The Dunk that stymied a budding star

[Ogaju]

Has one play ever determined the progress of a player as the Tatum dunk over LeBron in the ECF 2018? Since that dunk the budding rookie has reversed course and had a rather putrid 2019 season. He stared stardom in the face and shrunk from the moment.

You could see the moment he got that dunk that he lost himself for a moment and body bumped his hero who looked at him with a condescending 'what the ***** got into you' look of scorn. Tatum shied away from that look That was a moment for him, a crossroad if you will. Would the moment propel him to even loftier heights or would it overwhelm and sink him to depths unimagined? From the look of things so far looks like the kid needs a sports shrink to get over that momentous dunk.

[gouki88]

It really does my head in that you could be right. A single dunk could've wasted an entire year of his development, and I hate it!

[Ogaju]

It really does my head in that you could be right. A single dunk could've wasted an entire year of his development, and I hate it!

I dont know how to post a video, but go back and look at the body language after that dunk it is quite telling.

[mr. dee]

Last year's success really got into Tatum's own head. He needs to go back to square one and realize his weakness.

On the other side, Jaylen have stepped up in playoffs after his season slump. He have given roles and adjusted well ever since. That's a sign of maturity. Tatum not only needs to develop his game and body, but also his approach to the game and mindset.

[Ogaju]

Last year's success really got into Tatum's own head. He needs to go back to square one and realize his weakness.

On the other side, Jaylen have stepped up in playoffs after his season slump. He have given roles and adjusted well ever since. That's a sign of maturity. Tatum not only needs to develop his game and body, but also his approach to the game and mindset.

His mind needs work.....  He spends too much time questioning calls for a rookie/sophmore.... He needs to work on his body so that he can finish at the rim. He needs to get back on defense instead of questioning non calls when he is stuffed at the rim as he often is,

[CelticsElite]

BS


Training with  Kobe the overrated chucker did it

WHo knows the stupid crap kobe said to him

The kid needed someone to teach him how to pass and create. Not to hog the ball

[OnPoint]

I think it was probably more about the league figuring out that Tatum's weakness is dribbling, and that if you attack him he will cough up the ball. Tatum knows this well too, that's why he now settles for so many long field goals instead of taking the ball to the rack.


I'm as team Kyrie as they come, you build your team around Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving if you can.

[ozgod]

Last year's success really got into Tatum's own head. He needs to go back to square one and realize his weakness.

On the other side, Jaylen have stepped up in playoffs after his season slump. He have given roles and adjusted well ever since. That's a sign of maturity. Tatum not only needs to develop his game and body, but also his approach to the game and mindset.

I think part of it is Jaylen has had to face more adversity. He was dropped from the starting lineup after being the more "senior" of the 2 young guys while Tatum basically had a starter spot all season and had the 2nd highest usage on the team after Kyrie. I think that experience made Jaylen stronger mentally.

[keevsnick]

Has one play ever determined the progress of a player as the Tatum dunk over LeBron in the ECF 2018? Since that dunk the budding rookie has reversed course and had a rather putrid 2019 season. He stared stardom in the face and shrunk from the moment.

You could see the moment he got that dunk that he lost himself for a moment and body bumped his hero who looked at him with a condescending 'what the ***** got into you' look of scorn. Tatum shied away from that look That was a moment for him, a crossroad if you will. Would the moment propel him to even loftier heights or would it overwhelm and sink him to depths unimagined? From the look of things so far looks like the kid needs a sports shrink to get over that momentous dunk.

or far more likely... everybody in Boston massively overrated the importance of that dunk. I mean, Lebron has played like what 15 seasons in the NBA. A lot of people have dunked on him. He plays worse defense than ever. THE CELTICS LOST THE GAME. Everybody needs to realize, its one play. Its not symbolic of something. It doesn't mean Tatum is destined for greatness. It doesn't make him a future MVP. It doesn't mean he's a leader, or has a killer instinct. It means he scored two points once.

[Celtics4ever]

This is quite the stretch of psycho-analysis.

[smokeablount]

Has one play ever determined the progress of a player as the Tatum dunk over LeBron in the ECF 2018? Since that dunk the budding rookie has reversed course and had a rather putrid 2019 season. He stared stardom in the face and shrunk from the moment.

You could see the moment he got that dunk that he lost himself for a moment and body bumped his hero who looked at him with a condescending 'what the ***** got into you' look of scorn. Tatum shied away from that look That was a moment for him, a crossroad if you will. Would the moment propel him to even loftier heights or would it overwhelm and sink him to depths unimagined? From the look of things so far looks like the kid needs a sports shrink to get over that momentous dunk.

Hayward's alley oop attempt that ended in gruesome injury didn't help us much either.

[Androslav]

I'll explain very concise.
Tatum is a scorer.
He is not a rebounder, versatile defender, glue guy, vet leader, playmaker, swiss army knife nor an outside shooter specialist.

Last year, in our specific circumstances, we missed our 2 main scorers (KI, GH) and Tatum was put in that role, a scorers role. And, since he is a natural scorer he did very well in that role, even as a rookie.

This year under different circumstances we needed Tatum to be a defender and an outside shooter, with his scoring being less of a need.
He didn't deliver in that role since he is not a defender or an above average outside shooter.

Simple as that;
Last year - played his single natural role
This year - as he doesn't know much beside scoring he failed in his unnatural roles.

I'd just add that TT needs a lot of work as his game has many below average elements.
It has nothing to do with one good dunk of his. It has no correlation with healthy logic at all. Also, this is not Brad's mistake, this is Tatum never learning this and not being wired that way, and that's on him.

[kmart12]

Last year - played his single natural role
This year - as he doesn't know much beside scoring he failed in his unnatural roles.

Pretty much this.

Coming out of college, Tatum was projected to be a Carmelo-type scoring forward with the potential to be a more capable defender. When he's been given that chance to put up shots, he's successfully put up points with respectable efficiency (although, not quite as prolific as a Carmelo). I think it's fairly obvious that Tatum isn't an awesome sidekick to a shoot-first, ball-dominant PG but I'm not sure that was ever a fair expectation to begin with. Tatum managed that role well in the beginning of last season due to having outstanding and unrealistic shooting numbers (he led the league in 3pt% for a stretch), but that's never been who he is.

I feel the same way about the player he was constantly being brought up against last year, Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell is a scorer and needs the ball in his hands to play to his ceiling. Unlike Tatum, Mitchell is on a team with a DPOY second star, who doesn't dominate the ball on the offensive end. The outcome? Mitchell gets his buckets, plays to his strengths, and is now the face of the Utah franchise. While we're seeing the ceiling of Mitchell grow as he continues to exceed expectations, we're also starting to understand and predict the ceiling of a Mitchell-led franchise. If Mitchell continues to improve, Utah's ceiling and expectations will continue to improve. Regardless, to see a young player take his team to the playoffs as the main guy is impressive and they look to have a bright future ahead of them.

I think as long as we have Kyrie on the team we won't be able to understand Tatum's ceiling as a player and what our ceiling is as a team with Tatum at the reigns.

[Smartacus]

It really does my head in that you could be right. A single dunk could've wasted an entire year of his development, and I hate it!

I dont know how to post a video, but go back and look at the body language after that dunk it is quite telling.

Really interesting Point Ogaju, I like the premise, you could be on to something.

As far as I know we cant embed video's any more here's a link to the play in question, you decide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PPci3nXFoQ

[Donoghus]

Going out on a limb here but I don't think a single play from last year's playoffs caused Tatum to seemingly regress.

Think its been a combination of things.  The return of Kyrie to the offense.   Tatum falling into bad habits.   The league catching up to Tatum.  Tatum not working hard enough to improve his game at the highest level. 

Personally, I think he needs to work on his game harder.   This is the NBA.  Can't rest on your laurels of your rookie year.