I'm really excited about Tatum's all round game.
Aside from Smart (who was an elite defender from day one) rookies usually struggle immensely on defence in their first games. Can anybody remember how lost bad Sully, Olynyk and Brown looked defensively in their first preseason games?
Tatum is actually having a real impact out there on defence, and for a 19 year old rookie this early on that is extremely promising. He's playing with a huge amount of energy on D, and his length is allowing him to affecting shots and deflect balls.
Maybe it's just me, but he seems to look a lot longer than the 6'8" height / 6'11" WS that he's listed at. He looks at least as tall as Theis out there (6'9") and his arms seem to reach down practically to his knees. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he measured at 6'9" height / 7'1" WS right now.
He's doing a solid job of rebounding and passing the ball too. Doing a very nice job of passing over the top of double teams and finding the open man.
He's made some rookie mistakes, but the upside on this kid is through the roof...