Tatum's Passing key to the Title

[KG Living Legend]

 Someone said something similar earlier this year and they were spot on. As the defense keys more and more on Tatums elite scoring ability.  His playmaking ability will determine whether we will win a championship or not.

 He's passing the test so far. 8 assists in game one ABC 10 assists in game two. Kyrie had 1 assist last game. That's pathetic for an "elite" guard.

 This team will go as far as Tatums ability to see the floor and make the right read. Keep it up Jayson.

[Who]

I saw that for Kyrie = 1 assist. Even Drummond had 2 assists. All 4 other starters had more assists than Kyrie. Two guys 2 assists. Durant had 5 I think. Someone else had 4.

Dragic, too, off the bench had 0 assists to go with 18-20pts.

Kyrie only had 11-13pts to go with his 1ast. Terrible night for him.

When he isn't scoring, he really isn't giving you anything. He is a non-factor as a defender & rebounder for the most part. He gives you subpar floor leadership & playmaking. And his scoring efficiency is almost entirely down to whether his outside shot is falling or not which makes him an inconsistent scoring threat which combined with a game solely built around his scoring makes him an inconsistent player overall.

This is why I thought it was so bad for BKN when they failed to win when he had a big game in Game 1. Kyrie only gives you so many of those.

[Who]

I loved Tatum's passing last night. Dirk-esque. Controlling the offense, drawing double teams, moving the ball & getting his guys open shots.

Dictated the offense despite having trouble with his shot.

[sgrogan]

 Someone said something similar earlier this year and they were spot on. As the defense keys more and more on Tatums elite scoring ability.  His playmaking ability will determine whether we will win a championship or not.

 He's passing the test so far. 8 assists in game one ABC 10 assists in game two. Kyrie had 1 assist last game. That's pathetic for an "elite" guard.

This team will go as far as Tatums ability to see the floor and make the right read. Keep it up Jayson.

I think its Tatum's overall game. He has to impact the game scoring, passing, rebounding, and defense. If one aspect is struggling he needs to make up for it in other areas to impact the game. Fair or not we will go as far as he can bring us.

[nyceltsfan]

I loved Tatum's passing last night. Dirk-esque. Controlling the offense, drawing double teams, moving the ball & getting his guys open shots.

Dictated the offense despite having trouble with his shot.

Tatum's trust in his teammates has been immensely improved this year.  The end of Game 1 in previous years would have been Tatum trying to take a sidestep contested 3.

Let's also credit Tatum's defense.  In my opinion, he gets a pass (no pun intended) on his shooting because of his playmaking ability and the fact that he has been the primary defender on Durant, which he has embraced as a personal challenge.  Tatum has been the best all around player of the stars in this series.  If he (and the team) can keep up this level of trust and continue to defend at the same level, the sky is the limit.  If we get Timelord back at close to full strength, I think this team has tremendous promise.  Imagine having Williams at the rim and having the luxury to go more aggressively at the stars (Durant and Kyrie) because Williams is there to clean up any mistakes.

[KG Living Legend]

 Someone said something similar earlier this year and they were spot on. As the defense keys more and more on Tatums elite scoring ability.  His playmaking ability will determine whether we will win a championship or not.

 He's passing the test so far. 8 assists in game one ABC 10 assists in game two. Kyrie had 1 assist last game. That's pathetic for an "elite" guard.

This team will go as far as Tatums ability to see the floor and make the right read. Keep it up Jayson.

I think its Tatum's overall game. He has to impact the game scoring, passing, rebounding, and defense. If one aspect is struggling he needs to make up for it in other areas to impact the game. Fair or not we will go as far as he can bring us.

 True, however we know he's an Elite Scorer, he's a Very good rebounder, he's been excellent on defense . He's not proven yet that he's an elite playmaker.

 He's been looking very good in that department.  If he keeps it up that may be the straw that breaks the NBA's back.

[keevsnick]

The statement "X is key to a title" is literally always wrong, because its never one thing. A title involves doing a lot of things right. Tatum needs to pass, the c's need to defend, role players need to shoot, C's need to execute in the clutch, Brown needs to supplement Tatum's scoring. A million things are key.

[moiso]

Tatum's passing has been the whole key to turning the season around.  We weren't very good until Tatum started passing.  It's phenomenal how quickly he became a playmaker. 

[KG Living Legend]

The statement "X is key to a title" is literally always wrong, because its never one thing. A title involves doing a lot of things right. Tatum needs to pass, the c's need to defend, role players need to shoot, C's need to execute in the clutch, Brown needs to supplement Tatum's scoring. A million things are key.

 Not true. See above post and below post. Its the final piece to Tatum being a complete superstar.

[wikkid1]

 Someone said something similar earlier this year and they were spot on. As the defense keys more and more on Tatums elite scoring ability.  His playmaking ability will determine whether we will win a championship or not.

 He's passing the test so far. 8 assists in game one ABC 10 assists in game two. Kyrie had 1 assist last game. That's pathetic for an "elite" guard.

 This team will go as far as Tatums ability to see the floor and make the right read. Keep it up Jayson.

I think the same can be said of Jaylon.  He and Tatum have really stopped playing hero ball and the change in ball movement has really opened up the offense.  Doesn’t hurt that Pritchard and Grant have become viable scoring threats either.