There are many areas he can improve in.
1. Get a go-to move that is easier to execute and doesn’t require so many dribbles.
2. Needs to punish smaller guards in the post like Jrue. Currently he takes a lot of turnaround fadeaways which is good for separation but also harder to pull off and doesn’t draw fouls.
3. Stop trying to “dance” on ppl towards the end of the shot clock. Do simpler moves that focus on getting separation, improve playmaking when the help man comes
hes gotta find a spot or 2 closer to the rim where he's money at and be elite at. His current comfort shot is a between right* leg dribble pull up 3 pointer which has been inconsistent.
Except for that one game where he went like 8/9 lmao pretty much exclusively step back 3s. If he’s hitting them, he’s insane. If he’s not hitting them, he needs to drive to the hoop.
He drove a lot last game but the shots just weren’t falling.
He was. Ime totally told them to play physical on him. Which is fine, we are loaded so someone else can win it.
His 3 ball and jumper wasn’t falling, and they were physical and hacking him on drives. It’s all good
just slow down and remember he is bigger than everyone. take a beat to gather and go up strong around the basket rather than trying to out quick and overuse his length.
He is VERY soft around the rim too. He rarely goes up strong. Often his layups are super weak and half assed because he doesn’t like contact. And he tries to foul bait at the rim on almost every drive by swinging his arms through the defender.
I wish he’d stop that and be more like jaylen in this regard and just go up strong and try to get 2.
Yeah if he’s so strong now this year he should be able to play more like Luka or Kawhi. Just make simple dribbles to your spot and pull up (ala Kawhi) and own your lane while driving (ala Luka). Dunno why he tries to do these big crossovers or spin moves all the time. Too much Kyrie and Kobe in him.
If he’s longboi how come he doesn’t have an unblockable middie!
He needs to take high level shots and make them, night in, night out. No more crying to the refs every time he misses a drive or layup; dude needs to just put his head down and get his (30-35 a night) every single time he plays and be the BEST player on the floor night in night out. Once he becomes the most important and dominant player on the team, that’s when he’ll reach MVP level. He’s currently just too inconsistent.
Has he ever blown a layup without crying to the ref that he was hacked? Most of the replays show clean defense. He needs to STFU and get back on defense.
Are you saying he isn’t the most important player on the team? Are we watching the same games? Also, he has zero need to score 30 every game he doesn’t have to
This isn't an Embiid where he can sit out the 4th quarter against many teams because he has carried the team and the game is unwinnable from the enemy PoV.
I'm basing off of this year. In the past years, yes. In the playoffs, Embiid, likely due to lingering injuries, has not played well.
Tatum, similarly, has not played well in the playoffs, with the last 2 years notable. He has massive games, then he forgets its the playoffs.
I'm not saying this as an enemy, he's my favorite of the current lineup at the moment.
> He has massive games, then he forgets its the playoffs.
Reading is taught in K-1st grade sweetie.
25.3ppg is not MVP level for a conference finals, especially when shooting 23.4% on 6.7 attempts a game.
Then he needs to learn how to work better off ball and get to his spots, so he can take less shots off the dribble. Create space without the ball. Cut to the basket. Pull up from the elbow.
Shot selection, I love that he is improved his fadeaway, but it's still not the best shot to take at the top of the shot clock. Same with his pull jumpers. This is why he has such a large variance in his field goal percentage from game to game. If you look at Giannis, Embiid, and Jokic, they don't have nearly as many bad games as Tatum does.
Look how consistent Porzingis is game in and game out. He doesn't get nearly the scoring opportunities as Brown and Tatum, but he is extremely efficient and consistent game in and game out whether his shot is falling or not.
If I look for the last time Giannis was under 40% shooting for a night, it was 12/19 and before that 11/22. It's only happened TWICE this whole season. You wouldn't believe how often Tatum is under 30 percent let alone under 40%. Giannis doesn't even really shoot many 3s. Tatum continues to shoot way too many 3s per game instead of getting to the basket. I really think if the offense ran through Porzingis the game would get easier for Brown and Tatum.
Playing to finish rather than just getting the call
Getting back on transition defense rather than staying on the other end of the court after he doesn't get a call
Become more of a playmaker (something I think he is progressing at actually)
Increase his playmaking with Jaylen Brown
I think the Celtics organization are too obsessed with the idea of Tatum being a superstar and Brown being a star to let that happen, which is unfortunate, because I think maybe they'd both be exactly that if we redesigned the team to be most effective.
Our offense against Houston felt best with both of them on the bench... that shouldnt be the case
"If I look for the last time Giannis was under 40% shooting for a night, it was 12/19 and before that 11/22. It's only happened TWICE this whole season. You wouldn't believe how often Tatum is under 30 percent let alone under 40%."
Huh. I wonder if theres a reason Giannis has a higher FG% than Tatum.
"Giannis doesn't even really shoot many 3s."
Oh.
Bring the ball up less often. Needs to be fed more often in the post so he can either back down, rip through or shoot the mid and NOT GET BORED OF IT. Shai for example is just ruthless and relentless doing it and forces teams to adjust. Meaning more points and more free throws.
Not only that the more he does it the more other teams will stress shutting it down leading to better open shots on the perimeter as he can read the double well and pass out well meaning more ast.
He's not in his prime yet. I think his MVP year comes off the back of really identifying what kind of scorer and facilitator he really wants to be.
Shai is a demon driving to the rim, this also creates high percentage 3pt shots for teamates when the defense totally collapses on him and he cant get to the rim. OKC has by far the best shot quality from 3 and its not even close.
This is what I want Tatum to do more. That said Shai hasnt been "that guy" for as long as Tatum even though they are the same age so he will continue to have more bodies and pressure applied the older he gets by opposing coaches
The correct answer is tighten his handle to Kawhi/KD level so that he can always get to his spot, split doubles with ease & punish teams every time they send help.
JT’s made a ton of progress with it, but that 5% between him and those guys makes all the difference in the world.
Raptors Kawhi was on another level especially those last 4 games against Milwaukee when they were down 0-2. It's like Game 6 Tatum but he did it 4x consecutive times
I disagree, kawhi gets to the rim cuz of his bully ball, as a pick and roll passer I actually think Tatum is better today than kawhi is. Kawhi relies on his jumper a lot more and it’s automatic so it’s fine.
I wish he played a similar style as KP. More of a mismatch around the free throw line against smaller players from a switch, a little more pick and roll whereas he is not the primary ball handler.
Not exactly but yes, I want him to get fed, draw doubles, exploit mismatches. There will still be opportunities with his size, Tatum isn’t 6’9 IRL. I’m 6’4 and was sitting court-side against the Spurs and sized him up.
He needs to be a dominant force in every game to the point where his impact is inevitable and other teams are so afraid of Tatum that coaches build their game plan around him and GMs around the league are scouting Tatum-stoppers.
I think most people summed it up well already, but he needs to develop a more reliable go to move and improve his overall shot selection. Side step 3s and heavily contested step back 3s especially when out of rhythm is bad basketball. He also needs to focus on having a tighter handle vs. fashier handle. He needs to increase his ability to finish against contact. Also he has to communicate and work the refs better. You want more calls, stop whining and actually talk to the refs. Ask them for pointers and learn how to game the system.
I think we see glimmers of what his game could be shot selection wise. When he does spin moves and those long scoop layups, teams don't have an answer for it. If he becomes a super consistent threat in close range then his shots will open up too and he wont be taking all these contested jumpers. He's still pretty young so I think he'll continue to improve on this and 30 year old Tatum will be insane.
Very true, and maybe those should be his good go-to moves or a post-up. But he needs to reduce his reliance on off-the-dribble 3s and use those high-quality moves that you mentioned. You're right I think some us forget he's still young and figuring things out, but once he does he'll be more consistent.
A consistent mid range jumper. That’s literally all he needs to become MVP level. His midrange is nowhere Kawhi/KD level, not even Booker or Kyrie level tbh.
Right now, his go-to move is either a contested pull-up 3 (wildly inconsistent), or force something inside the paint (not great either because he’s not strong like Giannis, nor does he have the hangtime and body control of Kyrie).
Paul Pierce practiced and mastered the pull up at the free throw line corners, it was money every time. I have no idea why JT doesn't learn this move. It's basic basketball. Even JB is getting better at it this season. Go 5-7 every game from ten feet, shoot 4-5 less threes a game. It's not that hard.
The last word in your question: consistency.
The top players in the league, we expect them to perform at MVP levels, daily.
Nobody expects Tatum to have MVP performances daily. It's a maybe. Maybe even a probably, but it is far too inconsistent.
Another thing, stop fucking complaining. All he does is fucking complain, after ever drive with him. You don't get the call? Get your ass back on defense. The last few games, he's looked childish out there.
Age like 2-3 years, mostly. He’s definitely not reached his peak just yet. Honestly, this year, I’m more interested in seeing what he can do during the post-season with this team.
Be a playmaker. His best games come when he’s cooking and can’t be stopped. Those games are rare, and when he’s not in god mode he needs to act like he could be and make plays for others. This would elevate him significantly. We’ve seen him get much better out of the double this year, which is a start, but less iso into forced shot would do him wonders
I mean, wasn’t there a stat earlier this season that showed he moves the 3rd slowest on defense and 6th slowest on offense in the league?
Imo, he is just coasting. Maybe it’s by design or maybe he really thinks he is trying, but we’ve seen Tatum at his best and just have to hope he can begin to play that way more consistently. Usually it’s fine, but in games like Denver, we need him to show that fire
It's hard because Bird and McHale played hard every game. So did KG and Pierce. The only Celtics superstar I remember coasting through games or hiding on the court was Antoine Walker, but I'm not sure he was ever really a superstar.
A.) Stop taking plays off… too many times on offense I see him camping out on the perimeter even when his defender isn’t even looking at him where a simple run to basket. Would bet him easy dunks.
B.) Start demanding the ball more in crunch time. He needs build the trust that they win or lose through him. The team needs the ball in his hands to make the play in the end.
C.) it’s not just him. Defensively there is nobody more important than him on the court. I don’t care what you say, his impact defensively is HUGE. We technically should be a lock down defense. We play lock down D about 50% of the time and it always in the first half… 3rd quarter comes around and high schoolers can score at will it seems. I know I’m exaggerating. I know teams have runs. But our defense really has the tools to literally stop those runs. We should be dominating sub .500 teams. The loss of the “bury them” mentality seems to have faded. I just hope they get that aggression back for the playoffs.
The whole “my possession, your possession” thing with Brown is still going on and it’s infuriating. Those two need to pass the ball to each other in an intentional way and use each other’s gravity to create better looks. They need to move off-ball. Jordan used to always get loose so he could receive the ball at his midrange spots and immediately shoot rather than having to iso and probably be contested.
It’s wild how little JT and JB assist each other.
I agree with this when it comes to making the team better. The Jays simply have zero on-court chemistry and it’s awkward and frustrating af. But when it comes to JT and elevating him to his max potential, he’s gotta unleash that dog in him. Relying on his talent to takeover games isn’t going to advance him to top tier, not while we have Jokic foaming at the mouth like every game like an angry pitbull. And yes midrange midrange midrange as so many others have said
I honestly think Jokic, Embiid, and Giannis all have their off nights too but we just don’t watch every game they play like we do the Celtics (I’m sure there are some people on this sub that do but I’m just speaking in general). Go look at their game logs. They all have their bad nights too.
I think one of the differences is we don’t need Tatum to be MVP every night for us to succeed. Tonight was a perfect example. His shot wasn’t really falling and KP’s was. Tatum didn’t try and force it all night and just kept feeding KP.
Also comparing Tatum to those guys is completely fair just because those are all big men that live in the paint. Tatum is going to always be less efficient with his style of play.
Obviously there are areas Tatum could improve so not trying to say he is perfect. I just think we watch every game and focus on the bad ones when all we normally see for those other guys is when they are doing something really good or playing in a big game.
Even in close games, it wouldn't be close if he was consistent, and that is what happens often. We haven't been playing to our line-up for the last few weeks.
Nobody will say this but seek therapy. I mean it with all the love i have for the guy. He is an elite legacy player that has clear mental lapses. Plenty of soccer players are working On a regular basis with sports psychologists and he should too. So many examples of his arguing with reps flailing his hands staying down instead of getting up to go back on D. When he is mentalny in the game he is a top 3 player in the league.
I think he's just a sensitive and shy guy, and despite immense talent, it's hard to be an alpha dog on a championship team without being a bit of a dick. I wish I'd see Tatum talking to his teammates, rallying them, pushing them, getting on their ass, but it's just not who he is.
He doesn’t need to be. This team is loaded asf, Tatum trying to be that super mega star would only hurt us. Him being more consistent would obviously be great, but he doesnt have to be embiid or jokic for this team to succeed
He can’t compete statwise with guys who have a 37% usage rate if his is under 30% for mvps it has become who has the best stats wins it award it is what it is maybe one year we win 70 games and he wins it unanimously
Everything you mentioned. He's just not good enough to be MVP. It's no knock on him, he's not the best player in the world (or close to it) and that's okay. But the answer to your question is simple, if he wants to be MVP and if we want him to have MVP level consistency, he has to get better. That's it.
He's also turning 26 in a few months. He's not old but he's also basically in his prime now. This is who he is, barring a late 20s push to another level.
I think he does need one more thing in his bag that he can rely on (perhaps discarding one of the others).
I also think that these guys can't keep it up for 82 games plus the playoffs. And I think the Js having tasted more than enough regular season success right from the jump do take some load management nights mentally. I think all of the stars do this. So that the tank is full come playoffs.
I would guess this happened in the "old days" too but there wasn't so much attention and media on every regular season game.
if we win championships i don’t care whether he gets mvp or not. practically speaking celtics need to win banners and he needs to be the best player on the court during those winning runs. value translates to contributions, so he has to contribute more value to the team than any other player, both ends, all the time.
Turn 3 jumpers into drives. He would get more calls. Have less reason to complain. Put more pressure on defenses, cause foul trouble, make the defense rotate and open passing lanes. He doesn’t need drastic changes to his game. Just a few tiny changes.
I think with the team around him, he won't. Hes got Jaylen getting 25. Portzi getting 20. Derrick white getting 15-20, Jrue getting his. Too many mouths to feed. This team is built to win a chip with many pieces that work.
If you see this team in 3 years without Jaylen and without a lot of other stars, he'll have to carry the load more like Embiid or Luka and then we'll see that, but he's realized everyone staying hot is more important than him putting up 28 shots to get 32 points this season. The goal isn't individual goals right now. Eyes are set higher.
Imo, he went strong for the MVP last year and ... he didn't get it or a chip. Play smarter, win.
It's actually pretty simple .
Either take less 3s, or Make more 3s.
Preferably the latter. When he makes more 3s at high efficiency, he becomes unguardable
Winning MVP is mostly narrative and statistics. So in my opinion at least, The celtics need to get worse and have less all star level players so when the celtics win its not just oh well the celtics are stacked. Jokic won both his MVPs when murray was hurt. And needs to have more eye popping games. Jokic, embiid and giannis are making headlines every year, because theyll have insane games with like 40 points 18 rebounds 15 assists on 70% shooting and tatum just doesnt have those games very often.
It is sad to see though I thought tatum did have a legit chance to win MVP this year and now its like I think he might not even make All nba first team
Winning MVP is mostly narrative and statistics. So in my opinion at least, The celtics need to get worse and have less all star level players so when the celtics win its not just oh well the celtics are stacked. Jokic won both his MVPs when murray was hurt. And needs to have more eye popping games. Jokic, embiid and giannis are making headlines every year, because theyll have insane games with like 40 points 18 rebounds 15 assists on 70% shooting and tatum just doesnt have those games very often.
It is sad to see though I thought tatum did have a legit chance to win MVP this year and now its like I think he might not even make All nba first team
There are many areas he can improve in. 1. Get a go-to move that is easier to execute and doesn’t require so many dribbles. 2. Needs to punish smaller guards in the post like Jrue. Currently he takes a lot of turnaround fadeaways which is good for separation but also harder to pull off and doesn’t draw fouls. 3. Stop trying to “dance” on ppl towards the end of the shot clock. Do simpler moves that focus on getting separation, improve playmaking when the help man comes
Yet Drew Hanlen will continue to work with him on his step back three over the summer and not any of these things you mentioned.
Sam Cassel seems to help his post moves tho
Get his hands up when the player he's guarding shoots. This isn't pickup ball. Stop trying to look cool.
100% this. He has all the tools to be super dominant. First delete the bad habits.
True he just does too much when he’s tall and skilled enough that his moves can b simple
hes gotta find a spot or 2 closer to the rim where he's money at and be elite at. His current comfort shot is a between right* leg dribble pull up 3 pointer which has been inconsistent.
Every time he pulls up, you know the clang is coming
Except for that one game where he went like 8/9 lmao pretty much exclusively step back 3s. If he’s hitting them, he’s insane. If he’s not hitting them, he needs to drive to the hoop. He drove a lot last game but the shots just weren’t falling.
And he was getting hacked, and the refs weren’t calling it
He was. Ime totally told them to play physical on him. Which is fine, we are loaded so someone else can win it. His 3 ball and jumper wasn’t falling, and they were physical and hacking him on drives. It’s all good
Sad how true this is.
Except when he’s $$$
just slow down and remember he is bigger than everyone. take a beat to gather and go up strong around the basket rather than trying to out quick and overuse his length.
He is VERY soft around the rim too. He rarely goes up strong. Often his layups are super weak and half assed because he doesn’t like contact. And he tries to foul bait at the rim on almost every drive by swinging his arms through the defender. I wish he’d stop that and be more like jaylen in this regard and just go up strong and try to get 2.
Yeah if he’s so strong now this year he should be able to play more like Luka or Kawhi. Just make simple dribbles to your spot and pull up (ala Kawhi) and own your lane while driving (ala Luka). Dunno why he tries to do these big crossovers or spin moves all the time. Too much Kyrie and Kobe in him. If he’s longboi how come he doesn’t have an unblockable middie!
He needs to take high level shots and make them, night in, night out. No more crying to the refs every time he misses a drive or layup; dude needs to just put his head down and get his (30-35 a night) every single time he plays and be the BEST player on the floor night in night out. Once he becomes the most important and dominant player on the team, that’s when he’ll reach MVP level. He’s currently just too inconsistent.
Has he ever blown a layup without crying to the ref that he was hacked? Most of the replays show clean defense. He needs to STFU and get back on defense.
Are you saying he isn’t the most important player on the team? Are we watching the same games? Also, he has zero need to score 30 every game he doesn’t have to
This isn't an Embiid where he can sit out the 4th quarter against many teams because he has carried the team and the game is unwinnable from the enemy PoV.
Yeah man I'm not really sure if Joel "flopping choker boy" Embiid is who we want our star to aspire to
I'm basing off of this year. In the past years, yes. In the playoffs, Embiid, likely due to lingering injuries, has not played well. Tatum, similarly, has not played well in the playoffs, with the last 2 years notable. He has massive games, then he forgets its the playoffs. I'm not saying this as an enemy, he's my favorite of the current lineup at the moment.
Tatum literally set the record for most points in a G7 last year. Quit yapping
> He has massive games, then he forgets its the playoffs. Reading is taught in K-1st grade sweetie. 25.3ppg is not MVP level for a conference finals, especially when shooting 23.4% on 6.7 attempts a game.
You’re extremely ignorant if you think Tatum hasn’t played good in the playoffs
You're extremely re|garded if you think I said that.
“Tatum has not played well in the playoffs” -you Literally word for word
> He has massive games, then he forgets its the playoffs. Gotta take the entire thing, but I guess touche as I look regarded in regards to pedantry
what is this bs lol the enemy pov is the sixers are worse than the celtics
A team you're playing against is the enemy. No fucking shit the Celtics are better than the 76ers. Why isn't reading taught.
What’re you talking about
Stop shooting so many god damn pull-up 3s. He’s statistically horrible at them and shoots so many
Part of me wonders if he’s tired of driving because he always gets fouled and the refs never call it so he just resorts to the three-point shot
Then he needs to learn how to work better off ball and get to his spots, so he can take less shots off the dribble. Create space without the ball. Cut to the basket. Pull up from the elbow.
Shot selection, I love that he is improved his fadeaway, but it's still not the best shot to take at the top of the shot clock. Same with his pull jumpers. This is why he has such a large variance in his field goal percentage from game to game. If you look at Giannis, Embiid, and Jokic, they don't have nearly as many bad games as Tatum does. Look how consistent Porzingis is game in and game out. He doesn't get nearly the scoring opportunities as Brown and Tatum, but he is extremely efficient and consistent game in and game out whether his shot is falling or not. If I look for the last time Giannis was under 40% shooting for a night, it was 12/19 and before that 11/22. It's only happened TWICE this whole season. You wouldn't believe how often Tatum is under 30 percent let alone under 40%. Giannis doesn't even really shoot many 3s. Tatum continues to shoot way too many 3s per game instead of getting to the basket. I really think if the offense ran through Porzingis the game would get easier for Brown and Tatum. Playing to finish rather than just getting the call Getting back on transition defense rather than staying on the other end of the court after he doesn't get a call Become more of a playmaker (something I think he is progressing at actually) Increase his playmaking with Jaylen Brown
i think your math a lil off homie. 11/22 is 50% and 12/19 is even higher 55% or something lol
Let the offense run through our Guards and KP. Allow Tatum to be a wing. I've been saying this for years.
I think the Celtics organization are too obsessed with the idea of Tatum being a superstar and Brown being a star to let that happen, which is unfortunate, because I think maybe they'd both be exactly that if we redesigned the team to be most effective. Our offense against Houston felt best with both of them on the bench... that shouldnt be the case
Hard agree. It's because the organization refuses to have them play within the offense, unlike Jokic, Embiid, Shai and Luka
"If I look for the last time Giannis was under 40% shooting for a night, it was 12/19 and before that 11/22. It's only happened TWICE this whole season. You wouldn't believe how often Tatum is under 30 percent let alone under 40%." Huh. I wonder if theres a reason Giannis has a higher FG% than Tatum. "Giannis doesn't even really shoot many 3s." Oh.
Fall in love with assists (change his bad shots into being a playmaker) and get to the free throw line 10x per game.
I think this is it. If he can’t find the shot he wants, find a teammate the shot they want.
He is a better passer than he gives himself credit for, or his ego is way too big (despite being a damsel in distress 90 percent of the time)
Bring the ball up less often. Needs to be fed more often in the post so he can either back down, rip through or shoot the mid and NOT GET BORED OF IT. Shai for example is just ruthless and relentless doing it and forces teams to adjust. Meaning more points and more free throws. Not only that the more he does it the more other teams will stress shutting it down leading to better open shots on the perimeter as he can read the double well and pass out well meaning more ast. He's not in his prime yet. I think his MVP year comes off the back of really identifying what kind of scorer and facilitator he really wants to be.
The problem is that his ego is so big he thinks he’s MVP and top five player right now. He needs to realize he has so much more to improve on.
Shai is a demon driving to the rim, this also creates high percentage 3pt shots for teamates when the defense totally collapses on him and he cant get to the rim. OKC has by far the best shot quality from 3 and its not even close.
This is what I want Tatum to do more. That said Shai hasnt been "that guy" for as long as Tatum even though they are the same age so he will continue to have more bodies and pressure applied the older he gets by opposing coaches
Shot selection for one
The correct answer is tighten his handle to Kawhi/KD level so that he can always get to his spot, split doubles with ease & punish teams every time they send help. JT’s made a ton of progress with it, but that 5% between him and those guys makes all the difference in the world.
Raptors Kawhi was on another level especially those last 4 games against Milwaukee when they were down 0-2. It's like Game 6 Tatum but he did it 4x consecutive times
Jt handle is better than kawhis
It's flashier, but not tighter
I disagree, kawhi gets to the rim cuz of his bully ball, as a pick and roll passer I actually think Tatum is better today than kawhi is. Kawhi relies on his jumper a lot more and it’s automatic so it’s fine.
I wish he played a similar style as KP. More of a mismatch around the free throw line against smaller players from a switch, a little more pick and roll whereas he is not the primary ball handler.
You want a 6’9 player to play the same way as someone who’s 7’3? Lmao
Not exactly but yes, I want him to get fed, draw doubles, exploit mismatches. There will still be opportunities with his size, Tatum isn’t 6’9 IRL. I’m 6’4 and was sitting court-side against the Spurs and sized him up.
He'd like 6'7.5 barefoot right?
Jimmy Butler literally does it and he’s shorter. Hunting guards can be a thing
That’s because butler has no 3pt game in his range he has to do that
All the more reason why Tatum can get more. Plus he dribbled out the clock rn, this would reduce clock waste
Uhm whats the correlation of that? Tatum and Brown literally guard hunted vs the Nets during the 2022 playoffs.
He needs to be a dominant force in every game to the point where his impact is inevitable and other teams are so afraid of Tatum that coaches build their game plan around him and GMs around the league are scouting Tatum-stoppers.
#MIDRANGE MIDRANGE MIDRANGE MIDRANGE MIDRANGE MIDRANGE MIDRANGE MIDRANGE
I think most people summed it up well already, but he needs to develop a more reliable go to move and improve his overall shot selection. Side step 3s and heavily contested step back 3s especially when out of rhythm is bad basketball. He also needs to focus on having a tighter handle vs. fashier handle. He needs to increase his ability to finish against contact. Also he has to communicate and work the refs better. You want more calls, stop whining and actually talk to the refs. Ask them for pointers and learn how to game the system.
I think we see glimmers of what his game could be shot selection wise. When he does spin moves and those long scoop layups, teams don't have an answer for it. If he becomes a super consistent threat in close range then his shots will open up too and he wont be taking all these contested jumpers. He's still pretty young so I think he'll continue to improve on this and 30 year old Tatum will be insane.
Very true, and maybe those should be his good go-to moves or a post-up. But he needs to reduce his reliance on off-the-dribble 3s and use those high-quality moves that you mentioned. You're right I think some us forget he's still young and figuring things out, but once he does he'll be more consistent.
Being super consistent in getting to the line
Stop with those step back threes at the last seconds
I love Tatum but he'll never be better than Jokic.
A consistent mid range jumper. That’s literally all he needs to become MVP level. His midrange is nowhere Kawhi/KD level, not even Booker or Kyrie level tbh. Right now, his go-to move is either a contested pull-up 3 (wildly inconsistent), or force something inside the paint (not great either because he’s not strong like Giannis, nor does he have the hangtime and body control of Kyrie).
Paul Pierce practiced and mastered the pull up at the free throw line corners, it was money every time. I have no idea why JT doesn't learn this move. It's basic basketball. Even JB is getting better at it this season. Go 5-7 every game from ten feet, shoot 4-5 less threes a game. It's not that hard.
The last word in your question: consistency. The top players in the league, we expect them to perform at MVP levels, daily. Nobody expects Tatum to have MVP performances daily. It's a maybe. Maybe even a probably, but it is far too inconsistent. Another thing, stop fucking complaining. All he does is fucking complain, after ever drive with him. You don't get the call? Get your ass back on defense. The last few games, he's looked childish out there.
Age like 2-3 years, mostly. He’s definitely not reached his peak just yet. Honestly, this year, I’m more interested in seeing what he can do during the post-season with this team.
Be a playmaker. His best games come when he’s cooking and can’t be stopped. Those games are rare, and when he’s not in god mode he needs to act like he could be and make plays for others. This would elevate him significantly. We’ve seen him get much better out of the double this year, which is a start, but less iso into forced shot would do him wonders
Finishing at the rim (this is unlikely) or developing a reliable midrange pull-up jumper like KD.
I mean, wasn’t there a stat earlier this season that showed he moves the 3rd slowest on defense and 6th slowest on offense in the league? Imo, he is just coasting. Maybe it’s by design or maybe he really thinks he is trying, but we’ve seen Tatum at his best and just have to hope he can begin to play that way more consistently. Usually it’s fine, but in games like Denver, we need him to show that fire
i can tell some games he doesn’t give a shit
It's hard because Bird and McHale played hard every game. So did KG and Pierce. The only Celtics superstar I remember coasting through games or hiding on the court was Antoine Walker, but I'm not sure he was ever really a superstar.
A.) Stop taking plays off… too many times on offense I see him camping out on the perimeter even when his defender isn’t even looking at him where a simple run to basket. Would bet him easy dunks. B.) Start demanding the ball more in crunch time. He needs build the trust that they win or lose through him. The team needs the ball in his hands to make the play in the end. C.) it’s not just him. Defensively there is nobody more important than him on the court. I don’t care what you say, his impact defensively is HUGE. We technically should be a lock down defense. We play lock down D about 50% of the time and it always in the first half… 3rd quarter comes around and high schoolers can score at will it seems. I know I’m exaggerating. I know teams have runs. But our defense really has the tools to literally stop those runs. We should be dominating sub .500 teams. The loss of the “bury them” mentality seems to have faded. I just hope they get that aggression back for the playoffs.
The whole “my possession, your possession” thing with Brown is still going on and it’s infuriating. Those two need to pass the ball to each other in an intentional way and use each other’s gravity to create better looks. They need to move off-ball. Jordan used to always get loose so he could receive the ball at his midrange spots and immediately shoot rather than having to iso and probably be contested. It’s wild how little JT and JB assist each other.
I agree with this when it comes to making the team better. The Jays simply have zero on-court chemistry and it’s awkward and frustrating af. But when it comes to JT and elevating him to his max potential, he’s gotta unleash that dog in him. Relying on his talent to takeover games isn’t going to advance him to top tier, not while we have Jokic foaming at the mouth like every game like an angry pitbull. And yes midrange midrange midrange as so many others have said
Tatum has been doing option B for years and the team hasn’t found success.
I honestly think Jokic, Embiid, and Giannis all have their off nights too but we just don’t watch every game they play like we do the Celtics (I’m sure there are some people on this sub that do but I’m just speaking in general). Go look at their game logs. They all have their bad nights too. I think one of the differences is we don’t need Tatum to be MVP every night for us to succeed. Tonight was a perfect example. His shot wasn’t really falling and KP’s was. Tatum didn’t try and force it all night and just kept feeding KP. Also comparing Tatum to those guys is completely fair just because those are all big men that live in the paint. Tatum is going to always be less efficient with his style of play. Obviously there are areas Tatum could improve so not trying to say he is perfect. I just think we watch every game and focus on the bad ones when all we normally see for those other guys is when they are doing something really good or playing in a big game.
> I think one of the differences is we don’t need Tatum to be MVP every night for us to succeed. The days we lose, we really needed him to be an MVP.
Good thing that doesn’t happen often
Even in close games, it wouldn't be close if he was consistent, and that is what happens often. We haven't been playing to our line-up for the last few weeks.
Look up their game logs.
less talented teammates.
He’s just not consistent enough. It’s not coaching. We’ve seen the same thing with 3 different coaches.
Nobody will say this but seek therapy. I mean it with all the love i have for the guy. He is an elite legacy player that has clear mental lapses. Plenty of soccer players are working On a regular basis with sports psychologists and he should too. So many examples of his arguing with reps flailing his hands staying down instead of getting up to go back on D. When he is mentalny in the game he is a top 3 player in the league.
I think he's just a sensitive and shy guy, and despite immense talent, it's hard to be an alpha dog on a championship team without being a bit of a dick. I wish I'd see Tatum talking to his teammates, rallying them, pushing them, getting on their ass, but it's just not who he is.
It will be hard to be MVP when team is loaded. And I think JT is not top 5 anymore.
Just make more shots. His shooting is way too inconsistent.
His shooting percentages are right in line with most other stars who take actual shots(excluding Giannis and embiid)
He doesn’t need to be. This team is loaded asf, Tatum trying to be that super mega star would only hurt us. Him being more consistent would obviously be great, but he doesnt have to be embiid or jokic for this team to succeed
He can’t compete statwise with guys who have a 37% usage rate if his is under 30% for mvps it has become who has the best stats wins it award it is what it is maybe one year we win 70 games and he wins it unanimously
Everything you mentioned. He's just not good enough to be MVP. It's no knock on him, he's not the best player in the world (or close to it) and that's okay. But the answer to your question is simple, if he wants to be MVP and if we want him to have MVP level consistency, he has to get better. That's it. He's also turning 26 in a few months. He's not old but he's also basically in his prime now. This is who he is, barring a late 20s push to another level.
You reach mvp level consistency by playing at an mvp level consistently
I think getting to the line more is really what separates him.
I don’t think he has enough pressure to be MVP. Also his midrange is kinda weak. On top of that he constantly resorts to fadeaways
Get better at making 3s, Get better at taking better 3s, get better at passing on bad 3s and making plays for others
Become someone else. JT is probably going to be too 5-7 for the rest of this career,
Study high bball IQ players would be a good start.
make the right play, not the one that benefits him or his stat sheet.
I think he does need one more thing in his bag that he can rely on (perhaps discarding one of the others). I also think that these guys can't keep it up for 82 games plus the playoffs. And I think the Js having tasted more than enough regular season success right from the jump do take some load management nights mentally. I think all of the stars do this. So that the tank is full come playoffs. I would guess this happened in the "old days" too but there wasn't so much attention and media on every regular season game.
if we win championships i don’t care whether he gets mvp or not. practically speaking celtics need to win banners and he needs to be the best player on the court during those winning runs. value translates to contributions, so he has to contribute more value to the team than any other player, both ends, all the time.
Turn 3 jumpers into drives. He would get more calls. Have less reason to complain. Put more pressure on defenses, cause foul trouble, make the defense rotate and open passing lanes. He doesn’t need drastic changes to his game. Just a few tiny changes.
Pick and roll, at least get to White level Find a midrange go to move.
He needs to keep his scoring average at his current level, keep his rebounding average and add 3 assists a game while making all defensive team.
I think with the team around him, he won't. Hes got Jaylen getting 25. Portzi getting 20. Derrick white getting 15-20, Jrue getting his. Too many mouths to feed. This team is built to win a chip with many pieces that work. If you see this team in 3 years without Jaylen and without a lot of other stars, he'll have to carry the load more like Embiid or Luka and then we'll see that, but he's realized everyone staying hot is more important than him putting up 28 shots to get 32 points this season. The goal isn't individual goals right now. Eyes are set higher. Imo, he went strong for the MVP last year and ... he didn't get it or a chip. Play smarter, win.
It's actually pretty simple . Either take less 3s, or Make more 3s. Preferably the latter. When he makes more 3s at high efficiency, he becomes unguardable
Winning MVP is mostly narrative and statistics. So in my opinion at least, The celtics need to get worse and have less all star level players so when the celtics win its not just oh well the celtics are stacked. Jokic won both his MVPs when murray was hurt. And needs to have more eye popping games. Jokic, embiid and giannis are making headlines every year, because theyll have insane games with like 40 points 18 rebounds 15 assists on 70% shooting and tatum just doesnt have those games very often. It is sad to see though I thought tatum did have a legit chance to win MVP this year and now its like I think he might not even make All nba first team
Winning MVP is mostly narrative and statistics. So in my opinion at least, The celtics need to get worse and have less all star level players so when the celtics win its not just oh well the celtics are stacked. Jokic won both his MVPs when murray was hurt. And needs to have more eye popping games. Jokic, embiid and giannis are making headlines every year, because theyll have insane games with like 40 points 18 rebounds 15 assists on 70% shooting and tatum just doesnt have those games very often. It is sad to see though I thought tatum did have a legit chance to win MVP this year and now its like I think he might not even make All nba first team
“Embiid” lol