Jayson Tatum feels like a 2nd tier star

[iamgine]

He feels more like a Brandon Ingram or Donovan Mitchell.

I heard people saying he's a legit superstar but it doesn't feel that way. How would you categorize him?

[3ba11]

He actually hasn't entered his uber-prime yet - he still has a ways to go before peaking

That's what is so scary.. He has a lot of capacity to improve

But the superstar qualities are all there for him, so people assume that he will ascend to that role . but you're right - as great as he's been, we know he can be much better.. He's still a little raw but about to sweep these Warriors.. that's impressive and scary going forward

[1987_Lakers]

Gonna take another 2-3 years to fully judge how good he will be as a player, but at the moment...yes, he doesn't scream legit superstar at me the way someone like Luka does, but there is no shame in that.

He is for sure better than Ingram & Mitchell though.

[FultzNationRISE]

I agree, but tbh fans make too much of “superstars” anyway.

You only get a Lebron James type of generational superstar once in a blue moon. It’s ok to just be a good player who helps his team in one way or another. You dont have to meet some impossible media narrative of being some kind of infallible hero. Every “superstar” in this league (again excepting Lebron) has had their struggles, their deficiencies, and their disappointments.

People are thirsty to make players into super heroes for whatever reason, but in reality thats not the way it actually works except for King Lebron James.

[3ba11]

Gonna take another 2-3 years to fully judge how good he will be as a player, but at the moment...yes, he doesn't scream legit superstar at me the way someone like Luka does, but there is no shame in that.


So if he dominated the ball like a high school hot-dogger and got trampled by a weak Warrior team, that would make him a superstar?

And playing within the team concept so he can destroy the Warriors while still dominating the clutch ISN'T superstar level?

Something doesn't add up.. It seems like you think losing ball-dominators are stars.. If a guy isn't pounding the air out of the ball - he isn't a superstar

[SouBeachTalents]

He's better than Ingram & Mitchell, and a bona fide top 10 player. Plus he's only 24 years old, most players hit their peak in their late 20's.

[ShawkFactory]

Hey has way more all-around game than Mitchell or Ingram.

[tpols]

He feels more like a Brandon Ingram or Donovan Mitchell.

I heard people saying he's a legit superstar but it doesn't feel that way. How would you categorize him?

The reason Tatum shot bad last night is the warriors threw the kitchen sink at him. You re getting a taste of what it looks like when a guy gets doubled all game long a la what teams do to Curry. But unlike Currys bricklaying teammates, Tatum s teammates are snipers. The difference between derrick white and Horford vs dray in shooting and scoring and playmaking is absolutely enormous.

[TheGoatest]

Against Brooklyn he had a 19 point game where he shot 5-16.
Against Milwaukee he had a 10 point game where he shot 4-19.
Against Miami he had a 10 point game where he shot 3-14.
Against Golden State he had a 12 point game where he shot 3-17.

The bad news for the Warriors though is that he didn't really have any true atrocious shooting games in any of the other games of his previous series aside from the one.

[StrongLurk]

I don't consider Tatum a superstar, but he is has improved a lot from even two years ago. He needs to still work a lot on shot selection and getting better at finishing in the paint/at the rim.

He's on the fringe of becoming a top ten player in the league.

Let's be honest, this is a "weaker" year for champions (as was last year). This Warriors team isn't even as good as the 2015 team in my opinion.

[Spuddywebby]

LOL, 3ball planting the seeds of a “brand of ball” narrative for Boston in case they win. After riding GS the last series and talking about how Luca is a ball hog and doesn’t get his teammates open shots (while not watching the games and realizing that Bullock/Bertrans/Kleber) were missing 3’s with their defenders 5 ft away from them). He’ll talk about how Tatum doesn’t dominate the ball (while not realizing that a complaint of Tatum from many was that he hero balled too much) and how he affected the game with his 13 assists even though he shot bad, while ignoring the fact that kicking the ball out to Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, A red hot Derrick White and Marcus Smart is a world of difference from kicking the ball out to Bullock/Bertrans/Powell/Kleber. His piece d’resitance will be claiming that if Powell played on Boston, he’d average 14/10. If GS wins, then he’ll go back to his GS brand of ball argument while refusing to acknowledge that Curry spreads the floor out for his teammate such more than anyone in the league ever has, including Jordan.

[ImKobe]

Because that's what he is right now. He's a borderline top 10 player in the league with his defense but the offense is far from consistent at this stage in his career. He can shoot 3s and get to the rim in transition but he doesn't have great handles and is inconsistent from mid-range. He's improved his playmaking and is a smarter player in general but there's a lot for him to improve. He's prone to low-scoring & low FG% games because of his over-reliance on the 3.

[Real Men Wear Green]

https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/imagn-images/2018/08/18391877.jpeg

[AirBonner]

Tatum almost always rebounds a bad shooting game with a 40pt beatdown

[NBAGOAT]

He’s a second tier star but Mitchell and Ingram are not second tier stars

[rawimpact]

His issue is with consistency. Recently I feel like he has learned to dish the ball when the shots are not falling, almost to much though and he gets himself out of the game and becomes a liability.

He's 24, his skillset with continue to grow.

[ImKobe]

He’s a second tier star but Mitchell and Ingram are not second tier stars

Yes they are. They're all in the same category, except Tatum is on a much better team. Mitchell might be the weakest of the 3 as he's so undersized in comparison, but he's a 3PT chucker like Tatum.

[NBAGOAT]

Yes they are. They're all in the same category, except Tatum is on a much better team. Mitchell might be the weakest of the 3 as he's so undersized in comparison, but he's a 3PT chucker like Tatum.

I completely disagree. If they are in the same tier Tatum is at the top those guys are at the bottom. 2nd tier guys for me are bottom of the top 10, clear top 15 guys. Tier 1 is say Giannis Durant jokic embiid doncic curry, potentially kawhi. 2nd tier is guys like lebron(because I’m debating you lol), butler, Tatum, trae, morant, George.

[ImKobe]

I completely disagree. If they are in the same tier Tatum is at the top those guys are at the bottom. 2nd tier guys for me are bottom of the top 10, clear top 15 guys. Tier 1 is say Giannis Durant jokic embiid doncic curry, potentially kawhi. 2nd tier is guys like lebron(because I’m debating you lol), butler, Tatum, trae, George.


So it looks like you have the same kind of idea with the rankings as I do. There's the ELITE group, and then there's the other guys. Tatum's on the higher end of that 2nd group as he has more visibility due to his team's success, but there really isn't a whole lot that's separating these guys. People have made the All-NBA 1st team and Finals appearance argument to me, but we just saw Devin Booker do this, and no one has Devin Booker in that superstar group. That's all I'm saying.

Lebron is 2nd tier because he's old and can't play a full season & do it every night, there's nothing wrong with that. He's still a superstar in terms of his popularity but he's clearly not the same guy. He put up great numbers but his decline is visible as he doesn't play consistent defense and he often fails to have an impact or put up numbers until his team is behind by 10+ pts.

[NBAGOAT]

So it looks like you have the same kind of idea with the rankings as I do. There's the ELITE group, and then there's the other guys. Tatum's on the higher end of that 2nd group as he has more visibility due to his team's success, but there really isn't a whole lot that's separating these guys. People have made the All-NBA 1st team and Finals appearance argument to me, but we just saw Devin Booker do this, and no one has Devin Booker in that superstar group. That's all I'm saying.

Lebron is 2nd tier because he's old and can't play a full season & do it every night, there's nothing wrong with that. He's still a superstar in terms of his popularity but he's clearly not the same guy. He put up great numbers but his decline is visible as he doesn't play consistent defense and he often fails to have an impact or put up numbers until his team is behind by 10+ pts.

Yea I don’t have a problem moving bron down a tier and not the point of this debate. Even simpler, my 2nd tier has all nba caliber guys. Mitchell and Ingram imo weren’t that this year, Tatum was. Devin Booker isn’t a superstar but he is all-nba caliber imo, also in my 2nd tier

[k0kakw0rld]

He actually hasn't entered his uber-prime yet - he still has a ways to go before peaking

That's what is so scary.. He has a lot of capacity to improve

But the superstar qualities are all there for him, so people assume that he will ascend to that role . but you're right - as great as he's been, we know he can be much better.. He's still a little raw but about to sweep these Warriors.. that's impressive and scary going forward

He's not gonna get any better

[1987_Lakers]

Yes they are. They're all in the same category, except Tatum is on a much better team. Mitchell might be the weakest of the 3 as he's so undersized in comparison, but he's a 3PT chucker like Tatum.

A Kobe fan calling someone else a chucker, lmao.

[Axe]

He may have had another paltry offensive game in game 1 but take a look at his assists numbers. Almost at 15, above anyone else on the floor.

[King Baron]

So if he dominated the ball like a high school hot-dogger and got trampled by a weak Warrior team, that would make him a superstar?

And playing within the team concept so he can destroy the Warriors while still dominating the clutch ISN'T superstar level?

Something doesn't add up.. It seems like you think losing ball-dominators are stars.. If a guy isn't pounding the air out of the ball - he isn't a superstar

Are you saying you don't think Luka would make the Finals with this Celtics team? Because he certainly would.

[Lebron23]

The Celtics are just a better team. I think he is as good as early 2000's Paul Pierce. The 2002 Boston Celtics would also made it into the NBA Finals if they play in 2022.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2002.html

[King Baron]

Yes they are. They're all in the same category, except Tatum is on a much better team. Mitchell might be the weakest of the 3 as he's so undersized in comparison, but he's a 3PT chucker like Tatum.

Tatum has played better than Mitchell this year imo. The Jazz are relatively on par with the Celtics in terms of talent but they just can't bring it together. They should have made a decision after Gobert/Mitchell's rift in 2020.

[King Baron]

The Celtics are just a better team. I think he is as good as early 2000's Paul Pierce. The 2002 Boston Celtics would also made it into the NBA Finals if they play in 2022.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2002.html

Tatum is very good but imo prime Paul Pierce was better.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Are you saying you don't think Luka would make the Finals with this Celtics team? Because he certainly would.

He might but it would change the team in a major way that could be a net negative. Doncic is better as an overall franchise player but badly inferior on defense. The great thing about the Celtic rotation is that there is no one for you to attack, even on switches. The Celtics swept Brooklyn for a few different reasons but the biggest one is that Tatum was able to cover Durant as the primary defender. Doncic is an ok defender but he couldn't do something like that. So although most teams would be better off with Doncic ability to carry them offensively the Celtics could miss Tatum's defense too much and the other Celtics are good enough offensively that they don't need to be carried the way that Doncic carries the Mavericks.

[fsvr54]

Ingram is MUCH better than Mitchell. Mitchell isn't even an all star imo

[WhiteKyrie]

Honestly so does everyone with the exception of Bron, KD, Giannis, Luka, Kawhi (when healthy) and sometimes Mr 4th Quarter Stephie Curry.

[SouBeachTalents]

Honestly so does everyone with the exception of Bron, KD, Giannis, Luka, Kawhi (when healthy) and sometimes Mr 4th Quarter Stephie Curry.
Jokic is not a 2nd tier star. Neither is Embiid.

[CelticBaller]

hes 24

[Im so nba'd out]

He’s Paul George on the pacers if they didn’t have to play Lebron and they stayed together

I been telling y’all for years hes giving me Paul George vibes. He will never be a superstar but is a good head of the snake type of player

He’s just the best player on a good team…he’s not like a Duncan who was a superstar who sacrificed his talent and still won….Issa difference

[outofstomach]

Yes they are. They're all in the same category, except Tatum is on a much better team. Mitchell might be the weakest of the 3 as he's so undersized in comparison, but he's a 3PT chucker like Tatum.
ive been calling tatum a chucker for a hot minute :lol

[AirBonner]

He’s averaging 1ppg more than Kobe’s average in the playoffs. Was Kobe 2nd tier?

[post]

Jokic is not a 2nd tier star. Neither is Embiid.

jokic is the best player in the league and top 10 all time