Tatum future: Better suited as a SF or PF?

[Tr1boy]

I'm not sure these designations have any value any more.. triboy makes a good point though that essentially the choice boils down to how much muscle you have: or how much he should put on to maximize his utility..

Durant clearly has not prioritized muscle building at any point in his career, but Durant doesn't really need to be strong, because he is a lightning fast defender. More muscle mass may be the only way Jayson can become a perennial all-star, but I doubt it.

Durant can bench 300 plus for reps now... impressive for a guy that could not bench one rep at the combine

Last season was the first time Lebron couldn't bully ball vs Durant. Durant length also bothered him quite a bit

Tatum is not a physical freak like Durant. 6'9 and about 7'1 wingspan is my guess. 

i think stretch 4 is his future position in a few seasons. By then hopefully team has a stud center

[KGs Knee]

CBS is not prisoner to the standard positions of PF, C, SF, SG and PG.   Those of you here still referring to them have not caught up to the new NBA and the changes.   Bigs, Swings and Ballhandlers are what Stevens uses.

"I don’t have the five positions anymore," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said, per Kareem Copeland of the Associated Press. "It may be as simple as three positions now, where you’re either a ball-handler, a wing or a big.

In the book of Stevens, players generally fall into one of the four following categories:

Ball handlers – Typically played by the 1.
Wings – A hybrid between the 2 and the 3.
Swings – A hybrid between the 3 and the 4.
Bigs – A hybrid between the 4 and the 5.

This has been known for a long time since 2015, time to come out of the cave, perhaps

http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/sidebar/091015-Roster-Breakdown-The-Bigs

None of this is relevant.  It doesn't matter if Stevens wants to make up his own positions, or doesn't even have positions at all.  The only thing that matters, in terms of the debate on how to best use Tatum, is whether or not he can defend the 2nd biggest player on the court.

And while it does seem like the plan was to start Tatum as the PF, or biggest 'wing' per Stevens chosen vernacular, that lasted for a whole 5 minutes.  And that was against Kevin Love, who isn't exactly a very physical player.  After that, it's been Horford starting as the PF, or smaller 'big' per Stevens vernacular.  Tatum has rarely been the 2nd biggest player on the court for the Celtics this year.  He usually plays alongside two 'bigs' or alongside Morris, who typically takes the 2nd biggest player on defense.

But again, the question is whether or not Tatum can matchup against the opponents 2nd biggest player.  If that player is bigger than he is, which they most likely will be, will Tatum be able to exploit his advantages more than the opponent can exploit their advantages?

[bellerephon]

Good points, but I'm not really worried about defense, there are few players who really post up well enough to take advantage of Tatum on D. Rebounding is more of a concern, the Celts will need to address that issue if they are going to go with Tatum at the 4.

[green_bballers13]

SF. He's got a good first step to beat opposing 3's. If he was slower, I'd say 4. He's fine covering stretch 4's.

Anthony Davis, Porzingis, or Love? That's a tough cover for anyone.

[bellerephon]

He can cover Porzingis or Love as well as anyone, they are perimeter players. AD is a different case, he would abuse Tatum on the box. Of course, no one can guard AD so it's not like anyone else would do better.

[Beat LA]

As of right now I tend to think that he's a small forward, but due to his size I can definitely see him sliding to the 4 on the back nine of his career, so to speak, provided that he continues to work on his post game.

Honestly, I have no idea as to how he can mesh with Hayward, at the minute, but we'll see what happens moving forward.

[jpotter33]

I'm not sure these designations have any value any more.. triboy makes a good point though that essentially the choice boils down to how much muscle you have: or how much he should put on to maximize his utility..

Durant clearly has not prioritized muscle building at any point in his career, but Durant doesn't really need to be strong, because he is a lightning fast defender. More muscle mass may be the only way Jayson can become a perennial all-star, but I doubt it.

Durant can bench 300 plus for reps now... impressive for a guy that could not bench one rep at the combine

Last season was the first time Lebron couldn't bully ball vs Durant. Durant length also bothered him quite a bit

Tatum is not a physical freak like Durant. 6'9 and about 7'1 wingspan is my guess. 

i think stretch 4 is his future position in a few seasons. By then hopefully team has a stud center

Lol you’re crazy if you really believe he’s putting up 300 for reps now; he’s probably lucky to get up 250 as a max. His body style is just not conducive to benching that much weight.

[Boris Badenov]

I'm not sure these designations have any value any more.. triboy makes a good point though that essentially the choice boils down to how much muscle you have: or how much he should put on to maximize his utility..

Durant clearly has not prioritized muscle building at any point in his career, but Durant doesn't really need to be strong, because he is a lightning fast defender. More muscle mass may be the only way Jayson can become a perennial all-star, but I doubt it.

Durant can bench 300 plus for reps now... impressive for a guy that could not bench one rep at the combine

Last season was the first time Lebron couldn't bully ball vs Durant. Durant length also bothered him quite a bit

Tatum is not a physical freak like Durant. 6'9 and about 7'1 wingspan is my guess. 

i think stretch 4 is his future position in a few seasons. By then hopefully team has a stud center

Lol you’re crazy if you really believe he’s putting up 300 for reps now; he’s probably lucky to get up 250 as a max. His body style is just not conducive to benching that much weight.

Triboy’s sauces.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TjHnQexeFkc

[Tr1boy]

I'm not sure these designations have any value any more.. triboy makes a good point though that essentially the choice boils down to how much muscle you have: or how much he should put on to maximize his utility..

Durant clearly has not prioritized muscle building at any point in his career, but Durant doesn't really need to be strong, because he is a lightning fast defender. More muscle mass may be the only way Jayson can become a perennial all-star, but I doubt it.

Durant can bench 300 plus for reps now... impressive for a guy that could not bench one rep at the combine

Last season was the first time Lebron couldn't bully ball vs Durant. Durant length also bothered him quite a bit

Tatum is not a physical freak like Durant. 6'9 and about 7'1 wingspan is my guess. 

i think stretch 4 is his future position in a few seasons. By then hopefully team has a stud center

Lol you’re crazy if you really believe he’s putting up 300 for reps now; he’s probably lucky to get up 250 as a max. His body style is just not conducive to benching that much weight.

See above link

Well.... ??

[gouki88]

I think PF. Considering he's barely 20 and already relatively strong, I think he can easily transition to the PF position.
Obviously, we all know about Brad's positioning (or lack thereof), but Tatum has solid rebounding instincts, is very long and has a good vertical. I see him as a PF similar to 2012-14 Melo in terms of playstyle. I doubt JT will be dropping 28/7.5, but he could definitely play there - and with almost definitely a better impact defensively

[Boris Badenov]

I'm not sure these designations have any value any more.. triboy makes a good point though that essentially the choice boils down to how much muscle you have: or how much he should put on to maximize his utility..

Durant clearly has not prioritized muscle building at any point in his career, but Durant doesn't really need to be strong, because he is a lightning fast defender. More muscle mass may be the only way Jayson can become a perennial all-star, but I doubt it.

Durant can bench 300 plus for reps now... impressive for a guy that could not bench one rep at the combine

Last season was the first time Lebron couldn't bully ball vs Durant. Durant length also bothered him quite a bit

Tatum is not a physical freak like Durant. 6'9 and about 7'1 wingspan is my guess. 

i think stretch 4 is his future position in a few seasons. By then hopefully team has a stud center

Lol you’re crazy if you really believe he’s putting up 300 for reps now; he’s probably lucky to get up 250 as a max. His body style is just not conducive to benching that much weight.

See above link

Well.... ??

Dood.

[keevsnick]

I mean it depends on what you are looking for. Offensively I think he would benefit. He isn't an amazing athlete for a small forward (solid, not amazing), but there aren't many power forward who can stay in front of him so offensively I imagine he'd get even better. Defensively he might struggle now with his relative lack of strength against bruiser types, but there aren't many of those. The place it would hurt the most is rebounding, but I think overall just the ability of being able to go 5 out with Irving/Brown/Hayward/Tatum/Horford and the defensive versatility that would provide in a switching defense would be pretty good.

I think really what it comes down to is the question of whether leaner, more skilled guys can power forward and survive is a kind of a moot point since virtually every team is now playing a guy like in crunch time. Tatum style power forwards aren't the exception anymore they are more the rule.

[Celtics4ever]

The only thing that matters, in terms of the debate on how to best use Tatum, is whether or not he can defend the 2nd biggest player on the court

Tatum is  6'9" with a 7' foot wingspan so it is feasible, I think he will need to add some strength as well but that is one of the easiest thing to add.

[kozlodoev]

CBS is not prisoner to the standard positions of PF, C, SF, SG and PG.   Those of you here still referring to them have not caught up to the new NBA and the changes.   Bigs, Swings and Ballhandlers are what Stevens uses.

"I don’t have the five positions anymore," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said, per Kareem Copeland of the Associated Press. "It may be as simple as three positions now, where you’re either a ball-handler, a wing or a big.

In the book of Stevens, players generally fall into one of the four following categories:

Ball handlers – Typically played by the 1.
Wings – A hybrid between the 2 and the 3.
Swings – A hybrid between the 3 and the 4.
Bigs – A hybrid between the 4 and the 5.

This has been known for a long time since 2015, time to come out of the cave, perhaps

http://www.nba.com/celtics/news/sidebar/091015-Roster-Breakdown-The-Bigs

None of this is relevant.  It doesn't matter if Stevens wants to make up his own positions, or doesn't even have positions at all.  The only thing that matters, in terms of the debate on how to best use Tatum, is whether or not he can defend the 2nd biggest player on the court.

And while it does seem like the plan was to start Tatum as the PF, or biggest 'wing' per Stevens chosen vernacular, that lasted for a whole 5 minutes.  And that was against Kevin Love, who isn't exactly a very physical player.  After that, it's been Horford starting as the PF, or smaller 'big' per Stevens vernacular.  Tatum has rarely been the 2nd biggest player on the court for the Celtics this year.  He usually plays alongside two 'bigs' or alongside Morris, who typically takes the 2nd biggest player on defense.

Yes, presented with the question, "Do I move Tatum to SF or start Ojeleye, Brad chose the former. When Morris got healthy it was a bit less clear cut. But even then I feel this is more about Gifford and less about Tatum. Tatum is just too good to put on the bench.

[Sophomore]

And while it does seem like the plan was to start Tatum as the PF, or biggest 'wing' per Stevens chosen vernacular, that lasted for a whole 5 minutes.  And that was against Kevin Love, who isn't exactly a very physical player.  After that, it's been Horford starting as the PF, or smaller 'big' per Stevens vernacular.  Tatum has rarely been the 2nd biggest player on the court for the Celtics this year.  He usually plays alongside two 'bigs' or alongside Morris, who typically takes the 2nd biggest player on defense.

I agree with your main point - that Tatum was rarely the second biggest player on the court. But this post, and a few more, say Love isn't a physical player - that's kind of right but not really.

He gets that rep because he spots up for three-point shots and doesn't have a chiseled frame, but he has a very strong base and uses it when the situation dictates. Over the past few years watching the Cavs play the Cs, it seemed like every time the Cavs went on one of their big, back-breaking runs, Love would be pushing Celtics bigs out of the way for several easy layups and rebounds. Seemed almost impossible to stop with the personnel we had on the floor. Definitely Zeller, but even Horford, which shocked me.

People forget what a good rebounder he is - which is partly because he's almost impossible to root out of position. Love is 10th in the NBA in Defensive rebound percentage - he grabbed over 30% this year. His offensive rebounding percentage is lower simply because he's stationed on the perimeter most of the time. But most of the time teams don't play a guy like Tatum on him...