Author Topic: Quick Acknowledgment of Tatum  (Read 636 times)

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Quick Acknowledgment of Tatum
« on: December 14, 2018, 11:18:32 AM »

Offline kmart12

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About ten games into the season, ESPN had a segment detailing the "disappointment" of both Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum and their early 2nd season struggles. I remember agreeing with the majority of the points, particularly about Tatum's inconsistency and reliance on contested mid range jumpers, but recently I have noticed that Tatum's been quietly playing terrific basketball.

I use the word "quietly" with acknowledgment that some of you may have been saying this all along, and that maybe this realization is only new to me...but have you seen his stat line lately?

27 games in and he's shooting a 47/41/84 split (eFG% 53.4), averaging 16.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg, and 1.8 apg. These numbers include his "disappointing" 7 game month of October where he barely shot above 40% from the field and was connecting on only 28.6% of his 3s. He upped his shooting percentages to 46% (FG%) and 45% (3FG%) in November (15 games) and is currently shooting a fantastic split of 55/40/100 through 5 games in December (disclaimer: he's only taken 2 free throws this month, but still). All the talks from ESPN and the like regarding the hype "getting to his head" in the early season have disappeared, however, I haven't heard them give him the praise due for turning things around.

And yeah, I suppose that it's still early and that his numbers don't exactly jump off of the page, and there's certainly areas of his game that he can improve on; however, he's a not-even-21-year-old 6'8" small forward with a natural gift for scoring from all areas of the court. Additionally, his outside shooting, which was a pretty significant question mark coming out of Duke, has continued to be excellent on an even larger sample size, shooting 43% all of last year and now continuing to shoot above 40% on 4.5 attempts per game this season. For someone who was being pegged as a dated mid-range scorer, he's certainly adapted his game in a promising, and lethal, way.

I don't think many of us were expecting to sit as a 5th seed in the East 27 games in this season, but injuries to key players and the process of acclimation for key players has been difficult and perhaps unexpected as well (to some). With that said, seeing Tatum step into this big of a role with the presence of an alpha dog in Kyrie Irving has been a good ride. Here's hoping for continued progress and improvement for the young star.

(One thing I can't determine, and maybe someone can add, is how well or poorly his defensive metrics stack up. From the eye test, he's appears like an offense-first kind of player with the potential to be a two-wing player at some point.)

Re: Quick Acknowledgment of Tatum
« Reply #1 on: December 14, 2018, 11:38:49 AM »

Offline nickagneta

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I think Tatum has been awesome. If you remember last year, Tatum had a bit of the rookie wall slump in the middle of the year. He still had an amazing year. So this year his bad month turns out to be his first month. I can definitely see him averaging 18 and 7 on 48/44/85 splits this year.

My only critiques I have of Tatum is when he behind the three point line and someone closes him out, do a side step or two and shoot a three. Don't take two steps in and take a 20 foot two point shot. The other is, I wish he was playing defense this year like he did in the playoffs last year.

But other than those two things, I think Tatum is having a tremendous 2nd year.

Re: Quick Acknowledgment of Tatum
« Reply #2 on: December 14, 2018, 11:53:44 AM »

Offline PhoSita

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I don't know if I see MVP talent with Tatum, just because he doesn't look like a guy who will ever dominate on defense and he's not going to grab 8-10 boards a game or average 5+ assists.  He won't be the backbone of a defense or the lead playmaker on offense.

I do think Tatum has talent to fall in the Paul George / Paul Pierce / Ray Allen / Klay Thompson / Glenn Robinson tier of efficient wing scorers.

I could see him having a few seasons where he plays really good defense, too.  He has his moments on that end and is overall solid.
You’ll have to excuse my lengthiness—the reason I dread writing letters is because I am so apt to get to slinging wisdom & forget to let up. Thus much precious time is lost.
- Mark Twain

Re: Quick Acknowledgment of Tatum
« Reply #3 on: December 14, 2018, 12:13:07 PM »

Offline knuckleballer

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He's been great since the first month of the season.  My only criticism is he isn't creating much for his teammates yet.  Hopefully, that will come with time.

Re: Quick Acknowledgment of Tatum
« Reply #4 on: December 14, 2018, 12:32:17 PM »

Offline Wretch

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If you listen to the Lowe post with Jackie M. They talk about Tatum and how Stevens basically benched him for after a couple if bad long 2s. They reference Tatum being upset, and standing outside the huddle during time outs. I think Tatum's resurgence is based in Stevens not allowing him to take bad shots and stay in the game. 

It's a great listen some awesome tidbits about Stevens intensity and coaching style.  JM and Lowe talk about quotes from players about Stevens expectations on the court and how intense he gets on the sidelines.