Jayson Tatum

Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
yesterday
Honest question: When do we stop calling Jayson Tatum's shooting numbers a "hot" start? Here's his monthly splits: October: 48/50/83 November: 49/48/82 December: 53/50/83

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bob


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Jayson Tatum is a future superstar in the NBA.

No doubt, now let him start initiating the offense, a point forward....its so obvious he needs more shots and touches.

"Jayson Tatum is a future superstar in the NBA."

"No doubt, now let him start initiating the offense, a point forward....its so obvious he needs more shots and touches."

I'm not trying to be green goggled all the time, but I am glad to see I am not the only one thinking Tatum has no ceiling.

I think Brown is already better than Jeff Green ever was. They play different positions, so maybe that's not a good comparison.

Brown might not have a ceiling either, but he needs to get over the yips at the free throw line and improve his handle. All Captain Obvious stuff.

What's most fascinating to me is Horford's improvement. Sports can become so cynical and money based, but Stevens brings a bit of old school development. He reminds all players that this is basically a game that everyone played as kids and perhaps the game is bigger than anyone. Hopefully the league cleans up the referee problem. Hopefully the C's can put something great together for ten years despite the money part.

This rebuild could been more about the Bogans than the Evan Turners. Except for Gordon's horrific injury, everything seems good and right in Celtics Nation, and it looks like he can make a full recovery.

The hope might need to be that Tatum grows a couple inches and develops the power forward body. Otherwise, there could be a bit of redundancy between Brown, Tatum and Hayward. But that is a potential problem for another day. Maybe Tatum can embrace the Sixth Man role like McHale did starting next year. All three of them will be on the court together a lot, but against certain opponents, that might make us too small for bigs.

Players hopefully won't get caught up into caring too much whether they start or come off the bench.

So I keep an eye on Golden State and how they will navigate the salary cap/luxury tax, and it will definitely be fascinating to see how Danny proceeds over the next several years.

bob
MY NOTE:  This 19 year old kid is SO far ahead of where I thought he'd be.  I know that Gordon Hayward going down got him a lot of minutes he wouldn't otherwise have gotten (something to think about for next year, where are all the minutes going to Tatum and Hayward?) but still, the game has never looked too fast for him.  He never looked lost out there on defense for very long.  He doesn't rush his shots nor take many bad ones.  Try to imagine what our record would be if Jayson Tatum was playing like a true rookie on both ends of the court.



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bobheckler wrote:







bob
MY NOTE:  This 19 year old kid is SO far ahead of where I thought he'd be.  I know that Gordon Hayward going down got him a lot of minutes he wouldn't otherwise have gotten (something to think about for next year, where are all the minutes going to Tatum and Hayward?) but still, the game has never looked too fast for him.  He never looked lost out there on defense for very long.  He doesn't rush his shots nor take many bad ones.  Try to imagine what our record would be if Jayson Tatum was playing like a true rookie on both ends of the court.



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Will be interesting to see what happens. Seems like Tatum's ceiling seems higher than Hayward's. How will Brad handle minutes?? Can Gordon play more at the 2? Jayson may be able to play more at the 4 someday, but next year he will likely be too light. What about Jaylen's minutes?

Shamrock,

There's that point again; we have three natural 3s. 3 good ones.

Tatum can play 4, Brown can play 2. Neither is a natural position for them.

Maybe not a bad problem to have, but we have a surplus of valuable players that play the same role.

We also have other needs to fill.

Deal, or no deal?

Interesting offseason of speculation coming? I'd bet on it.

Regards

NYCelt wrote:Shamrock,

There's that point again; we have three natural 3s. 3 good ones.

Tatum can play 4, Brown can play 2. Neither is a natural position for them.

Maybe not a bad problem to have, but we have a surplus of valuable players that play the same role.

We also have other needs to fill.

Deal, or no deal?

Interesting offseason of speculation coming? I'd bet on it.

Regards

You are probably right - too much talent can't be that much of a problem. Who knows, with so called "position-less basketball" and our child-savante coach, maybe three 3's will be the future of the NBA. Someone should trademark a catchy name, e.g. the '3 by 3' or '3^3 (i.e. 3 cubed)' style of play....

The best deals are often made by two teams that can benefit by by trading away surplus in one area to shore up a weakness in another area - a position that the Celts might very well be in over this summer.

swish

Shamrock1000 wrote:

NYCelt wrote:Shamrock,

There's that point again; we have three natural 3s. 3 good ones.

Tatum can play 4, Brown can play 2. Neither is a natural position for them.

Maybe not a bad problem to have, but we have a surplus of valuable players that play the same role.

We also have other needs to fill.

Deal, or no deal?

Interesting offseason of speculation coming? I'd bet on it.

Regards

You are probably right - too much talent can't be that much of a problem. Who knows, with so called "position-less basketball" and our child-savante coach, maybe three 3's will be the future of the NBA. Someone should trademark a catchy name, e.g. the '3 by 3' or '3^3 (i.e. 3 cubed)' style of play....

Shamrock,

I don't believe much that position-less basketball will flourish soon in the NBA, but I believe you might be on track with the three 3s idea.

Small ball looks like it's on it's way out in the NBA, perhaps within a few seasons. With bigs taking on guard skills, the big man may be coming back in a new and different way. Bigs that can put the ball on the floor and shoot from distance are taking the game in their direction. You'll always need bigs to board, but having them shoot and handle the ball too? I look for five of what used to be considered bigs in more or less traditional roles as the way it will go. Maybe more in a 3-position format that we do seem to see emerging at times. Guys like Simmons at the point and many more. Having Tatum, Hayward and Brown could very well be part of that movement. Unless we trade one in a deal for a big(ger)center. All depends on Danny A and Co.

Regards

NYCelt wrote:

Shamrock1000 wrote:

NYCelt wrote:Shamrock,

There's that point again; we have three natural 3s. 3 good ones.

Tatum can play 4, Brown can play 2. Neither is a natural position for them.

Maybe not a bad problem to have, but we have a surplus of valuable players that play the same role.

We also have other needs to fill.

Deal, or no deal?

Interesting offseason of speculation coming? I'd bet on it.

Regards

You are probably right - too much talent can't be that much of a problem. Who knows, with so called "position-less basketball" and our child-savante coach, maybe three 3's will be the future of the NBA. Someone should trademark a catchy name, e.g. the '3 by 3' or '3^3 (i.e. 3 cubed)' style of play....

Shamrock,

I don't believe much that position-less basketball will flourish soon in the NBA, but I believe you might be on track with the three 3s idea.

Small ball looks like it's on it's way out in the NBA, perhaps within a few seasons. With bigs taking on guard skills, the big man may be coming back in a new and different way. Bigs that can put the ball on the floor and shoot from distance are taking the game in their direction. You'll always need bigs to board, but having them shoot and handle the ball too? I look for five of what used to be considered bigs in more or less traditional roles as the way it will go. Maybe more in a 3-position format that we do seem to see emerging at times. Guys like Simmons at the point and many more. Having Tatum, Hayward and Brown could very well be part of that movement. Unless we trade one in a deal for a big(ger)center. All depends on Danny A and Co.

Regards

NYCelt

It should not have been called small ball because teams are much bigger than ever - but what has changed , because of the 3 pointer , is where the shots are taken from. It's much more oriented to outside shooting when compared to the Russell and Bird generations. The Dinosaurs still roam the paint - but sharp shooters from the outside have stolen a lot of their thunder.

swish

It will be very interesting next year to see how Tatum, Brown and Hayward play together along with Horford and Irving. That will be a very difficult team to defend. We will have 5 excellent 3 point shooters and enough length to rotate defensively. If they have to match up against a team with size and skill in the frontline one of the 3's can be replaced in the lineup.

The missing piece is a young athletic big. Another Golden Egg may be here soon.

dboss

Watching Davis and Cousins barricading the boards was a throwback to the old days when certain big men could set up a box that that nobody could get through or around.  There were, of course, McFilthy and McNasty, Johnny Most's friends.  And Cowens and Silas, who were hell to drive on and seemed to pull down every rebound.

That's not to imply that Cowens was a dinosaur, even though he played in a Cretaceous era.  He scored inside and outside with excellent accuracy, ran the floor, passed, provided ferocious defense and, most importantly, team leadership.  In every way Dave Cowens was the prototype of the modern center/big man, even though he wasn't particularly big.

Anthony Davis reminds me of Cowens, that's how impressive he is.  There's only one major difference: Cowens joined a losing team and within a few years led them to a championship.  Davis appears to have what it takes but he may be in the wrong situation.  With Havlicek showing the way, Cowens was part of a team that played team basketball.  The Pelicans are individual performers sharing the floor.

Proof of that is how the Celtics made a game of it despite Davis's dominating performance and their own dismal shooting.

I hear Philly is offering to trade Markelle Fultz to Boston for Tatum and the Lakers protected pick this year.