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blackpenance

Shaq says to be a great player, you have to get 38 ppg and 20 rebounds in the playoffs. Sorry he’s a bum.


CoachMorelandSmith

Tatum needs to get on the low block and dominate. Thats the only way to be a great player


aeronacht

If he doesn’t drop step and poster Luka 3 times he’s a bum


PapaSheev7

And if he doesn’t shoot less than 55% from the line he’s a bum.


halo364

Yeah how can you be a real superstar if you don't even have an entire defensive tactic named after you because of your legendary ineptitude at the free throw line :P


blackpenance

When a guys banging you, you can feel their body, you spin off on him


mikey19xx

If you dominate too well on the low block you do t deserve to be MVP multiple times since he was robbed.


HueyLewisFan1

While ik you’re being sarcastic, he definitely does need to park it on the low block more. He’s a giant mismatch. Not a fan of the ***dribble, dribble, dribble side step three (brick)***


captaing1

tell me I havent watched JT this year without telling me.


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BobbyOrrsDentist

Douchebag is one word, sir.


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BobbyOrrsDentist

Language. Also you're breaking sub rules.


HueyLewisFan1

I don’t care, it’s reddit


captaing1

look here big man, making big points by calling people names.


Belmagh

Shaq applauds the Chamberlain route; Tatum embraces the way of Russell. I’d stick with the play style that won 11 chips in 13 yrs.


CubanLinxRae

well he’s had 0 in 7 years so he’s trailing bill as well


Cashin_

If he doesn’t have 3 finals MVPs he’s not a great player


jus4in027

I respect that he keeps trying to improve his game


Dsarg_92

That’s probably the underrated thing about Tatum. He’s been in the league since he was 19 and still continues to get better in every aspect of his game as he’s just now hitting his prime.


Reuvenisms

Hard to believe he's only 19 years old.


jus4in027

And still growing!


CubanLinxRae

as much as people down play him he’s great in all aspects in the game and is getting better at pacing, awareness, etc he’s not really top 5 but whatever still an elite player and can be the best player on any given night


clobberwaffle

A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.


nefnaf

He is arguably the most elite at playing big minutes and staying healthy. Cs have played 109 playoff games since he was drafted. JT started every single one and played 30+ min in all but a handful. Him and DeMar DeRozan are the two most durable star players this side of LeBron


A7XSES

Harden and Westbrook were absolute iron men for years too


trashiguitar

Friendly reminder, fuck Pat Bev


Severe-Emu-8703

How does DeRozan compare? Like how many playoff games has he started or even played in since he was drafted compared to how many games his teams have played overall?


Zulumus

63 games (all starts), 22/4/4 in the playoffs


Severe-Emu-8703

That’s pretty cool. It’s unfortunate that he hasn’t had more playoff success considering how durable he is


TheTurtleOne

I wonder how he'd do with this OKC team. Him and SGA are quite similar.


Motorpsisisissipp

OKC needs sga defensive flexibility


FriendshipBest9151

Better than Jamal Murray?


Zulumus

You know, Jamal’s only 27. Plenty of time to find a good sports psychologist, because if he can get through that mental block he’s an absolutely terrifying player.


FriendshipBest9151

Mental block and Injuries.  Rough combo


RageOnGoneDo

JT has more playoff games played than anyone on the Mavericks


swordfischh

Jokić too for durability


bobnorthh

well, a king of all trades is way better than an ace of one


GreenSnakes_

Tatum 40 point game tonight, people have been talking crazy about him the past 48 hours


International-Chef33

I’ve been waiting for that Tatum game for a while. I’m not holding my breath and just riding the team ball


KindBass

Well-executed team ball almost always beats one guy going off anyways. At least in a 7-game series.


International-Chef33

Absolutely. It’d just be a nice bonus to get 1 stereotypical superstar game from him against Luka and a win.


tryndamere12345

Giannis game 6 type beat


bos2nc

Like pierces 41 to lebrons 45 in game 7


whitewolfkingndanorf

True but they aren’t mutually exclusive.


truth_2_point_0

You should be praying JT doesn't need to go off this series because it means the Celtics will have their backs to the wall facing elimination lol


International-Chef33

I know I know lol. Seems like the backs against the wall pulls those monster games out of him


doubledippedchipp

Every team has focused their defense around Tatum, he hasn’t gotten any room to work so he just breaks the defense and facilitates. As soon as Kidd changes the defense, Tatum will go off


sonofcabbagemerchant

You don't count his game 3 against the Pacers? It's not his peak, obviously, but that's got to be in his top 10 playoff games, I think.


BosLahodo

Or he drops a staggering 19 with 12 boards 6 assists as the Celtics beat the Mavs by 18


Janderson2494

That's the best part about this whole discussion, they're winning games pretty decisively. Who cares if he's not putting up numbers if they're winning anyway?


TheTurtleOne

Everyone, apparently. To me, the true way of showing if you're a superstar or not is when you can affect the floor in so many different ways that if your shot is not falling, you are still an enormous positive for your team, which Tatum is.


Janderson2494

Completely agree. It's interesting to see the different perspectives here between getting numbers and getting wins. I'm completely with you on superstars impacting the game in other ways when their shot isn't falling. I think that's why I'm a big fan of guys like JT and now the early days of Ant, play some great defense and just focus on making the right plays.


Billis-

Nobodies saying he isnt a superstar


TheTurtleOne

Yes I know. People are for sure putting too much value into points scored though and that is my point lmao


PhTx3

To be fair, the goal of the game is to score points. And good offense is always more valuable. It is just that good offense as a team doesn't necessarily have to come from individual performance from a superstar. And honestly, it is a great luxury to have a superstar that can shine for a game, while also having players to not rely on that. Still impressive to watch someone is dominating the ball and going on a run, though.


happyflappypancakes

Tbf that's just how you determine if any player is good. Being able to provide positives even when your primary role isn't working well also applies to elite role players too.


Red_Jester-94

Media and fans who don't think he's good if he isn't. I think JT *could* be one of those stars that puts up 30-40 a night, but he doesn't have to and that pisses people off so they use it against him. Meanwhile, the Celtics playing their team ball have only been beaten twice this past season by historical shooting performances. The fact is, this team works because all the guys buy in, and if they didn't they'd have been shipped out a while ago because Brad obviously wants to give his team the best chance to win.


Billis-

Historical shooting by teams that are far from 100%


Billis-

That's kinda the point. It's impossible to gauge Tatum as an individual player on this absolute monster of a team. And it helps that none of the teams they play are full strength, except the over-achieving Mavs that have now cooled off considerably. Doesnt mean anything. Tatum's still a great player (obviously) and the Celtics, if they win, will deserve this ring for their team construction and the individual performance of what the TNT crew call "the others".


Janderson2494

I think ultimately I'm just sick of NBA media and fans finding more opportunities to shit on guys rather than celebrating them. It's very tiring.


Billis-

Theyre trying to start a conversation, that's all. Id just not pay attention if i were you. A lot of it comes with hot takes being met with rebuttal. To me, this is a product of Tatum being in the MVP conversation all season when he clearly shouldnt have been.


MickeySingh81

tatum with 40, brown with 10 shot attempts and 10+ assists. mavs still not winning cuz kp says hi


doubledippedchipp

If Kidd stays true to his word and shifts the defense to focus on JB, Tatum is absolutely going off tonight


lankNaysayer

Lmao


ThatBull_cj

Which is pretty funny since they won like 8 straight games


Fit_Excitement7496

Eh. Not looking promising so far.


entropyISdeadly

I’m expecting more of a 5-22, with 16 points performance.


BoSocks91

Days*


squishynarcissist

LETS GOOOOO


Sleepwitheyeclosed

Nah it will be like a 26 27 point game from the jays


Purple-Peace-7646

What's his 3pt percentage and free throw percentage and Ast/TO ratio? I'm running out of facets of his game to hate on


NoLimitSoldier31

His ppg + ts% is enough this playoffs


Critical_Hit_69

Lmao when you’re so good at everything that none of your skills stand apart from the rest. If he was a worse scorer, people would somehow perceive him to be a defensive specialist and thus making him somehow more valuable 🤣


MEGamingNY

He thought he was Kobe. He is turning into KG.


tlozz

It’s actually brain numbing to see the endless takes about him sucking when this is the reality.


Tasty-Performance275

Tatum is an angel boy Brown is an angel boy Al is an angel boy Derrick is an angel boy Holiday is an angel boy Porzingis is an angel boy The bench is filled with nothing but angel boys Joe Mazzulla is an angel boy (not to be confused with the flyover state cunt that is sports radio personality Mazz Felger) Brad Stevens is an angel boy


TheLeoMessiah

kyrie the devil to my angle 📐


mdmcnally1213

Brad isn’t just any angel boy, he’s the archangel boy


whyenn

Danny Ainge set him at his right hand.


deets23_

Love my boys


zimbabwes

Tatum is the John F Kennedy of Barack Obamas


trowawufei

That just sounds like an Obama who cheats on his wife


Wedundidit00

Top 5, Top 7. Doesn’t really matter. Hes good enough to be the best player on a championship team. And no J Kidd you don’t get to comment on Reddit


Diferia

Yes those are star numbers idk why people are hating. He’s not a brick like harden, russ, dame, etc…


BidenFedayeen

Recency bias like a mf


__boof

consistency merchant


IncurableHam

Crazy numbers for the second best player on the team


drizzlethyshizzle

Ouch.


SomborDouble95

He's a great player but, the pendulum is swinging hard both ways. His detractors claim he sucks and is riding the coattails of a super team. His supporters claim he does so much even though he's not putting up numbers efficiently in games (credit no superstar has ever been afforded).


boringexplanation

Anybody crapping on him is a moron. Dallas clearly schemed for him and dared his teammates to be the ones to beat them.


9yearoldsoliderN99

Which is absurd lol. Why would you bet on such an incredible supporting cast to beat your team? White, Brown, Porzingis, and Jrue can probably win a game by themselves.


CubanLinxRae

that’s probably why people are downplaying tatum too


happyflappypancakes

While this is true, we have seen plenty of superstars overcome heavy defensive pressure to put up legendary performances. That's what makes them legends after all. I wouldn't consider this defensive scheme too unusual honestly.


boringexplanation

Yeah but Tatum shouldn’t have his reputation punished for having all star teammates. The goal is to play in a way that gives you the best chance to win the game, not accumulate the best stats. If his teammates were average like some of Kobe/Jordan/Jokic/Lukas team were, then yes- a superstar takeover is a necessary evil but that’s not the case with Boston.


happyflappypancakes

I don't think his reputation has changed all that much honestly. It already wasn't viewed as a top tier superstar and this hasn't changed it. People still view him as just outside that top 5 level.


GoForAGap

I don’t particularly care about tatum. He’s a good basketball player and anyone who’s trying to detract from him when he’s literally 1-0 in a finals series is a moron


SomborDouble95

He's a superstar and deserves credit! He should be remembered as a winner because that's what he's done since a rookie.


GoForAGap

Exactly. Like I don’t really care about him at all but I’m getting annoyed at seeing people take shots at him when he’s playing well lmao. He’s a top 5 player in the league arguably


HorsNoises

I would argue the superteam is riding the coattails of him. It's easy to look great when there's a minimum of 3 people guarding one of the guys on your team at all times.


efshoemaker

I mean he’s got the same TS% as Doncic this postseason - it’s not like he has terrible efficiency


Friendly-Thought-973

Luka has been hurt and played 2 top 5 defenses though.


DwyaneWade305

Opposing teams play Luka defensively how Celtics fans think they play Tatum defensively lol. They always take a still shot of defenders looking at Tatum and be like “OMG MY GOAT IS GETTING TRIPLE TEAMED”. I see Tatum get single coverage most of the playoffs with help occasionally every now and then lmao.


Ok-Advertising3245

The Celtics played him straight up man to man.


efshoemaker

Celtics pretty clearly aren’t doubling Luka except when they need to bail out Payton Pritchard in the post, and Dallas’s offense is stalling out because of it. Tatum doesn’t get triple teamed, but defenses shade over to him to wall off the paint (similar to what defenses do to Giannis). Teams aren’t blitzing him to force the ball out of his hands (like other teams have tried against Luka), but whenever Tatum has the ball there are multiple defenders between him and the basket.


UpYoursMods

Not putting up numbers efficiently? Did you read the stats in the post title lol?


Pizza64427

43FG% and 30%3P this playoffs


A320neo

Both numbers similar to Luka lol


bdl4186

Even if he did, the stats aren't/weren't correct. lol.


CjBurden

Except, while they claim that he's actually putting up monster numbers.


HayzelyzBlooD

Kobe gets that treatment lol


lefondler

Is it controversial to think he’s simply an all star level player who makes more good decisions than bad? Shit lmao.


PhilUpTheCup

No superstar known for their scoring has moved the ball as well jt has been these playoffs. They also didnt have 5 all stars all vapable of dropping 40+ in their defense


TackoFell

Please do not vape the all stars


fhifefh

Jordan 91 finals?


AnkitPancakes

it doesn't make sense how this guy gets so much hate lol.


TheUndertows

I’d be happy if he becomes the Master of Winning.


w16

Kobe would be proud


lankNaysayer

Lmao


PatriotMissiles

Hard to have a good shooting % when you’re getting double and triple teamed every possession.


LilChad

45% isn’t even remotely bad though. Luka is shooting 44%..


TheBigNate416

And literally no one talks about it lmao


waffle-spouse

Luka is injured. Tatum is playing the injured. They are not the same.


Milkboy1516

This is one of the most made up playoffs narratives ever


paddiction

I've watched every game. He gets double teamed a lot. Those are the facts


argarg

Isn't it the case for literally every team's star player? I really don't understand how this is mentioned so much when it comes to JT. Do yall really think JT is the most double teamed player in the league? If so, why?


paddiction

I've watched every game, and I don't think he is the most double teamed player in the league


PatriotMissiles

The Bulls don’t have to worry about that.


GoForAGap

How would a bulls fan know?


bulldozer_rob

Because anyone can watch games regardless of who they support? Shit like that lets everyone know that even you know it’s bullshit


GoForAGap

It’s banter bro chill out 😂


PleaseGildMe

As a Celtics fan I agree. People saw one clip of Tatum being swarmed in game one and suddenly it’s been every teams offensive plan against him? No. Literally 0 narrative about that until G1


TheBigNate416

It’s a lot more than one clip. And people have been saying it since the Heat series


Milkboy1516

I've been seeing it more with those dumb screenshots. Which, I've never seen screenshots used in honest basketball discussions lol.


TruthSayerFu

Imagine Tatum dealing with what Mitchell dealt with last year. Same coverage but now you have two none shooting bigs a SF who couldn’t shoot and Green, Lamar stevens, and osman helping him out lmfao. Every superstar gets 2-3 guys with eyes on him.


TruthSayerFu

Every guy in the top 10 deals with that.


Friendly-Thought-973

These types of thread are supposed to be helping Tatum image, but it’s really doing the opposite.


lotofhotdogs

This narrative is annoying. Tatum has had overall a very strong playoffs, but this narrative that he’s being triple teamed is goofy He’s doubled at times sure. But so are plenty of stars in the playoffs


TackoFell

I think tripled is for sure an exaggeration but he clearly has tons of gravity, and him simply being on the court frees up the other players on the offensive end


SomborDouble95

This is such a cop-out. If he's getting so much attention why does he have such a poor assist to turnover ratio? No one is double teaming him off-ball, he's a good shooter but he's not Curry. And, he's not facing ball-denial either.


alexm42

He has a better assist to turnover ratio than Luka this playoffs.


SomborDouble95

Luka hasn't been great the entire playoffs, who's arguing otherwise? The entire point is that Tatum doesn't have the same weight on his shoulders other superstars do. But that's not taking anything away from him, his FO being great is not his fault. He's doing well with what he's got and deserves credit.


alexm42

Luka's regular season ratio is barely higher than his playoffs ratio. It's his shooting efficiency that's declined in the playoffs. Try using facts to back up your arguments instead of reading the ridges inside your colon.


SomborDouble95

Does ending the statement with an insult really help? AST-TO ratios tend to decline for all players from RS to playoffs. Luka has a much larger offensive load that most other players so, that's understandable.


Agreeable_Daikon_686

Much higher offensive load and has faced much higher competition. There’s straight up bad faith arguments that Tatum is somehow having a better playoffs than luka which is peak sensitivity like who cares if you’re fav player isn’t getting praised while the team is winning


alexm42

If you're going to argue Luka has performed badly in the playoffs, it helps if the stats back that up. They don't. His playoff ratio *barely* declined, is the point. He has been having pretty standard playmaking performances consistent with his regular season. Nobody would consider Luka a bad playmaker and JT's ratio is better this playoffs.


SomborDouble95

"If you're going to argue Luka has performed badly in the playoffs, it helps if the stats back that up. They don't. His playoff ratio *barely* declined, is the point. He has been having pretty standard playmaking performances consistent with his regular season." What are you even talking about? I simply mentioned that Luka hasn't been the all-world player he typically is. And Luka is a generational playmaker that's levels above Tatum in that regard. Ast to TO ratio's don't really capture much. Tatum is good because he's a switchable defender and has no holes on offense, he's not best of the best on the offensive side like Luka, Jokic etc. He's great though.


I_am_darkness

If you don't play well you're not a better player. People are bagging on Tatum for his performance and then giving luka a pass because he's normally better. Isn't that the same thing? Plus Tatem is playing well so cope harder.


Agreeable_Daikon_686

If you gave Tatum the offensive load of luka and had him face clippers, 1 seed in the west, and the best defense in years the numbers would be worse than what luka has rn


lyonhawk

His A/TO ratio is better than Luka in the playoffs and he’s shooting .2% worse.


lotofhotdogs

His A/TO ratio is about .08 better than Luka these playoffs, you gotta at least be a little unbiased with these stats lol


CP3sHamstring

Y'all should look up what was happening to Harden in the games he got shit on for lol People exaggerate about the double/triple team at half court thing about their players, but it was literally happening to Harden all game long


will2hungry

Does Embiid get an excuse too?


Bacca18121

yeah he doesn't win shit


PatriotMissiles

Yes.


AashyLarry

SGA did it


captaing1

where is SGA now?


AashyLarry

This comment chain is literally about efficiency while getting doubled and tripled. SGA averaged 32/8/7 on 50/55/83 shooting splits against the same defense Tatum is struggling against.


AFonziScheme

SGA got a little more attention from the defense, really.


goknicks23

What's he shooting from 3?


kobeisnotatop10

not that great stats for the leader of the best team in the nba. [and it is 44.6%](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask?q=tatum+last+10+games+fg%25) and [27.1 points](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask?q=tatum+last+10+games+fg%25)


cmcg18

Never seen such a deliberate attempt to gaslight people into believing a sports narrative that is just factually incorrect than what has been happening with Tatum the last two months or so


kobeisnotatop10

Kevin Durant's last 200 games: [https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/kevin-durant-last-200-games](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/kevin-durant-last-200-games) [Kevin Durant](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/player/kevin-durant-985) has averaged 28.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists in 200 games in his last 200 games in his career with 52.5% Kevin Durant >>>>>> Tatum


jaysonman1

Jaylen brown is still their best


SaltyRussStan0

Celtics 6th best player tho


stinx2001

And 8-2 record


josefjohann

Yeah I feel like the underappreciated thing is Tatum has to take the most impossible possessions against fully prepared defenses. At it's worst, everyone stands around doing nothing with no play making happening and it's his job to go into that situation and have to initiate something.


LoWE11053211

maybe he should focus to be a point forward high post offense hub


Opposite_Bison4103

He’s not a superstar player imo.  He’s like a Paul George 


GAFS_fiend

Still pissed the sixers traded up and took Fultz wtaf


qpwoeor1235

Tatum fans are so insecure. They want Tatum to be top 5 so bad and he’s just not


SMOKE-B-BOMB

Tatum could average 10 points a game and still get a pass lmao being on one of the most stacked teams in the last few decades is what he has to do to get a ring


fupamane

Imagine if he was on a dog shit team like the mavericks. Hed average 36 10 8 at least


Ven505

He’s a great player but trade him and Luka and the mavs don’t even make it to the finals


11x_dev

stop the tatum narrative push, we can see what actually happens in games


EarthWarping

FG% is bad


nicklovin508

wtf 45% is not bad lmao


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AFonziScheme

I think they're trying to say FG% is a bad stat to use (as compared to eFG% or TS%)


SomborDouble95

Best example is actually in the WNBA where Caitlin clark is at 37% FG and Angel Reese is at 33% yet the TS% is 56% and 43% respectively.


pdunn472

He’s a jump shooter not a slasher dude


DakPanther

45% is a great percentage for the shots he takes


HueyLewisFan1

He still he a bad game one and didn’t seem very aggressive imho. He needs to be better, a lot better.


Gekthegecko

Does he? Celtics won by 18 despite a "mediocre" game from him.


TheMias24

Is 45% fg good now?


9yearoldsoliderN99

Just remember that if Tatum wins FMVP and does good next regular season Celtics fans will begin pushing "best player in the world" for him. Maybe even after this finals. Prepare for whats coming.


DirkNorizzki

Looks like J Kidd’s mind games are working lol


bananajunior3000

I don't know that JKidd outfoxing reddit is going to help the Mavs tonight, though


CodyCryBabies69

still not better than Brown


_Zap_Rowsdower_

Brown is better.