Back to earth with a thud?
Oz isn't wrong. All the talk was after two amazing games and then Tatum laid an egg last night. The main component of being a top 5-10 star in the league is to CONSISTENTLY be amazing. Not be amazing for two games then not good for a game then amazing for a game then meh to bad for three then rinse and repeat for the next 7 games.
Tatum has shot poorly all year. His scoring on most nights sure seems like stat padding on a bad team by scoring 26 points on a ton of night on 24-26 shots. He shoots a whole bunch of bad shots out of the rhythm of the offense every night. That simply is not top 5 NBA player material.
Is it? Steph Curry, James Harden and Paul George have all been wildly inconsistent in their shooting this season, yet I don't think many would argue that they are not top 10. Maybe PG13 isn't, but Harden and Curry are firmly in it.
Steph Curry in particular has been very much like that this season. He almost has as many games under 30% from the field as he does over 50% from the field, and yet none of this kind of criticism is directed his way. In fact, he's been in MVP talks all year. The wonders of competent coaching.