Hawks (12-16) at Celtics (14-14) Game #29 2/19/21

[PAOBoston]

Kemba's resurgence last night confirms what has been missing:  I strong point guard who can lead the offensive set ups.

The Jason Tatum as the set up ball handler just doesn't work. He takes too long to bring the ball up, he takes too many dribbles, and eats too much time, to set up a play, and he is not  a good caretaker of the ball (6 turnovers last night). Tatum is a great player, but he needs to go back to playing off the ball. Turn the play making set up duties over to Kemba, Pritchard and, when he returns, Smart.

Sorry but strongly disagree with this. It’s pretty vital to Tatum’s progression to become proficient at ball handling and setting up other teammates. That being said, I don’t necessarily think Tatum needs the ball in his hand to initiate offense every possession. Smart being out slightly compounds the ball handling duties but with Kemba back and Smart almost back as well, that will fix itself over time. Tatum becoming a primary ball handler is more important in the playoffs imo when you play better defenses and need your best players to break down opposing defenses. That’s why wings that can initiate offense (Lebron, Kawhi, etc) are so important.

[tstorey_97]

Kemba, obviously gets the game ball. He got flattened on taking two charges. He was barking at his team mates. King of the world.

One thing that was fun...

Thompson 17 pts 1 block 5 rebounds
Theis 14 pts 3 blocks 8 rebounds
Robert 12 pts 4 blocks 7 rebounds

If we had this frontcourt against the heat in last year's playoffs?

Still needed Smart last night. The offense shot the lights out, but, these guys play much tighter D with Marcus.

Been fun to watch Nesmith do his "Avery Bradley rookie year" imitation. I stole this from some other posters here. Nesmith goes bat guano on defense...just flying around.

Last four games - 94 minutes - 5/14 FG - 4/12 3PT - 19 rebounds!
He's freaking Wilt Chamberlain!

[PAOBoston]

https://twitter.com/tom_nba/status/1363148160894386176?s=21

Stevens must be pumped about the 2 big lineup success lol

[jambr380]

Kemba's resurgence last night confirms what has been missing:  I strong point guard who can lead the offensive set ups.

The Jason Tatum as the set up ball handler just doesn't work. He takes too long to bring the ball up, he takes too many dribbles, and eats too much time, to set up a play, and he is not  a good caretaker of the ball (6 turnovers last night). Tatum is a great player, but he needs to go back to playing off the ball. Turn the play making set up duties over to Kemba, Pritchard and, when he returns, Smart.

Sorry but strongly disagree with this. It’s pretty vital to Tatum’s progression to become proficient at ball handling and setting up other teammates. That being said, I don’t necessarily think Tatum needs the ball in his hand to initiate offense every possession. Smart being out slightly compounds the ball handling duties but with Kemba back and Smart almost back as well, that will fix itself over time. Tatum becoming a primary ball handler is more important in the playoffs imo when you play better defenses and need your best players to break down opposing defenses. That’s why wings that can initiate offense (Lebron, Kawhi, etc) are so important.

I don't disagree that Tatum needs some reps as the primary ball-handler, but I find it telling that nobody is talking about Brown in this respect. People may laugh, but I consider him the most dangerous player on the team with the ball in his hands. He is an elite scorer from inside/mid-range/and 3 and also has improved immensely on his playmaking.

I get it, he is behind Tatum, Kemba, and Smart if you are looking only at his ability to get others involved - but he is getting others involved - while being able to impose his will in all facets of shooting. I love Tatum, but I've seen enough of his fall-away 20 foot 'post-ups'. He might be the best in the NBA at this - and there is certainly a time and place for this shot in the flow of the game - but he is far too comfortable falling into that habit.

[footey]

Kemba's resurgence last night confirms what has been missing:  I strong point guard who can lead the offensive set ups.

The Jason Tatum as the set up ball handler just doesn't work. He takes too long to bring the ball up, he takes too many dribbles, and eats too much time, to set up a play, and he is not  a good caretaker of the ball (6 turnovers last night). Tatum is a great player, but he needs to go back to playing off the ball. Turn the play making set up duties over to Kemba, Pritchard and, when he returns, Smart.

Sorry but strongly disagree with this. It’s pretty vital to Tatum’s progression to become proficient at ball handling and setting up other teammates. That being said, I don’t necessarily think Tatum needs the ball in his hand to initiate offense every possession. Smart being out slightly compounds the ball handling duties but with Kemba back and Smart almost back as well, that will fix itself over time. Tatum becoming a primary ball handler is more important in the playoffs imo when you play better defenses and need your best players to break down opposing defenses. That’s why wings that can initiate offense (Lebron, Kawhi, etc) are so important.

I don't object to him making plays off the wing. I don't want him bringing the ball up to set up the offense. He wastes too much time off the shot clock.  He over dribbles. He is careless with the ball.  With Kemba back, and Smart's return, hoping that his playmaking can come off the wing if we are at end of shot clock; no one is better than him. I also like when he posts up, getting him the ball there.  Just not at the top.  Not now.  Hayward was much better at this than Tatum.  Maybe in a couple of years. But now now.

[Somebody]

Kemba's resurgence last night confirms what has been missing:  I strong point guard who can lead the offensive set ups.

The Jason Tatum as the set up ball handler just doesn't work. He takes too long to bring the ball up, he takes too many dribbles, and eats too much time, to set up a play, and he is not  a good caretaker of the ball (6 turnovers last night). Tatum is a great player, but he needs to go back to playing off the ball. Turn the play making set up duties over to Kemba, Pritchard and, when he returns, Smart.

Sorry but strongly disagree with this. It’s pretty vital to Tatum’s progression to become proficient at ball handling and setting up other teammates. That being said, I don’t necessarily think Tatum needs the ball in his hand to initiate offense every possession. Smart being out slightly compounds the ball handling duties but with Kemba back and Smart almost back as well, that will fix itself over time. Tatum becoming a primary ball handler is more important in the playoffs imo when you play better defenses and need your best players to break down opposing defenses. That’s why wings that can initiate offense (Lebron, Kawhi, etc) are so important.

I don't object to him making plays off the wing. I don't want him bringing the ball up to set up the offense. He wastes too much time off the shot clock.  He over dribbles. He is careless with the ball.  With Kemba back, and Smart's return, hoping that his playmaking can come off the wing if we are at end of shot clock; no one is better than him. I also like when he posts up, getting him the ball there.  Just not at the top.  Not now.  Hayward was much better at this than Tatum.  Maybe in a couple of years. But not now.

^this, you can be a primary offensive option without bringing the ball up the court.

[GreenCoffeeBean]

Kemba's resurgence last night confirms what has been missing:  I strong point guard who can lead the offensive set ups.

The Jason Tatum as the set up ball handler just doesn't work. He takes too long to bring the ball up, he takes too many dribbles, and eats too much time, to set up a play, and he is not  a good caretaker of the ball (6 turnovers last night). Tatum is a great player, but he needs to go back to playing off the ball. Turn the play making set up duties over to Kemba, Pritchard and, when he returns, Smart.

Sorry but strongly disagree with this. It’s pretty vital to Tatum’s progression to become proficient at ball handling and setting up other teammates. That being said, I don’t necessarily think Tatum needs the ball in his hand to initiate offense every possession. Smart being out slightly compounds the ball handling duties but with Kemba back and Smart almost back as well, that will fix itself over time. Tatum becoming a primary ball handler is more important in the playoffs imo when you play better defenses and need your best players to break down opposing defenses. That’s why wings that can initiate offense (Lebron, Kawhi, etc) are so important.

I don't object to him making plays off the wing. I don't want him bringing the ball up to set up the offense. He wastes too much time off the shot clock.  He over dribbles. He is careless with the ball.  With Kemba back, and Smart's return, hoping that his playmaking can come off the wing if we are at end of shot clock; no one is better than him. I also like when he posts up, getting him the ball there.  Just not at the top.  Not now.  Hayward was much better at this than Tatum.  Maybe in a couple of years. But now now.

TP. This is clearly a weakness in Tatum's game and it's ok if he isn't a primary ball handler. Kawhi isn't and less than 2 years ago he was heralded as the best player in the NBA.

People on this board are hoping Tatum is the next Lebron and I just don't see that ever happening. And if it does happen, it should be something Tatum works on in practice/offseason or very limited reps in season, rather than ball stopping our offense and simplifying things greatly for defenses.