JT > PP

[pablohoney]

I was a huge Pierce fan and in early 2000s would argue against the majority that wanted to dump him.  Comparing him to Tatum is easy because they are both so good and do similar things.  Pierce was a little better at finishing through contact although this year Tatum has closed the gap whereas Tatum has a nicer shot.  Tatum’s length makes him a much more impactful defender.   Tatum is more consistently good than Pierce who had a lot of off days especially before KG.  Tatum is the best small forward ( partly due to injuries to all the great vets - Durant, Kawai, George ) in the game right now and Pierce never was.  However, Pierce played in the golden age of wings with Kobe, TMac, Vince and a young Lebron. 

As good as Pierce was, Tatum at age 24 could be playing in his 3rd ECF with a win today.  When all is said and done it probably won’t even be worthy of a thread.  We will be discussing where he falls next to Russell, Bird and Hondo.

[Moranis]

Hats off to Sam Jones there, doing it without the 3PT shot.

unless they shoot like Steph Curry the 3 point shot generally leads to less overall points scored

How so?  50% 2PT shooting is equivalent to 33.3% shooting on the same number of shots.

If your theory is right, doesn’t every team in the NBA presently have it wrong?

I went through the numbers with Lebron on here not that long ago.  Lebron would have scored significantly more points if he turned all his 3 point attempts into 2 point attempts and that doesn't account for the attempts he gets fouled on which he would get way more of on 2 pointers than 3 pointers.  Now maybe Lebron is just way different than a lot of guys because of his excellent 2 point percentage, but I suspect without the 3 point shot someone like Tatum would be well over a 50% shooter from 2 and would really just take better percentage shots. 

Role players though I think are different. They are better shooting the 3 just by the nature of their skill set.  They can't get the buckets as easily.

[Jvalin]

Tatum's emergence as a passer is a joy to watch! He was a crafty scorer from day 1, but his game has elevated to the next level because of his passing. He can run the PnR as a 6'8'' ball handler, he can drive and dish, he can throw skip passes, he can see over most of his defenders, he can do it all! Love his game! He's our de facto play maker in the half court.

People were questioning whether he's good enough to be the #1 option on a contending team. This season's run proves he's a legit #1 option. We got our leader for years to come.

[Roy H.]

Hats off to Sam Jones there, doing it without the 3PT shot.

unless they shoot like Steph Curry the 3 point shot generally leads to less overall points scored

How so?  50% 2PT shooting is equivalent to 33.3% shooting on the same number of shots.

If your theory is right, doesn’t every team in the NBA presently have it wrong?

I went through the numbers with Lebron on here not that long ago.  Lebron would have scored significantly more points if he turned all his 3 point attempts into 2 point attempts and that doesn't account for the attempts he gets fouled on which he would get way more of on 2 pointers than 3 pointers.  Now maybe Lebron is just way different than a lot of guys because of his excellent 2 point percentage, but I suspect without the 3 point shot someone like Tatum would be well over a 50% shooter from 2 and would really just take better percentage shots. 

Role players though I think are different. They are better shooting the 3 just by the nature of their skill set.  They can't get the buckets as easily.

That's because Lebron has shot 2PTs around 60% for much of his prime.  You need to hit 3PTs at 40% to match that, even without taking into account fouls. 

Tatum isn't at that level, at least not yet.  He shoots 2PTs around 50%; 52% this season.

[Ed Monix]

Jayson Tatum after going down 2-1 to the Bucks:

33.3 PPG
8.5 REB
5.3 AST
47.5 FG%

[pokeKingCurtis]

here's a fun one

how far does Tatum have to go to match Doncic

[nickagneta]

here's a fun one

how far does Tatum have to go to match Doncic

I'm 100% convinced that in the near future Luka and Tatum will be the two best players in the NBA.

[gouki88]

here's a fun one

how far does Tatum have to go to match Doncic

I'm 100% convinced that in the near future Luka and Tatum will be the two best players in the NBA.

I think they will round out the top 5 in the NBA by 2024 alongside Jokic, Giannis and maybe Embiid (subject to injury luck).

[pokeKingCurtis]

here's a fun one

how far does Tatum have to go to match Doncic

I'm 100% convinced that in the near future Luka and Tatum will be the two best players in the NBA.

I think they will round out the top 5 in the NBA by 2024 alongside Jokic, Giannis and maybe Embiid (subject to injury luck).

Interesting Lowe Post (feat. Scal), talking about how Miami forces you to play to their tempo and their strengths. They will force guys to go to the defenders they want. They will force Tatum to go left, and prevent him from operating in space which is his preference (says Scal).

Would love to see a couple signature games from Tatum against this. Could be a signature series from him given the way he's been trending lately.

[gouki88]

here's a fun one

how far does Tatum have to go to match Doncic

I'm 100% convinced that in the near future Luka and Tatum will be the two best players in the NBA.

I think they will round out the top 5 in the NBA by 2024 alongside Jokic, Giannis and maybe Embiid (subject to injury luck).

Interesting Lowe Post (feat. Scal), talking about how Miami forces you to play to their tempo and their strengths. They will force guys to go to the defenders they want. They will force Tatum to go left, and prevent him from operating in space which is his preference (says Scal).

Would love to see a couple signature games from Tatum against this. Could be a signature series from him given the way he's been trending lately.

I think they'll try, but I just do not like their chances. Our defence has been unbelievable, and we are a totally different team to the ones Miami has ousted.

[pokeKingCurtis]

here's a fun one

how far does Tatum have to go to match Doncic

I'm 100% convinced that in the near future Luka and Tatum will be the two best players in the NBA.

I think they will round out the top 5 in the NBA by 2024 alongside Jokic, Giannis and maybe Embiid (subject to injury luck).

Interesting Lowe Post (feat. Scal), talking about how Miami forces you to play to their tempo and their strengths. They will force guys to go to the defenders they want. They will force Tatum to go left, and prevent him from operating in space which is his preference (says Scal).

Would love to see a couple signature games from Tatum against this. Could be a signature series from him given the way he's been trending lately.

I think they'll try, but I just do not like their chances. Our defence has been unbelievable, and we are a totally different team to the ones Miami has ousted.

Yea Miami feels a bit like a paper tiger to me this year.

But I'm always a bit cautious, and not one to draw early conclusions either way

[Jvalin]

here's a fun one

how far does Tatum have to go to match Doncic

I'm 100% convinced that in the near future Luka and Tatum will be the two best players in the NBA.

I'm very high on Tatum, but I don't see him surpassing Luka / Giannis / Jokic, much less in the near future.

------------------------

Imo, Luka is on his way to become a GOAT candidate. Don't see the Bird comps tbh. He's far more ball dominant than Bird and a worse shooter. Closest comparison I can think of is a (super) rich man's Harden. Or maybe a craftier version of LeBron with better BBIQ/court vision, but without LeBron's athleticism. If he ever develops a consistent 40%+ 3pt shot, I believe he can surpass LeBron (at least peak-wise, cause LeBron's longevity is hard to be matched).

[pokeKingCurtis]

here's a fun one

how far does Tatum have to go to match Doncic

I'm 100% convinced that in the near future Luka and Tatum will be the two best players in the NBA.

I'm very high on Tatum, but I don't see him surpassing Luka / Giannis / Jokic, much less in the near future.

------------------------

Imo, Luka is on his way to become a GOAT candidate. Don't see the Bird comps tbh. He's far more ball dominant than Bird and a worse shooter. Closest comparison I can think of is a (super) rich man's Harden. Or maybe a second version of LeBron with better BBIQ/court vision, but without LeBron's athleticism. If he ever develops a consistent 40%+ 3pt shot, I believe he can surpass LeBron (at least peak-wise, cause LeBron's longevity is hard to be matched).

Could Tatum be top along with Doncic, Jokic, Embiid and Giannis then

[Jvalin]

here's a fun one

how far does Tatum have to go to match Doncic

I'm 100% convinced that in the near future Luka and Tatum will be the two best players in the NBA.

I'm very high on Tatum, but I don't see him surpassing Luka / Giannis / Jokic, much less in the near future.

------------------------

Imo, Luka is on his way to become a GOAT candidate. Don't see the Bird comps tbh. He's far more ball dominant than Bird and a worse shooter. Closest comparison I can think of is a (super) rich man's Harden. Or maybe a craftier version of LeBron with better BBIQ/court vision, but without LeBron's athleticism. If he ever develops a consistent 40%+ 3pt shot, I believe he can surpass LeBron (at least peak-wise, cause LeBron's longevity is hard to be matched).

Could Tatum be top along with Doncic, Jokic, Embiid and Giannis then

Sure, top 5 seems like a realistic possibility, especially since plenty of the elite current players are relatively old (LeBron, KD, Steph) or battling with injuries (Kawhi, AD). I'd rather have Tatum over most of the rising stars like Ja, Trae, Booker, Zion, KAT, etc. Only exception on that list is Luka.

[sgrogan]

Hats off to Sam Jones there, doing it without the 3PT shot.

unless they shoot like Steph Curry the 3 point shot generally leads to less overall points scored

How so?  50% 2PT shooting is equivalent to 33.3% shooting on the same number of shots.

If your theory is right, doesn’t every team in the NBA presently have it wrong?

I went through the numbers with Lebron on here not that long ago.  Lebron would have scored significantly more points if he turned all his 3 point attempts into 2 point attempts and that doesn't account for the attempts he gets fouled on which he would get way more of on 2 pointers than 3 pointers.  Now maybe Lebron is just way different than a lot of guys because of his excellent 2 point percentage, but I suspect without the 3 point shot someone like Tatum would be well over a 50% shooter from 2 and would really just take better percentage shots. 

Role players though I think are different. They are better shooting the 3 just by the nature of their skill set.  They can't get the buckets as easily.

That's because Lebron has shot 2PTs around 60% for much of his prime.  You need to hit 3PTs at 40% to match that, even without taking into account fouls. 

Tatum isn't at that level, at least not yet.  He shoots 2PTs around 50%; 52% this season.

This is what efg% measures.
If efg% < 2P% the 3's are hurting.
This year Tatum shot a career low 3P% on career high volume, while simultaneously shooting a career high 2P%
Yet is efg% (.526) > 2P% (.524)
What is interesting is league wide, for the first time in at least 20 yrs, efg% (.532) < 2p% (.533)