum with AD is instant boost an offense and the way that the offense plays completely changes. Tatum has been in ECF at minimum for last 3 years, where has Bron been? Oh, that’s right

Tatum, a much worse offensive player than LeBron, would be an instant boost on offense? lol. LeBron is a better, more efficient scorer than Tatum and a much better playmaker.

LeBron and Brown would be just fine. and you really must never watch LeBron if you think giving him the best 3pt shooting team in the league would be a bad thing.

And once again you cite team results to argue that Tatum is better. No one cares that the Celtics are better than the lakers. It means nothing when comparing two individual players. There’s absolutely no reason to believe that the Celtics wouldn’t have also won the title last year if you swapped the two. LeBron was better individual and just as healthy.

Put Tatum on the Lakers and we get bounced in the play in. Put LeBron on the Celtics they probably lose a few more regular season games but go 16-0 in the playoffs.

[Edrees]

No. Bron is not better

Yeah, he is. Tatum is a better defender, but Lebron is still visibly and evidently superior overall. And certainly on offense.

It's pretty close in the regular season I might even give the edge to Tatum but in the playoffs Bron is an entire tier above Tatum still.

[tsherkin]

It's pretty close in the regular season I might even give the edge to Tatum but in the playoffs Bron is an entire tier above Tatum still.

I don't think the offensive gap is all that small. Lebron is obviously the better playmaker and scorer, and most metrics do show a sizeable gap between them on O. And then yes, Tatum is not a great PS performer.

[Tracymcgoaty]

As we all know LeBron is starting over recent NBA champion Jayson Tatum. At this stage in their careers Tatum is likely better than LeBron. This comes shortly after we saw the nepotism that got Bronny drafted. Quite frankly, that nepotism made me completely sick to my stomach, and my thoughts are with the potential draftee that didn't get drafted because of Bronny.

Is this a display of veterans privilege? LeBron has the resume, but Tatum is better right now. How is this AT ALL fair?

Well Lebron is better than Tatum so there is that probably.

[Onus]

Not sure if it’s been mentioned but Tatum is in a bad spot given Kerr is the coach. Kerr hates guys who hold the ball too long. Tatum holds the ball too long for the style Kerr wants team USA to play.

Too bad Kerr can’t do the same thing with embiid who sticks out like a sore thumb on this team.

[1993Playoffs]

How in the F is Tatum not clearly better than a guy like thats starting his 22nd year and has like 11 finals of mileage under his belt.

WTF lol