Jayson Tatum looks fantastic - breakout season?

[Fierce1]

JT had 22 points in the 4th quarter against the Hornets.

He outscored the whole Hornets team 22-16 in the 4th.

If there's going to be another Celtic going to the All-Star game this season, it's Jayson Tatum.

Jayson Tatum is living up to the potential of being Paul Pierce 2.0.

And he's only 21 years old!

I think when he's at his best he looks and somewhat plays like PG13, but I'm not sure if you're calling him PP2.0 as a comp or because he's PP's kind of heir apparent on the Celtics.

I'm curious if anyone has a better single-player comp than PG13.  I'd definitely take that, Tatum peaking as a top 3 MVP vote getter would make us a true championship contender.

Heir apparent on the Celts.

Tatum's individual defense is not on par with PG13.

Agreed.  It will get better but it's pretty much certain that it won't get that good.

I think when Tatum's body fully develops and he becomes stronger, that's the time we'll see improvement on his individual defense.

[Somebody]

JT had 22 points in the 4th quarter against the Hornets.

He outscored the whole Hornets team 22-16 in the 4th.

If there's going to be another Celtic going to the All-Star game this season, it's Jayson Tatum.

Jayson Tatum is living up to the potential of being Paul Pierce 2.0.

And he's only 21 years old!

I think when he's at his best he looks and somewhat plays like PG13, but I'm not sure if you're calling him PP2.0 as a comp or because he's PP's kind of heir apparent on the Celtics.

I'm curious if anyone has a better single-player comp than PG13.  I'd definitely take that, Tatum peaking as a top 3 MVP vote getter would make us a true championship contender.

I think Pierce is a pretty good comparison for Tatum, Paul George is quite a different imo (elite 3 and D guy with explosive shot creation, Tatum's strengths are a bit different as a low scalability volume scorer who plays elite help defence but isn't much better than average at man defence).

Pierce was a herky jerky offensive player whose length was far from elite, who was a much better passer than Tatum but never had the defensive impact metrics in his whole career that JT has at 21.  He was a great player but I feel these key differences make them look much different to me.

When Tatum plays like he does tonight, he looks more like what you described accurately about PG13 than Pierce, except I agree about the help defense vs. man defense to a degree.

Also, and this is the key part, he's 21.  Maybe 2-3 21-year olds in history have been as good as PG13 has been since coming to OKC and now the Clips.  I think if Tatum hits his peak, I'm seeing more PG13 than Pierce.  Beyond those comps, I haven't seen a lot of others except KD-lite, and I don't think it makes sense to compare him to KD at this point.

I could see a comparison if you purely look at how they move, but I don't think Tatum's skillset is similar to PG's - I think an optimised Tatum will be similar to Pierce in terms of skillsets (moderate efficiency volume scorer with some playmaking chops and can somewhat scale on good teams with strong outside shooting).

Btw Pierce's peak isn't that far behind PG13 imo, they're both All-NBA guys in my eyes (PG might be a high end All-NBA guy though).

[droopdog7]

Obviously Tatum was hot tonight.  Definitely shows flashes.  Let’s hope he can continue to polish his game.  As he gets older, he’s going to need to be able to get to the line if he’s to become a true star.  Otherwise his efficiency will never get to where it needs to be.

He already gets fouled a lot, now he just needs to get some calls.

Nice try but no. 

[smokeablount]

JT had 22 points in the 4th quarter against the Hornets.

He outscored the whole Hornets team 22-16 in the 4th.

If there's going to be another Celtic going to the All-Star game this season, it's Jayson Tatum.

Jayson Tatum is living up to the potential of being Paul Pierce 2.0.

And he's only 21 years old!

I think when he's at his best he looks and somewhat plays like PG13, but I'm not sure if you're calling him PP2.0 as a comp or because he's PP's kind of heir apparent on the Celtics.

I'm curious if anyone has a better single-player comp than PG13.  I'd definitely take that, Tatum peaking as a top 3 MVP vote getter would make us a true championship contender.

I think Pierce is a pretty good comparison for Tatum, Paul George is quite a different imo (elite 3 and D guy with explosive shot creation, Tatum's strengths are a bit different as a low scalability volume scorer who plays elite help defence but isn't much better than average at man defence).

Pierce was a herky jerky offensive player whose length was far from elite, who was a much better passer than Tatum but never had the defensive impact metrics in his whole career that JT has at 21.  He was a great player but I feel these key differences make them look much different to me.

When Tatum plays like he does tonight, he looks more like what you described accurately about PG13 than Pierce, except I agree about the help defense vs. man defense to a degree.

Also, and this is the key part, he's 21.  Maybe 2-3 21-year olds in history have been as good as PG13 has been since coming to OKC and now the Clips.  I think if Tatum hits his peak, I'm seeing more PG13 than Pierce.  Beyond those comps, I haven't seen a lot of others except KD-lite, and I don't think it makes sense to compare him to KD at this point.

I could see a comparison if you purely look at how they move, but I don't think Tatum's skillset is similar to PG's - I think an optimised Tatum will be similar to Pierce in terms of skillsets (moderate efficiency volume scorer with some playmaking chops and can somewhat scale on good teams with strong outside shooting).

Btw Pierce's peak isn't that far behind PG13 imo, they're both All-NBA guys in my eyes (PG might be a high end All-NBA guy though).

Definitely how they move. I do see shades of both PP & PG13. It’s not like Tatum isn’t herky jerky at all. Assuming he keeps progressing, and I’m pretty sure he will, it will be fun to watch him grow.

Edit: I forgot to mention Pierce’s special talent for getting to the line when comparing him to JT. I’d be ecstatic if Tatum got even close to that good so I think that’s a huge difference as well. Even for most of this year, it’s looked like Tatum has been avoiding contact inside. It’s only in the last month or so where I see him shooting layups and not contorting around outstretched arms, though I will say he frequently isn’t getting calls when he gets fouled and that should come with time & respect.

[Fafnir]

He's been steadily improving his efficiency as the season has gone on. Very excited to see how good he is defensively and the progress he has made in both shot selection and passing.

The fact that both he and Jaylen are playing all-star caliber ball, and that Jaylen was extended has me excited for the future.

[Somebody]

JT had 22 points in the 4th quarter against the Hornets.

He outscored the whole Hornets team 22-16 in the 4th.

If there's going to be another Celtic going to the All-Star game this season, it's Jayson Tatum.

Jayson Tatum is living up to the potential of being Paul Pierce 2.0.

And he's only 21 years old!

I think when he's at his best he looks and somewhat plays like PG13, but I'm not sure if you're calling him PP2.0 as a comp or because he's PP's kind of heir apparent on the Celtics.

I'm curious if anyone has a better single-player comp than PG13.  I'd definitely take that, Tatum peaking as a top 3 MVP vote getter would make us a true championship contender.

I think Pierce is a pretty good comparison for Tatum, Paul George is quite a different imo (elite 3 and D guy with explosive shot creation, Tatum's strengths are a bit different as a low scalability volume scorer who plays elite help defence but isn't much better than average at man defence).

Pierce was a herky jerky offensive player whose length was far from elite, who was a much better passer than Tatum but never had the defensive impact metrics in his whole career that JT has at 21.  He was a great player but I feel these key differences make them look much different to me.

When Tatum plays like he does tonight, he looks more like what you described accurately about PG13 than Pierce, except I agree about the help defense vs. man defense to a degree.

Also, and this is the key part, he's 21.  Maybe 2-3 21-year olds in history have been as good as PG13 has been since coming to OKC and now the Clips.  I think if Tatum hits his peak, I'm seeing more PG13 than Pierce.  Beyond those comps, I haven't seen a lot of others except KD-lite, and I don't think it makes sense to compare him to KD at this point.

I could see a comparison if you purely look at how they move, but I don't think Tatum's skillset is similar to PG's - I think an optimised Tatum will be similar to Pierce in terms of skillsets (moderate efficiency volume scorer with some playmaking chops and can somewhat scale on good teams with strong outside shooting).

Btw Pierce's peak isn't that far behind PG13 imo, they're both All-NBA guys in my eyes (PG might be a high end All-NBA guy though).

Definitely how they move. I do see shades of both PP & PG13. It’s not like Tatum isn’t herky jerky at all. Assuming he keeps progressing, and I’m pretty sure he will, it will be fun to watch him grow.

Edit: I forgot to mention Pierce’s special talent for getting to the line when comparing him to JT. I’d be ecstatic if Tatum got even close to that good so I think that’s a huge difference as well. Even for most of this year, it’s looked like Tatum has been avoiding contact inside. It’s only in the last month or so where I see him shooting layups and not contorting around outstretched arms, though I will say he frequently isn’t getting calls when he gets fouled and that should come with time & respect.

Oh yeah the FT drawing is another thing that Tatum needs to work on.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

This isn't Andrew Wiggins. Tatum is a really good rebounder and defender too. I really like some of the passes he's thrown, but he's also missed some open guys too.

That's nit-picking, though. Bona fide all-star who can get you buckets in key moments. Two-way wing. He's an upper tier value player in the NBA.

[A Future of Stevens]

He often reminds me of Gervin highlights I used to watch. The way he extends using his length and can kind of just flip the ball into the basket at the last second. Obviously he isn't Gervin but that specific part reminds me of him. Kinda like how Brown reminds me of Drexler when he kind of just floats to the rack. Again, not Clyde, but that one aspect 

[nickagneta]

He's been steadily improving his efficiency as the season has gone on. Very excited to see how good he is defensively and the progress he has made in both shot selection and passing.

The fact that both he and Jaylen are playing all-star caliber ball, and that Jaylen was extended has me excited for the future.

Excellent observation. Jayson's splits on TS% this year:

October 48.2%
November 52%
December 56.1%

All it could take to turn his inefficient year into a decently efficient year is a month where his TS% is over 60%, which he did several times his rookie year. So he is clearly capable of pulling out a month or two of 60+% in true shooting. And, if he keeps up his volume, it's going to mean a possible decent increase in his scoring, which is already at an All-Star level.

[Rosco917]

He defiantly had a great night against Charlotte. He shooting percentage was much improved when comparing to the last several weeks by shooting nearly 50%. That was nice to see. His rebounding is a pleasant surprise this too.

Hopefully there will be a time in the future when he looks the floor over for another player who is open before deciding "I think I can score again."   

In todays game, and as he ages he has power forward written all over him. He's more 6-9 than 6-8 with those long arms. It's easy to see the spread of his shoulders this season and the potential his body will have as a 25 year old.

[footey]

Serious Question:

Out of the 30 GMs, assuming similar contracts, how many would rather have Tatum than Ben Simmons?

I'd say 2/3 would take Tatum.

[Fafnir]

Serious Question:

Out of the 30 GMs, assuming similar contracts, how many would rather have Tatum than Ben Simmons?

I'd say 2/3 would take Tatum.

Well I think their contracts will be similar, Tatum's going to demand and eventually receive the max.

I think a lot of GMs would be high on Simmons, especially if they could build around him without a traditional center like Embiid. Dunno, still pondering this.

[Somebody]

Serious Question:

Out of the 30 GMs, assuming similar contracts, how many would rather have Tatum than Ben Simmons?

I'd say 2/3 would take Tatum.

3/3 imo, Simmons is a really tricky complementary piece. Tatum has less of such issues, and he can be a centrepiece of a good but not great team (not every team can realistically contend so these low-mid tier #1s are still pretty valuable).

[keevsnick]

He's been steadily improving his efficiency as the season has gone on. Very excited to see how good he is defensively and the progress he has made in both shot selection and passing.

The fact that both he and Jaylen are playing all-star caliber ball, and that Jaylen was extended has me excited for the future.

Excellent observation. Jayson's splits on TS% this year:

October 48.2%
November 52%
December 56.1%

All it could take to turn his inefficient year into a decently efficient year is a month where his TS% is over 60%, which he did several times his rookie year. So he is clearly capable of pulling out a month or two of 60+% in true shooting. And, if he keeps up his volume, it's going to mean a possible decent increase in his scoring, which is already at an All-Star level.

I will point out its A LOT easier to have a 60% TS when you have a 19.5 USG vs a 28.5 USG. That being said I think its totally possible he reaches that level this year. He just needs to have a stretch where both the 3 and the layups are falling. this year its seems like its been one or the other every game.

[gpap]

Tatum is the pope, in disguise.