I'm kind of disappointed in Tatum as a scorer

[No Nickname]

I think he's a younger version of Kris Middleton.  He'll get craftier and perhaps improve his shooting to match KM over the next few years.

Both are 6'8".  Middleton outweighs Tatum 222 to 208.

Regular Season Stats:
Middleton is a career 45/38/87% shooter.  4.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 15.7ppg, 31.7mpg
Tatum is a career 46/40/84% shooter.  5.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 14.8ppg, 30.8mpg

Those are kind of uncanny numbers in their similarity.

Middleton is 28, Tatum is 21.  I can see Tatum making a few All Star teams, perhaps more than Middleton will.

I really don't think tatum is 6'8". 

Watching him the last couple of plays he definitely looks taller then Hayward.   Height-wise he looks to be somewhere between Theis and Kanter - I'm suspecting he has grown to more like 6'10" by this point.  Even in the USA games he looked significantly taller and longer then guys like Middleton. 

Also, while they may be similar players in terms of shooting ability, I think Tatum has far more natural talent as an outright scorer.  I think his quickness, athleticism and ball handling ability make him far more capable in isolation situations where he's able to create his own shot or get to the basket with relative ease and finish over length.  I also think he's got a much wider array of moves in the post and in the midrange area.  By comparison Middleton has always seemed to me more like a catch and shoot guy who can also get his own shot off against weaker defensive players.

Personally, I think people are just expecting WAY too much from a 21 year old guy who is just entering his third year.  This is like the year there Tatum should make major progress, and i expect him to have progressed significantly by the All-Star break and even moreso by the end of the season, but it takes time for young guys to develop. 

Tatum has the benefit of having a plethora of offensive moves - the challenge for him right now is situational decision making.  Knowing when to the the three, when to post up, when to attack the basket, when to go to the midrange game, when to move the ball and look for teammates, etc. 

The talent is all there and is almost unlimited - but when Tatum struggles is when he forces ISO when he should be passing to the open guy, when he forces a drive into an overly crowded paint, when he passes up an open three, etc.  When he makes the right decisions on the court he is really, really good.  That's something that will just come with age and experience in the league.

People also have to understand that this is a Celtics team that is flooded with perimeter scorers - Kemba, Brown, Tatum, Hayward.  These are all guys who, on many other teams, would be #1 or #2 options.   With that many touches to go around, you probably shouldn't expect Tatum to come out and average 20+ this year.  There are going to be games where he goes off, there are going to be games where other guys play big and he doesn't really need to take a ton of shots.

That's a lot of explaining when the basic point is that Tatum and Middleton are basically the same height.  I will give you a margin of error of 1" but basically, they're almost the same height, and their career shooting percentages are eerily similar.

Sure, Tatum may have some more shake-and-bake, and perhaps some better post up moves.  But in terms of comparing him to Melo, or anyone else in the league, Middleton is a really strong comparison right now.  Middleton is, as you say, a better catch-and-shoot type player.  But they both rely on their outside games and don't make their bones going to the rim (not that they never drive, they absolutely do). 

I bet there are other better comparisons to make of Tatum, but Middleton is a pretty fair one.

[Ilikesports17]

I would say my biggest concern regarding Tatum's ability to become a high volume scorer is that he doesn't generate a lot of contact.  He is going inside more, which is good, but he is still scores more with grace and agility than strength.

Top scorers tend to buttress their shot-creation prowess with 7-10 free throws attempts a game. 

That's the major difference I see between Tatum and Paul Pierce.  Paul was a master at getting to the line and did so frequently.

Paul was stronger and better at getting to the line, but even taking that out of the equation i felt that he was impossible to stop in one on one situations. When Tatum is in one on one situations, it's hit or miss it seems.

As others have mentioned Pierce has the benefit of 3 years of college to Tatums 1. At Tatums current age Pierce had yet to play a minute of NBA basketball.

That said, the idea that Tatum may not be the scorer Pierce is isn’t exactly distressing. Pierce was an all time great scorer. He’s 15th all time in career scoring. Tom Heinsohn called him the greatest scorer in Celtics history (although we all know Heinsohn is susceptible to hyperbole)

I don’t think Tatum is the scorer Pierce was. I think it’s possible he gets there but unlikely. He can still be a great player without being Paul Pierce

The concerning thing is that Pierce had an All-NBA peak at his best. If Tatum couldn't get to that level then how can he be a centerpiece to a title winning team? An All-Star isn't going to win us titles, you really need a guy who's a top 15 player (or plays like one in the playoffs) to compete for banner 18. We really need him to get into the weight program of Giannis/Porzingis and bulk up to 235-240 pounds if he's going to be our franchise player. Even Durant is around 235 pounds lol, and he has the advantage of being 2-3 inches taller than his contemporaries so he doesn't need to rely on weight as much.

Also keep in mind that Pierce was great at exaggerating the contact.  Tatum has not learned that yet.  The refs tend to call more fouls when the player kinds of flops and yells drawing attention to the foul.  Pierce was a master of this.

Pierce was brilliant at drawing contact too

Did such a good job controlling his body and utilizing his strength to force defensive players into fouling him

Tatum is pretty awful at this right now.

[Spicoli]

I know he just had the worst game of his career and he's played fairly well before this but Tatum needs to slow down. He is rushing every shot. There's no rhythm or pace to his game. The game is moving too fast for him right now. He's thinking too much. I see a really talented guy with skills, but he's clearly pressing the issue.

[PhoSita]

I really think Paul George is the appropriate comp, at least at a similar age and stage of career.

[greenrunsdeep41]

He will be fine. It’s just brutal that he gets the ball and stops moving. Take a hint from kemba, jb, Gordon. Get the ball and stay on the move a bit to keep your defender off balance. He lets his defender get his hips back every time he catches and “sizes up.”

I’m sure this will get worked out. He is having a great season and the ability to nitpick at 21 year old who is scoring 20 a game is a real delight.

Go c’s

[konkmv]

In the end we will have 2 of the best 2way players in the league in jalen and jason and we will still talk   
 sh. t.... they are playing as 20p players... calm down.. they will have 1 bad game in 20...we are just fine

[GreenCoffeeBean]

I really think Paul George is the appropriate comp, at least at a similar age and stage of career.

Weird. I think Danilo Gallinari is a better comp to Tatum currently. Especially defensively.

[Fafnir]

Weird. I think Danilo Gallinari is a better comp to Tatum currently. Especially defensively.

Uh what?

Tatum doesn't play like Gallo on either end. (Good news on D, bad news on O Gallo always has been an expert grifter of FTAs)

[Boris Badenov]

I really think Paul George is the appropriate comp, at least at a similar age and stage of career.

Weird. I think Danilo Gallinari is a better comp to Tatum currently. Especially defensively.

We are 18 points better on defense with Tatum out there. Opponent EFG% drops from 55% (on) to 46% (off). Opp reb% rises from 56% (on) to 50% (off).

This is not at all a function of who Tatum's playing with, either, no other starter is even close.

In contrast OKC is giving up 19 points MORE with Gallo on the floor this year.

These are not small-sample phenomena, Tatum's been a plus defender for a while now and Gallo has never been good.

tl;dr: that comparison is really, really off, and the George one is better, especially defensively.

[Sophomore]

He will be fine. It’s just brutal that he gets the ball and stops moving. Take a hint from kemba, jb, Gordon. Get the ball and stay on the move a bit to keep your defender off balance. He lets his defender get his hips back every time he catches and “sizes up.”

I’m sure this will get worked out. He is having a great season and the ability to nitpick at 21 year old who is scoring 20 a game is a real delight.

Go c’s

The ball-stopping is everything. Hoping he goes to the same guru as the other Cs and develops confidence in his ability to make quicker decisions, vary his speed and finishes. He’s got the talent - obviously - just has to put it together like Jaylen seems to be doing.

[keevsnick]

I really think Paul George is the appropriate comp, at least at a similar age and stage of career.

Weird. I think Danilo Gallinari is a better comp to Tatum currently. Especially defensively.

We are 18 points better on defense with Tatum out there. Opponent EFG% drops from 55% (on) to 46% (off). Opp reb% rises from 56% (on) to 50% (off).

This is not at all a function of who Tatum's playing with, either, no other starter is even close.

In contrast OKC is giving up 19 points MORE with Gallo on the floor this year.

These are not small-sample phenomena, Tatum's been a plus defender for a while now and Gallo has never been good.

tl;dr: that comparison is really, really off, and the George one is better, especially defensively.

I'd say he's probably somewhere between the two defensibly. Like Gallo is a negative but I dont view Tatum as elite like Paul George either, especially not in man to man situations. I think he's better as a help defender. he's solid.

[PhoSita]

I really think Paul George is the appropriate comp, at least at a similar age and stage of career.

Weird. I think Danilo Gallinari is a better comp to Tatum currently. Especially defensively.

Wow, well ... all I can say is that I don't see that.

[PhoSita]

I will say, as much as I think Tatum is STILL quite young and deserves some benefit of the doubt (look at what Jaylen is doing right now!), it is baffling to me how Tatum has struggled this year to hold onto the ball and finish near the basket.

Whatever Jaylen's off-season routine was, I hope Tatum gets some notes from him.

[DrinkinCelticKool-Aid]

Maybe my expectations were too high for him. If it was any other player on the team i wouldn't have this problem. I feel that he misses way too many easy shots. He might be able to clean this up with more seasoning but i'm not sure anymore. I was sure before, now i'm not.

Ya, one thing I've notice is he missed layups quite a bit when he has to absorb contact on the drive. I think that will get better with time/added strength. We will see, its an important year for him.

I agree here.
I really think Tatum overthinks the game still. And honestly I believe part of it is his size.
 I think if he bulked up it would give him the confidence when driving to the basket. If he was more confident when going to the rim, I believe he be more successful and not miss layups he should be making.  Then in turn, on nights when his shot
isn't falling, getting to the basket and getting contact, would give him some part of his game to hang his hat on.

Sometimes it seems he is trying to do this acrobatic stuff when doing a lay up, to compensate for not being bulkier, making it harder on himself. I think if he was bigger he could drive with more authority, and draw more fouls.

I believe with him being 21, there is still a lot time for him to develop his game and his body. I still believe in ceiling being as high as it ever was.

[nickagneta]

I will say, as much as I think Tatum is STILL quite young and deserves some benefit of the doubt (look at what Jaylen is doing right now!), it is baffling to me how Tatum has struggled this year to hold onto the ball and finish near the basket.

Whatever Jaylen's off-season routine was, I hope Tatum gets some notes from him.

Maybe the Celtics #3 picks have junior slumps instead of sophomore slumps.....and then in their fourth year they become stars🧐