Bill Simmons calls out Kobe

[CTbasketball92]

Kobe has a lot of kyrie in his game; Tatum can't learn from that

Today's game is a lot of spot-up shooting - even Paul George is largely a spot-up shooter.. Tatum would benefit from learning from a guy like Paul George.. the idea that Tatum is can excel as a ball-dominant player is false and will never happen.. he needs to focus on spot-up shooting

This. Working out with Kobe is cool, but Kobe is a far, far better athlete than Tatum, and even if Tatum's handle is good, Kobe's is still way better.

Tatum literally cannot beat anyone to the rim off the dribble. It's almost weird, but his foot speed is just not there. Kobe may have taken a lot of bad midrange fadeaways, but he also got to the free throw line seven times a game and could regularly explode past defenders.

Beyond that, Tatum was never the prodigy people thought he was. People went really overboard by saying he had one of the best rookie seasons of all time without taking into account context. We're having a very, very different conversation if got drafted by the Suns. He also doesn't have that intangible feel/comfort with the game that other great young players do. He's not a Luka Doncic or a Trae Young.

That said, he'll be an all-star one day and I do think he could learn from players like Paul George.

[3ball]

This. Working out with Kobe is cool, but Kobe is a far, far better athlete than Tatum, and even if Tatum's handle is good, Kobe's is still way better.

Tatum literally cannot beat anyone to the rim off the dribble. It's almost weird, but his foot speed is just not there. Kobe may have taken a lot of bad midrange fadeaways, but he also got to the free throw line seven times a game and could regularly explode past defenders.

Beyond that, Tatum was never the prodigy people thought he was. People went really overboard by saying he had one of the best rookie seasons of all time without taking into account context. We're having a very, very different conversation if got drafted by the Suns. He also doesn't have that intangible feel/comfort with the game that other great young players do. He's not a Luka Doncic or a Trae Young.

That said, he'll be an all-star one day and I do think he could learn from players like Paul George.

Agree with everything

And ur spot on about the foot speed - Tatum is slow..

Paul George has much better foot speed and is much better off the dribble than Tatum, but this year is spotting up alongside Westbrook.. so if Paul George can adjust his game, then Tatum will FIND his game as a spot-up up expert, ala Reggie Miller or this year's version of Paul George

[Dray n Klay]

Agree with everything

And ur spot on about the foot speed - Tatum is slow..

Paul George has much better foot speed and is much better off the dribble than Tatum, but this year is spotting up alongside Westbrook.. so if Paul George can adjust his game, then Tatum will FIND his game as a spot-up up expert, ala Reggie Miller or this year's version of Paul George

Why was 4 rebounds and 2 assists enough for MJ in 1998?

[3ball]

Why was 4 rebounds and 2 assists enough for MJ in 1998?

Goat scoring and clutch

Jordan's scoring kept the games close and his clutch stole them at the end..

It's no different than lebron keeping it close with his best-ever scoring performance in Game 1 of the 18' Finals.. except he choked and mentally disintegrated at the end instead of going into goat-mode like MJ.. ..

Here's the stats regarding the goat scoring and goat clutch:

- a record 38% of his team's points including a record 10.3 in the 4th and 50.4% of his team's 4th quarter points while on the floor (most in recorded history).. Also, 52% of team points in closeout game with the best clutch the game has ever seen (45 of his team's 87 points)

[NBASTATMAN]

But hanging out with kobe was bound to hurt his game -

Kobe screwed this kids game up big time..

[Mr.GOAT2408]

Simmons has always been an irrational hater when it comes to Kobe, no surprise there

If only Tatum had the "mamba mentality" drive that Giannis possesses. Oh well

[brooks_thompson]

3ball is right. I blamed Kobe at the beginning of the season for Tatum's woes and his increased iso/mid range tendency where he just dances around in front of his man, does a cross over or two and a shoulder fake, and launches a long jumper without even considering driving to the basket. For one, you're 20 freakin years old, you don't need to be playing like 31-year old Kobe. For two, Kobe's iso moves were never, ever as aimless at Tatum's , which just seem designed to give the impression he's some maestro...then you realize he's done nothing or created no space after 7 seconds of dribbling.

As the season wore on, it became apparent that Kobe wasn't to blame, it's more on Tatum himself and some on Brad Stevens for not sticking him in a more narrowly defined role. I wouldn't go so far as 3ball to say Tatum is a Reggie Miller-type player; he could be Miller-caliber as mainly a spot-up shooter and driver on closeouts, but I don't see him disrupting defenses with hyperactive screen and off-ball movement.

[brooks_thompson]

Oh, and he should've taken up Pierce's offer to work out instead of Kobe's.

[LAL]

I noticed from day1 he plays like someone with a very stiff back.

[AirTupac]

Its amazing how 1 playoff series can make a player so overrated.

I remember people suggesting Tatum was faster than Ingram.... Ummm Ingram can drive in with ease and had one of the highest % in the paint. I love that I was right about everything I said about Tatum and Brown

[TheCorporation]

Why was 4 rebounds and 2 assists enough for MJ in 1998?

Because the #2 option on the BEST team he ever faced was creating seismic scoring assaults to the tune of 10 points per game.

No one had seen a #2 option with such scoring prowess. It's amazing MJ was able to take down the beast that is 10.7 Hornacek.

[TheCorporation]

Its amazing how 1 playoff series can make a player so overrated.

I remember people suggesting Tatum was faster than Ingram.... Ummm Ingram can drive in with ease and had one of the highest % in the paint. I love that I was right about everything I said about Tatum and Brown