Tatum's floor and ceiling...

[GreenFaith1819]

Floor:  Jamal Mashburn.  A guy who looked like an absolute stud after his first three years, but ended up never reaching those heights again due to a combination of factors. 

Ceiling: Paul Pierce.  27 points per game as the face of a franchise.  Maybe a less selfish Carmelo, in terms of the offensive repertoire.

I think his ceiling is higher than Pierce.  I said it in another thread a couple of weeks ago but the Celtics haven't had someone with this much potential since Bird.

true

How can his ceiling be pierce if he has passed him already

Lol.  He’s not that close to Prime Pierce right now.  He currently lacks the vision, the playmaking, and the ability to get to the line.

Yeah, what Roy said...

Just as I saw Roy's comment Tatum passed into the open arms of  Thunder player - right out of a double.

[Rosco917]

As much as I love Jayson he is nowhere near as good as Gordon Hayward is, YET - as far as distribution.

I need to see him be able to pass out of double teams...let the offense flow THROUGH him more...I'm seeing it in flashes but he MUST take the next step..and I believe he WILL.

Once he does this then his ceiling will be



This IS in him...just gotta keep working and NEVER settle.

His "floor" will probably settle around All-Star level.

I also believe Jaylen is not too far behind him.

This^
Well said.

[Classical Human Being]

As much as I love Jayson he is nowhere near as good as Gordon Hayward is, YET - as far as distribution.

I need to see him be able to pass out of double teams...let the offense flow THROUGH him more...I'm seeing it in flashes but he MUST take the next step..and I believe he WILL.

Once he does this then his ceiling will be



This IS in him...just gotta keep working and NEVER settle.

His "floor" will probably settle around All-Star level.

I also believe Jaylen is not too far behind him.

It won't happen as long as this team is healthy, and Brad doesn't coach a hierarchy.

Brad can't coach a championship team with a superstar. If Tatum continues to struggle, and has to "share" with Kemba, and Brad doesn't enforce some sort of hierarchy, I don't think Tatum leaving is out of the realm of possibility.

[GreenFaith1819]

As much as I love Jayson he is nowhere near as good as Gordon Hayward is, YET - as far as distribution.

I need to see him be able to pass out of double teams...let the offense flow THROUGH him more...I'm seeing it in flashes but he MUST take the next step..and I believe he WILL.

Once he does this then his ceiling will be



This IS in him...just gotta keep working and NEVER settle.

His "floor" will probably settle around All-Star level.

I also believe Jaylen is not too far behind him.

It won't happen as long as this team is healthy, and Brad doesn't coach a hierarchy.

Brad can't coach a championship team with a superstar. If Tatum continues to struggle, and has to "share" with Kemba, and Brad doesn't enforce some sort of hierarchy, I don't think Tatum leaving is out of the realm of possibility.

Tatum needs to improve his playmaking...

And Coach Brad Stevens was just one game away from making the Finals in 2017-18 - against a fully healthy LeBron James.

Just tonight alone, Marcus Smart and Gordon Hayward were our two best players.

[droopdog7]

I think tatums floor is what he is right now.  A talented scorer that really helps but the ball in the hole but doesn’t make others better.

[Rondo9]

I think tatums floor is what he is right now.  A talented scorer that really helps but the ball in the hole but doesn’t make others better.

Couldn’t wait to say that until after he had a couple of bad games huh?

[RockinRyA]

As much as I love Jayson he is nowhere near as good as Gordon Hayward is, YET - as far as distribution.

I need to see him be able to pass out of double teams...let the offense flow THROUGH him more...I'm seeing it in flashes but he MUST take the next step..and I believe he WILL.

Once he does this then his ceiling will be



This IS in him...just gotta keep working and NEVER settle.

His "floor" will probably settle around All-Star level.

I also believe Jaylen is not too far behind him.

It won't happen as long as this team is healthy, and Brad doesn't coach a hierarchy.

Brad can't coach a championship team with a superstar. If Tatum continues to struggle, and has to "share" with Kemba, and Brad doesn't enforce some sort of hierarchy, I don't think Tatum leaving is out of the realm of possibility.

Huh? What has Tatum's recent struggles has to do with Brad and Kemba? I saw Tatum get oppportunities just last game and fail to deliver. Kemba shared very little floor time with Tatum (heck fans were comolaining that the reason Tatum struggled was because the defense was focused on him and that Kemba was sitting)

[bopna]

Tatum the problem...

He needs to stop his back to the basket fade away ala Kobe.. Its a low percentage shot and he used that as his final shot in the game.. He should have just faced up and drove strong... Opportunities will be at the rim whether to shoot it or pass.

[droopdog7]

I think tatums floor is what he is right now.  A talented scorer that really helps but the ball in the hole but doesn’t make others better.

Couldn’t wait to say that until after he had a couple of bad games huh?

He wasn’t making others better when he was scoring those points either.  People brought it up then too.

So no, this isn’t an off the cuff post after (not a couple of bad games but) coming down to earth.

[Rondo9]

I think tatums floor is what he is right now.  A talented scorer that really helps but the ball in the hole but doesn’t make others better.

Couldn’t wait to say that until after he had a couple of bad games huh?

He wasn’t making others better when he was scoring those points either.  People brought it up then too.

So no, this isn’t an off the cuff post after (not a couple of bad games but) coming down to earth.

Please you couldn’t wait to get gleeful as soon as Tatum was struggling. Of course that was the next step.

[Redz]

As much as I love Jayson he is nowhere near as good as Gordon Hayward is, YET - as far as distribution.

I need to see him be able to pass out of double teams...let the offense flow THROUGH him more...I'm seeing it in flashes but he MUST take the next step..and I believe he WILL.

Once he does this then his ceiling will be



This IS in him...just gotta keep working and NEVER settle.

His "floor" will probably settle around All-Star level.

I also believe Jaylen is not too far behind him.

It won't happen as long as this team is healthy, and Brad doesn't coach a hierarchy.

Brad can't coach a championship team with a superstar. If Tatum continues to struggle, and has to "share" with Kemba, and Brad doesn't enforce some sort of hierarchy, I don't think Tatum leaving is out of the realm of possibility.

Huh? What has Tatum's recent struggles has to do with Brad and Kemba? I saw Tatum get oppportunities just last game and fail to deliver. Kemba shared very little floor time with Tatum (heck fans were comolaining that the reason Tatum struggled was because the defense was focused on him and that Kemba was sitting)

It might be my imagination, but I feel like the ball moves better out of Tatum's hands when Brown is on the court with him.

That said, I saw several possessions last night where Tatum just stood in the corner waiting for a pass.

[Jvalin]

Floor: Danny Granger

Ceiling: prime Carmelo Anthony (obviously, Tatum is a better defender than Melo, but I can't come up with a better comp)

[Somebody]

Floor: a poor man's Paul Pierce with worse offence but better defence. Perennial All-Star.

Ceiling: offensive box profile of Karl Malone with fringe All-League defence. MVP-worthy peak, but falls short of the All-Time great peaks by few tiers.

Likely scenario: Paul Pierce with better defence but a less polished offensive game. All-NBA mainstay.

[RockinRyA]

Floor: a poor man's Paul Pierce with worse offence but better defence. Perennial All-Star.

Ceiling: offensive box profile of Karl Malone with fringe All-League defence. MVP-worthy peak, but falls short of the All-Time great peaks by few tiers.

Likely scenario: Paul Pierce with better defence but a less polished offensive game. All-NBA mainstay.

I dunno about that. PP was a very good 1 on 1 defender when engaged.

[fairweatherfan]

Floor: Danny Granger

Ceiling: prime Carmelo Anthony (obviously, Tatum is a better defender than Melo, but I can't come up with a better comp)

I'm sticking with rich man's Paul George on the ceiling.