Tatum has been horrible on offense last game and this one. blew a point blank layup. something's still off with him
Yeah, his shot and finishing ability are still a major work in progress, though his playmaking and rebounding seem pretty much back to normal if anyone could hit a shot he generated for him.
Even more so now than once he's fully back, he'd *really* benefit from taking higher quality looks and less of the quick pull up threes.
Hopefully it?s just growing pains. I?m sure Joe gave him the green light to shoot and he?s trying to get his game back in a hurry. He should be better in the second half.
We need to have a long runway for him. The problem is a) in the moment we all want to win the game and anything he does that is bad we notice and are less sympathetic about while b) the bigger picture is less to do with winning games since we will be in the playoffs anyway and more with making sure every player is best prepared heading into the playoffs. And c) we can't help but compare him to the All-NBA player he was, not the abysmal shooting shell of a player he is right now.
It's human nature. I've had to make a conscious effort to keep remembering that he's in uncharted territory, coming back from what might have been a career ending injury for other players, and doing so in 10 months, and with everyone having a very high bar for him. I'm sure all that pressure is wearing on him, he wants to get back there, he knows he has to shoot to get into rhythm, but every shot that clanks off the rim he will get criticized and become talk show fodder for Felger and Mazz asking "is Tatum ruining it for the Cs", "should have have just not come back and mess them up", "will he ever be the player he will be or is this what we will have from now on". Etc.
