Poll: Frustrated Cs fan poll; Does Jayson Tatum remind you of Andrew Wiggins?

[coco]

I can't seem to shake the feel when I watch both players playing.  They are good, but tend lack something.  I checked AW stats and are about what I am expecting JT to be at next season....taking 2019 performance as baseline.

What say you?

[liam]

I can't see the similarities but ask me again when Tatum is 24...

[Roy H.]

Nope. Tatum has a better feel for the game. He just needs to find a comfortable role.

[GreenFaith1819]

Ask me this question again once Wiggins has helped to lead a team to the ECF and played a KEY role - going toe to toe with none other than LeBron James at times.

[footey]

Wiggins is a better athlete. Tatum has better motor, higher BBIQ, although needs a lot of improvement in the BBIQ department. Wiggins is pretty low.

[Who]

At times yeah. Tatum coasts a lot. Not always as engaged as he should be. Doesn't compete as hard enough as he should as a defender and rebounder. Settles for a lot of contested midrange shots instead of driving to the basket. Plays soft at times. Doesn't pass the ball as much as he should. Self-involved offensive player.

[Rosco917]

A little early to make this comparison IMO. Jason needs to work on that body. He began the season talking about the muscle he put on in the offseason, but as we head to the playoffs, he looks skinny and lanky. Couple that with his soft, sometimes lazy attitude and you have the reason for what many consider a disappointing second year. If year 3 ends like this year, then the OP has a valid point.

Working with Kobe was essentially putting the cart miles before the horse.

[Monkhouse]

Wiggins has been one of the worst players in the NBA, and it's not even close.

There is literally nothing he does well. Except cash in on his max contract.

His motor is horrible, his defense is non-existent. He doesn't pass the ball, he takes way too mid-range jump shots, and half the time he just stands still instead of cutting and moving on offense. It's almost amazing that he's even seeing starting minutes.

I knew the moment they maxed him out, they would regret that contract.

[gpap]

Are we still misspelling Tatum's first name? (jk)

Honestly, I think they're both talented players

Tatum just needs some work like learning to play more inside the perimeter and be more aggressive on both ends on the floor.

He also suffers these little mishaps like not finishing around the basket so he needs to polish up his game.

But the sky is still the limit for Tatum. A sophomore slump in my eyes

[CptZoogs]

I think this year I have really started to see where the Carmelo comparisons have come from.  While not as alarming as a Wiggins trajectory, I’m not sure I would want to hitch my wagon to Carmelo 2.0 for the next several years.  Melo is a hall of fame, but there are a lot empty calories in there.

[Monkhouse]

Just letting you guys know....

Wiggins averages are:

18/5/2 on a 47%TS, -1.36RPM, 11.8 PER, -3.1 BPM, -0.6 VORP and a -1.5 PIPM

His W/S are worth freaking 0.3.

He's the pure definition of a player who sucks, sees major minutes, and is somehow being paid max money to do so.

Please don't compare Tatum to Wiggins, because at least Tatum can show effort. Wiggins plays like he just doesn't care about basketball.

[IDreamCeltics]

I think Tatum has just been utilized incorrectly. 

In his first season his shooting percentages were .475/.434/.82 .  That's Klay Thompson/Ray Allen/ Bradley Beal like.   He's also built a lot like those guys.  I get that he's an inch or two taller, but he's built like a cross country runner...  Why he's not running people around screens and being fed shots off the move is beyond me.  His iso game is above average, but why would you make one of the best pure shooters the team has ever had essentially a static target for his defenders?  Why not wear them down? 

So no, he doesn't remind me or Andrew Wiggins - at all.  Except that I thought Wiggins would be an all-NBA level defender with the right coach and I think coaching is all that's keeping Tatum from being one of the NBA's best shooters.

[keevsnick]

I think Tatum has just been utilized incorrectly. 

In his first season his shooting percentages were .475/.434/.82 .  That's Klay Thompson/Ray Allen/ Bradley Beal like.   He's also built a lot like those guys.  I get that he's an inch or two taller, but he's built like a cross country runner...  Why he's not running people around screens and being fed shots off the move is beyond me.  His iso game is above average, but why would you make one of the best pure shooters the team has ever had essentially a static target for his defenders?  Why not wear them down? 

So no, he doesn't remind me or Andrew Wiggins - at all.  Except that I thought Wiggins would be an all-NBA level defender with the right coach and I think coaching is all that's keeping Tatum from being one of the NBA's best shooters.

Probably because those type of shots are generally harder than the ones he's already taken, and he's only hitting 36% of those right now? I think Tatum's a good shooter, but he's not some generational or even elite one. The 43% from his first year was bolstered by taking only about 3 per game (as opposed to the elite shooters who are up above 6 or 7), and hitting an unsustainable clip from the corners.

[celticsclay]

Not sure if he has picked it up at all lately, but as of a month or so ago Wiggins was having one of the worst shooting seasons of the last 50 years by some metrics (an article on the ringer really dug into how awful he has been). Right now they really have nothing in common. Wiggins should maaaybe be a bench player if he could figure out his shooting. Even if Tatum never gets any better than he is now he is comfortably a starter.

[Kuberski33]

At times yeah. Tatum coasts a lot. Not always as engaged as he should be. Doesn't compete as hard enough as he should as a defender and rebounder. Settles for a lot of contested midrange shots instead of driving to the basket. Plays soft at times. Doesn't pass the ball as much as he should. Self-involved offensive player.

I agree with all of this, but I caution that you can't make a call on a young player too soon - especially with someone who's shown extended flashes of being really good.

I find myself feeling like Hayard needs more minutes and Tatum less as we head into the playoffs. But it's way, way too early to get too down on Tatum.  Let's see how he looks next season.