Celtics workout Tatum, still trying to get Ball and Jackson to workout for team

[jpotter33]

I look at Tatum's skills and body and athleticism and he looks like an NBA star. But, this scares me:



That's a rough shot chart.

Two things:

1) I think the discrepancy here can largely be attributed to the types of shots being taken. Tatum seems to have taken many more of his shots out of isolation; whereas, it seems almost all of Jackson's offense was in the fast break, penetration to the bucket, or on spot-up threes. We need Tatum's isolation/scoring abilities that we currently lack outside of IT much more than Jackson's raw athleticism.

2) Look at their respective strokes. Tatum has a much, much smoother shot than Jackson, who has a major Marcus Smart-esque dip in his shot. Tatum certainly projects to be a much more consistent shooter at this level than Jackson, because that much movement on a shot seems doomed for failure.

Jackson probably has the higher ceiling due to his elite athleticism, but so have many prospects that never developed much more than that, ala Derrick Williams. I think Tatum probably has the highest floor of any prospect this year, and his upside is a more two-way oriented Paul Pierce/Anthony mix.

Jackson is Iggy 2.0 in my mind, which is still good, though not great at 3.

[knuckleballer]

Jackson by comparison played with Frank Mason Jr. who is a true point guard and the national player of the year as a senior.  Jackson got a lot more open looks than Tatum.

[Tr1boy]

I look at Tatum's skills and body and athleticism and he looks like an NBA star. But, this scares me:



That's a rough shot chart.

What else worries me is ...he didnt score much baskets- like backdoor plays

Or that he cant simply catch and shoot at times. He needs to pound the ball a few times before making a move

Not many touch passes

Individual skills is good. But could improve team play

[celticinorlando]

Tatum will improve as a shooter and is more of a shooter

Jackson just feels like a lot of other role players in the NBA..

[CelticsElite]

Tatum will improve as a shooter and is more of a shooter

Jackson just feels like a lot of other role players in the NBA..

Jackson is a bigger Marcus smart lol

[hwangjini_1]

i just read this on SoSH. if true, then jackson just dropped like a rock for me.

long live tatum!! 

"Adam Himmelsbach said on Zo and Bertrand that not only did Josh Jackson refuse to come to Boston to work out but that he cancelled a workout that the Celtics were going to travel to. He reportedly told them straight up not to come. This is a very odd situation. Maybe him and his agent see the backlog of wings on the team currently and he doesn't want to have limited playing time if all are still on the team come training camp."

[Joyride]

If Tatum is our guy, I hope the Kings take Jackson.  With an attitude like that, he deserves that organization.

[hwangjini_1]

this just in....

Per Chris Forsberg on twitter, Tatum has another (2nd) workout with the Celts today.

[jpotter33]

Tatum will improve as a shooter and is more of a shooter

Jackson just feels like a lot of other role players in the NBA..

Jackson is a bigger Marcus smart lol

I've long thought that, too. A step down defensively, but bigger and more athletic.

[Roy H.]

1) I think the discrepancy here can largely be attributed to the types of shots being taken. Tatum seems to have taken many more of his shots out of isolation; whereas, it seems almost all of Jackson's offense was in the fast break, penetration to the bucket, or on spot-up threes. We need Tatum's isolation/scoring abilities that we currently lack outside of IT much more than Jackson's raw athletici

But if he's shooting sub-40% in those situations, how does it help us?

[gouki88]

Tatum will improve as a shooter and is more of a shooter

Jackson just feels like a lot of other role players in the NBA..

Jackson is a bigger Marcus smart lol

I've long thought that, too. A step down defensively, but bigger and more athletic.

Aka not really at all what we need.

[celticinorlando]

I do not think Jackson will be or is better than Brown. But their games are a bit comparable.

Jackson a good defender. But this team needs a pure scorer from the wing. To me...Tatum can fill that void at some point. Jackson can dunk and run but really struggles where Boston needs outside shooting. He did all year at Kansas

The people Jackson surrounds himself with is a concern. The abuse of a female player is a concern. His attitude is a concern.

[LGC88]

Tatum was injured the first 6 weeks of the season and was rusty to start.
It has been mentioned that he has progress a lot in nba 3pts range (link 1).
As a proof there is a video of him entering 20 3pts shot in the row during a workout (link 2).

Link 1 :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW1ecdkwXjY

Link 2 :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9lXn0_JIDs

[jpotter33]

1) I think the discrepancy here can largely be attributed to the types of shots being taken. Tatum seems to have taken many more of his shots out of isolation; whereas, it seems almost all of Jackson's offense was in the fast break, penetration to the bucket, or on spot-up threes. We need Tatum's isolation/scoring abilities that we currently lack outside of IT much more than Jackson's raw athletici

But if he's shooting sub-40% in those situations, how does it help us?

I think Knuckleballer answered this question pretty well in his earlier response:

Duke was a little dysfunctional last season.  They had Grayson Allen and Kennard sharing point guard duties and neither were natural at it.  As a result, a high percentage of Tatum's shots were shots that he was creating for himself.  He has very advanced moves and as people keep pointing out, he is very smooth.  He has also has very good form on his shot and 85% from the free throw line. That said, that shot chart shows the results weren't good.  I think it's going to take awhile for him to perfect a lot of those moves.  A lot of NBA players don't attempt a lot of the moves he uses until they have been in the NBA for a number of years if at all. 

Basically, what I'm saying is many of his shots were of high difficulty and therefore his shooting percentages were low.  However, his ability to create his own shot and knock them down is very promising.

As others have said, too, Tatum was injured starting off the year and started off really rusty. Not sure how much that affected those shooting percentages.

But to me (and apparently Danny), Jackson and Tatum are similar prospects with regard to their overall ceilings and potential. Being that close, I definitely choose Tatum, because he projects to bring us something that is much less likely in Jackson - the go-to isolation scorer. I just think Jackson is too similar to both Smart and Brown, both of whom seem to be staples of our core and future.

[PaulP34]

This is Tatum's first time working out in Boston, but his second time working out for the Celtics. The last several Celtics picks worked out for us two times. Further evidence that Tatum will be the pick.

I wanted Fultz so bad but if this was the best for the team id be happy with Tatum