Tatum is officially a top 5 NBA player! Now all the people that keep saying we can't win it all because we don't have a top 5 player can shut the hell up.
Welllllllll akshuallyyyyyy Embiid got more overall votes. Tatum was 6th in raw votes. But I think we all agree he is better than Booker, at least. So still top 5
This is still a tough question. Top 5 this year but several really good veteran players are not included on the first team as injuries impacted them:
Durant
LeBron
Kawhi
Harden
Any of these could bounce back and be better than Tatum next season, leaving Tatum out of the top 5 but still in the top 10. I am fine with that. It doesn't matter so much to me whether he ranks 4 or 6 or 8. He is our star and will pass all of these players in due course. I don't see it as so definitive that if Tatum is 4th we can win a title but if he is 7th, we can't. We can win a title with Tatum, that much should now be indisputable based on what the Celtics have done this season and this playoff run.
Are you serious with Harden having a chance of making first team all nba next year?
Yes. Not saying likely but I have not counted him out just yet. He may be more likely to bounce back than Kawhi. None of them are for sure, all have plenty of miles on them. The point is that one or two of them could be ahead of Tatum next season.
I think Durant definitely has a chance because he probably would have made it this year without the injuries. If this was ten years ago where people didn’t pay as much attention to the defensive side of the ball I would think Lebron had a very small chance of making it. However, he is in a moderate decline and he hid it to some by putting up gaudy offensive numbers (and he is still great offensively), however I don’t think the new coach is going to want to come in and let the team continue as a circus asking nothing on defense of Lebron and let him chase stats which was an extremely losing brand of basketball. New coach also won’t play Lebron 35 minutes a game so his numbers will take a hit.
Leonard is youngest of group but has hardly played in two years. I almost expect him to rest second nights of back to back the rest of his career so he seems more likely to make second or third team if he plays well.
Harden I just see zero chance unless he 100% becomes a new person at 33. A lot of the players even joke about how often he goes to the strip club and parties (there was literally a segment they mentioned on shaqtin a fool last night during rain delay). Plus he is going to be sharing offensive load with Embid and maxey suppressing his numbers even he comes back living as a sober vegan dedicated to yoga.
That is my point exactly. If Durant has a good season, he could easily make first team as a forward and Tatum would be second team. Then say Ja Morant stays healthy and he beats our Booker as a guard. Then you still have Embiid on the second team but with more votes than Tatum. That could result in Tatum being 7th best in terms of just this measure.
Again, I think this is a immaterial argument anyway. I don't care if Tatum is 4 or 7 by this informal measure. Some people get hung up on whether or not you can win a title with or without a top 5 player. The bottom line question is can the Celtics win a title with a team built around Tatum as your best player. I think it is now pretty clear that you can. He needs a good (and healthy) team around him but that is no different than Jokic, Giannis, LeBron, or anyone.
Tatum may well be the best player left in the "final four". Many would pick Doncic over Tatum and that is fine. Some may even take Curry over either. I could understand that argument also. But it might even be Butler who is the best player on the team that wins the title this year (least likely but still possible).