Jayson Tatum draws comparisons to Ben Simmons, not Markelle Fultz

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2018/05/boston_celtics_vs_philadelphia_6.html



Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers: Jayson Tatum draws comparisons to Ben Simmons, not Markelle Fultz




Updated 9:06 AM; Posted 9:00 AM




Jayson Tatum talks matchup with fellow rookie Ben Simmons in Game 1




By Tom Westerholm




BOSTON -- The chants raining down on Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum were loud, unified and undeniably accurate.

Fouled on a 3-pointer late in the third quarter, Tatum went to the line and made all three as delighted Celtics fans screamed "he's a rookie (clap clap clapclap clap)."

"I am a rookie," Tatum said after the Celtics' 112-96 win. "But I love our fans. They support us."

Also a rookie, despite the shared objections of Celtics fans, Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell and Adidas: Ben Simmons, who has helped catapult the Sixers back into relevance. In just his first season, Simmons has flipped the Sixers from a lottery team into a team many believe could come out of the Eastern Conference.

But for many reasons, some fair and some not, the conversation surrounding this series was supposed to revolve around Tatum and Markelle Fultz. After all, Fultz is in Philadelphia because the Celtics traded down two slots in the draft, acquiring Tatum and what will likely be next year's Sacramento Kings pick. The expectation was Fultz would step in alongside Simmons and handle pick-and-roll responsibilities as well as some of the off-ball spacing.

But Fultz's rookie season has been eight months of weirdness, briefly interspersed with moments of brilliance that made the national narrative swing slightly towards "Hey, maybe the Celtics messed up!"

They pretty clearly didn't. Even if Fultz becomes a star, which is still eminently possible, the Celtics got Tatum, who is sparking a conversation we weren't supposed to be having. We were supposed to be examining Tatum vs. Fultz, and the various ways the teams benefitted from the deal -- the pros and cons of taking a star lead guard in a league dominated by lead guards vs. taking the versatile wing in a league desperate for versatile wings. We were supposed to be debating the merits of trading the No. 1 pick for high-value return.

What we weren't supposed to be doing was debating Tatum vs. Simmons. All year, Simmons has been a cut above his rookie peers -- to the point that a core tenet of Donovan Mitchell's Rookie of the Year candidacy is what Celtics fans chanted at Simmons as he went to the line: "Not a rookie (clap clap clapclapclap)."

Simmons is a rookie, of course. His red-shirt status doesn't preclude him from the award any more than Blake Griffin's precluded him from the same. But the fact remains that Simmons plays more like a grown NBA veteran than a rookie, and the Celtics were supposed to need grown NBA veterans to counteract him.

But on Monday, several of the adults were unavailable, so Tatum took over. The Celtics repeatedly sought out certain mismatches -- Marco Belinelli might have gotten it the worst -- and one of the chief searchers was Tatum. His crossover on Belinelli in the first half elicited a buzz from Celtics fans, culminating in the roar after his layup dropped through.


The Sixers couldn't stay in front of Tatum. On the other end, Simmons ran into a defensive menace in Al Horford who is uniquely gifted at defending athletic stars who can't shoot (just ask Giannis Antetokounmpo). The result: 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting with seven turnovers and a -21 in the box score for Simmons, and 28 points on 8-for-16 shooting for Tatum with 12 trips to the free-throw line. For a night, Jayson Tatum looked for all the world like the real Rookie of the Year, redshirt or otherwise.

Of course, no one reasonable would make the case that Tatum deserves the award over Simmons based on a one-game sample size, or even that Tatum has a brighter future after one brilliant performance.

"I mean, they are both great in their own right," Marcus Smart said. "Jayson, the way he can score the ball, Ben, the way he facilitates and finds guys. It's hard to say who is better, but like I said, they are better in their own way."

That didn't stop a reporter from trying to get Tatum's thoughts on the topic.

Tatum chuckled.

"No comment," he said, turning away with a wide smile.

The Sixers are going to get a lot more from Ben Simmons in this series than they got on Monday. He's an impressive talent with an extremely bright future. So few players in NBA history have had his combination of handle, passing and athleticism that wild comparisons to all-time greats like LeBron James and Magic Johnson are inevitable and maybe even logical to a certain degree.


But the comparison that should concern the Sixers, at least after one game, is Simmons' fellow rookie -- a rookie even Adidas would admit. The Celtics struck the first blow, and Jayson Tatum looks ready to keep swinging.



bob
MY NOTE: Of course Tatum is being compared to Simmons and not Fultz. How can you compare a player who averaged over 30mpg in 80 games (2438 minutes total) vs a player who averaged 18mpg in just 14 games (253 minutes total)? Shane Larkin averaged 14mpg and played 775 minutes total. That's 3x. Abdel Nader, for Pete's Sake, played 522 minutes. Abdel freaking Nader, our rookie 14th man, played 2x as many minutes as rookie #1 pick Markelle Fultz.

Now, why Simmons should be considered a rookie is another issue, I think it's bullshit, but that's a league office level discussion. In my opinion, HE'S NO ROOKIE (clap, clap, clapclapclap)!!!!


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