Our young "studs" have regressed......

[tarheelsxxiii]

Have the young guys played worse than last year, particularly last year's playoffs? Yes (although Tatum has picked it up again). But have they regressed? Hell no.

Going through a slump is not the same as getting worse. Nor is it regressing if you have a stretch where you play out of your mind and then go back to normal (aka Rozier).

Saying Terry regressed is like saying that Smart's shooting regressed in the 2017 offseason because his shooting dropped from 39.7% in the playoffs and then shot 30.1% during the season. He didn't, he was just on a great hot streak and went back to normal

Do they have the same opportunity to excel and continue to grow as they did in last year's playoffs?

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Tatum really hasn't. His usage is up. For young players, normally that drops their efficiency a bit as they expand their game. He's becoming a creator. Growing pains. He is a big time scorer on the wing though. It's easy to see how he will be a 25 point per game guy in a few years.

Brown suffered the most from the lack of rhythm in Cs offense in the early season. Although physically gifted, he still doesn't have a great feel for the game. CBS rhythm offense helps with his feel, but when their offense was a mess, he struggled to get good shots.

Still, he's one of the best on our team at getting easy buckets in transition and defending the perimeter. He's still the first line of defense against the elite swing scorers like Durant, Leonard, and James. Morris is good and Smart can be used in key moments, but for the doldrums of the game, we need Brown's strength and athleticism to make life difficult for those scorers. His defense against those scorers are the body blows and Smart's defense is knockout blow. His defense is the 230 pound rb that hits the line for 3 yards a carry and Smart's defense is the 4.3 40 back who takes it 60 yards for a touchdown.

[wdleehi]

I don't think regress it the right word. 




Adjusting to the new roles and expectations is the issue.   As others have pointed out, Tatum looks to have adjusted more recently.   And Brown (before the injury) was showing improved play.   


Rozier issue I think is the biggest.   He has had the biggest fluctuation in terms of role and minutes from game to game.   



And I think with Brown, when he is back, his minutes and role need to be consistent.   Whether that is back in the starting lineup or off the bench, give him consistency in play time.

[indeedproceed]

1) They went from playing with house money last year after Gordon went down, then Kyrie going down, to a 55 win season and the 4th best record in basketball. They rode that wave to a 7 game ECF Finals loss.

2) Now they're reintegrating a clearly still not 100% Hayward or Irving, and changing roles

3) And they were expected by many to have the best regular season record in basketball.

It's a witches' brew of incredibly high (but justified) expectation, incredible roster fluctuation for the 3rd year in a row, and wildly changing roles for guys who are pivotal rotation pieces. Plus, growing pains for Jaylen and Jayson.

The "studs" didn't regress, they don't even deserve quote-marks. They are exactly where they should be, and the team is still well within the margin of error to accomplish great things. Just need to figure things out, then figure out how to do those things consistently. 

[Boris Badenov]

Tatum's arguably been our best two-way player this year. We are better on both offense and defense with him on the court, which isn't true for any of our other top 8 players. Over the last month he's shooting 45% from 3, and after his 4-point stinker on November 8th he's averaging 18/6 (21/7 in per36 terms) on 49/44/78, while often giving us both steady and clutch scoring.

[PhoSita]

1) They went from playing with house money last year after Gordon went down, then Kyrie going down, to a 55 win season and the 4th best record in basketball. They rode that wave to a 7 game ECF Finals loss.

2) Now they're reintegrating a clearly still not 100% Hayward or Irving, and changing roles

3) And they were expected by many to have the best regular season record in basketball.

It's a witches' brew of incredibly high (but justified) expectation, incredible roster fluctuation for the 3rd year in a row, and wildly changing roles for guys who are pivotal rotation pieces. Plus, growing pains for Jaylen and Jayson.

The "studs" didn't regress, they don't even deserve quote-marks. They are exactly where they should be, and the team is still well within the margin of error to accomplish great things. Just need to figure things out, then figure out how to do those things consistently.

I mostly agree with this, although I will say that I have some concerns about Jaylen.

[nickagneta]

Can someone explain to me why Jackie Mac and Windhorst were talking about Jayson Tatum's "struggles"?

He is the second leading scorer, and the leading rebounder, and shooting .398 from deep, on a playoff contender.

Tatum is ****ing flying.

Makes no sense to me. Tatum started slow and still isn't playing defense as well as he can but over his last 12 games Tatum is putting up 18 PPG, 6 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.4 SPG shooting 49/44/78. Kid turned it around and has not regressed. He is showing progress and is getting better and better.

Brown started off awful except for his defense. But before he got hurt over the last 4 games he looked like he was turning his season around as well.

Let's not jump to conclusions based on 20 games. I expect bot players to be a huge part of this team in the second half of this season and into the playoffs.

Tatum's arguably been our best two-way player this year. We are better on both offense and defense with him on the court, which isn't true for any of our other top 8 players. Over the last month he's shooting 45% from 3, and after his 4-point stinker on November 8th he's averaging 18/6 (21/7 in per36 terms) on 49/44/78, while often giving us both steady and clutch scoring.

Nice stats

[TheReaLPuba]

I don't think regress it the right word. 




Adjusting to the new roles and expectations is the issue.   As others have pointed out, Tatum looks to have adjusted more recently.   And Brown (before the injury) was showing improved play.   


Rozier issue I think is the biggest.   He has had the biggest fluctuation in terms of role and minutes from game to game.   



And I think with Brown, when he is back, his minutes and role need to be consistent.   Whether that is back in the starting lineup or off the bench, give him consistency in play time.

Fair enough.

But they haven't been efficient.

They miss too many layups and open jump shots and  take difficult shots and unnecessary shots.....although it has been improving lately.

[jambr380]

I don't think regress it the right word. 

Adjusting to the new roles and expectations is the issue.   As others have pointed out, Tatum looks to have adjusted more recently.   And Brown (before the injury) was showing improved play.   

Rozier issue I think is the biggest.   He has had the biggest fluctuation in terms of role and minutes from game to game.   

And I think with Brown, when he is back, his minutes and role need to be consistent.   Whether that is back in the starting lineup or off the bench, give him consistency in play time.

Last year, Brown pretty much always played the entire first quarter before sitting for most of the 2nd and returning with about 4 minutes left. (Like Rozier) Brown is a rhythm player and seems to be better the longer he plays. It's not like he easily gets tired or anything. Hayward in the starting line-up to start the year was probably not the best thing for Jaylen, but I agree with Nick that he really started to turn the corner recently.

People have fallen off the Jaylen bandwagon far too early. When Al, Tatum, and the Sac pick go out in a deal for AD next offseason, Jaylen is going to be a force we all depend on. He certainly has a lot more fight in him.