I don’t think anyone forgot how good he can be. We just all remembered how inconsistent he tends to be.
WhiteImpDragon
Bandwagonists ruin this sub for real
HailKyrie
NBA fans go by a single game sample size
aja_ramirez
The thing is, a championship basically falls on the shoulder of the star. If the Celtics can’t get over the hump THIS year, then they probably never will with JT as the best player.
And yes, I know that he can still get better. But we are at near peak powers with the players around him. No assurances after this year for this team.
NotLow420
NBA history is littered with guys who were great players but were not great enough to lead their team to a championship. I think we all fear that JT is going to be one of those guys. That verdict is still out, but it’s not like there isn’t precedent for it.
jotyma5
Should have had a different Tatum face for each year. But yeah people love to shit on him
justiceway1
I don’t think he’s criticized for being “not good”. It’s more a question of him being very inconsistent
I_Set_3_Alarms
For me it’s just the end of game shots like in the Cavs game I want us to improve. Tatum’s play in the Nuggets game isn’t a big worry for me, he wouldn’t have played the same way in a Finals game.
TheSkier7
It doesn’t matter how good he is if he can’t finish games. He makes bad decisions under pressure and crumbles. He’s the last player I want with the ball in crunch time of big games.
Doublevipers
Nobody cares. Update your resumé
the_spinetingler
Rangs, Ernie, rangs.
Waesrdtfyg0987
The bar is very high for Tatum. Doesn’t mean he can’t get over it but he hasn’t yet.
sugarray4three
No, we haven’t forgotten…it’s just why would we concern ourselves with anything but the 23-24 season right now? We love Jayson and know damn well he can perform like the monster he is. But you’d be an idiot to not admit that he can be enraging to watch and root for at times. We just need that gold, man.
thesleepoverlord
I feel like Tatum’s problem is his lack of urgency to win games. He sleepwalks through a lot of games because he’s had a good team around him, and when they need him to score some points he’ll start to be aggressive. It’s a problem that’s made some playoff series longer than they had to be.
I’ve only seen Tatum really wake up and play a complete 48 minutes in elimination games and when he plays KD or Lebron.
etr112233
Yeah, loved him in that series!
But coaches and players have now seriously studied JT’s game and are more effectively defending.
Hoping he can learn & prevail and not just fling his arms up asking for a foul
iAm-Tyson
If he wants to be considered one of the greats, then he has to hit the shots that shut up all the haters. Thats why he’s dogged so hard.
About half of our losses this season could have been erased if he hits some clutch shots to close the game but instead he dribbles the clock out in isolation and drops a ridiculously bad fadeaway shot and holds his hands up looking for a foul.
The thing about Tatum is he’s too good to be settling for hard shots anymore, he has the strength to play like Giannis and be more physical around the rim, get to the basket and draw fouls but instead he camps in the corner and if he doesn’t hit 5-6 threes he’s having quiet night. He’s too easily phased out of games by physical defense.
I’ll hold my overall opinion of him when I see how the playoffs shake out this year but man some of the bad habits are starting to rear its head again.
restivepanda
Raw averages do not tell the whole story, especially when you actually watch the games.
No one is saying he doesn’t put up numbers and hasn’t delivered in big spots in the past, but his performance in statement games this season has been disappointing. He hasn’t done himself any favors in terms of quieting the haters with his play on national TV this year. Look at his Thursday night splits this season. Not saying he can’t, but he hasn’t done it this year.
silkysly06
He is good, very good. But he has to win a championship to be great.
restivepanda
Tatum splits on Thursdays (usually big games) this season:
22/6/5 on 40/37/81
We need him to show up when everyone’s watching
Willis050
Probably the best rebound small forward in the game
25DegreeD
Consistency/efficiency is the big thing with Tatum. On any given night in the playoffs he’s as likely to go 5/14 as he is to go 14/21. It’s part of the reason why they get pushed further than expected in almost every series.
That 2022 Bucks series is the epitome of the Tatum experience. The Middleton-less Bucks were not a top-tier team, and yet the Celtics found themselves down 2-3 with Tatum averaging 25-5-6 on 39-30-77 shooting splits on the series.
Tatum’s Game 6 performance overwrote what the narrative of the entire series would’ve been. People mainly know that series for Game 6, but if you zoomed out, the streaky shooting in games 1 and 3 contributed to them facing elimination twice against a 4th/5th seed-level team in the first place.
Occams-hairbrush1
It’s ridiculous. They win 11 striaght then lose two and people freak out.
it’s like…11 and 2 is incredibly good you dummies.
rabbid_hyena
I dont think you understand: we are disappointed because we KNOW how good he is. That’s what’s frustrating.
It means that our expectations on him are VERY high. It is not a bad thing. And no, it is not “unfair to him”, because he is no longer 19yo, but a seasoned 26yo NBA player.
He also earns in a week more than what would take YEARS for some of us. So, he cannot just disappear when we need him the most, just because he has been good for us in the past.
amr1992
I don’t watch every Celtics game, but would be interested to know if you guys think Tatum’s shot selection could be part of why he’s inconsistent. He takes a ton of threes off the dribble, which are typically your tougher looks. On top of that he also takes some highly contested mid range jumpers that can amazing when they go in, but have a high degree of difficulty.
SadTatter
If you watch Tatum during last shot clutch moments, it always looks like he’s hesitating and overthinking about what move to make. He dribbles out the clock, attempts to dribble penetrate, and if he fails he panics and attempts a desperation fadeaway.
Just stop overthinking it, master a signature shot like Pierce’s post up fadeaway, and use it with confidence instead of reacting to the defense and hoping for a break. If Pierce who was never as athletic or tall as Tatum could do it without getting blocked all the way until he retired, you know Tatum could too.
dynamicflashy
Most turnovers in a playoff run, and disappearing in certain games.
26 Comments
I don’t think anyone forgot how good he can be. We just all remembered how inconsistent he tends to be.
Bandwagonists ruin this sub for real
NBA fans go by a single game sample size
The thing is, a championship basically falls on the shoulder of the star. If the Celtics can’t get over the hump THIS year, then they probably never will with JT as the best player.
And yes, I know that he can still get better. But we are at near peak powers with the players around him. No assurances after this year for this team.
NBA history is littered with guys who were great players but were not great enough to lead their team to a championship. I think we all fear that JT is going to be one of those guys. That verdict is still out, but it’s not like there isn’t precedent for it.
Should have had a different Tatum face for each year. But yeah people love to shit on him
I don’t think he’s criticized for being “not good”. It’s more a question of him being very inconsistent
For me it’s just the end of game shots like in the Cavs game I want us to improve. Tatum’s play in the Nuggets game isn’t a big worry for me, he wouldn’t have played the same way in a Finals game.
It doesn’t matter how good he is if he can’t finish games. He makes bad decisions under pressure and crumbles. He’s the last player I want with the ball in crunch time of big games.
Nobody cares. Update your resumé
Rangs, Ernie, rangs.
The bar is very high for Tatum. Doesn’t mean he can’t get over it but he hasn’t yet.
No, we haven’t forgotten…it’s just why would we concern ourselves with anything but the 23-24 season right now? We love Jayson and know damn well he can perform like the monster he is. But you’d be an idiot to not admit that he can be enraging to watch and root for at times. We just need that gold, man.
I feel like Tatum’s problem is his lack of urgency to win games. He sleepwalks through a lot of games because he’s had a good team around him, and when they need him to score some points he’ll start to be aggressive. It’s a problem that’s made some playoff series longer than they had to be.
I’ve only seen Tatum really wake up and play a complete 48 minutes in elimination games and when he plays KD or Lebron.
Yeah, loved him in that series!
But coaches and players have now seriously studied JT’s game and are more effectively defending.
Hoping he can learn & prevail and not just fling his arms up asking for a foul
If he wants to be considered one of the greats, then he has to hit the shots that shut up all the haters. Thats why he’s dogged so hard.
About half of our losses this season could have been erased if he hits some clutch shots to close the game but instead he dribbles the clock out in isolation and drops a ridiculously bad fadeaway shot and holds his hands up looking for a foul.
The thing about Tatum is he’s too good to be settling for hard shots anymore, he has the strength to play like Giannis and be more physical around the rim, get to the basket and draw fouls but instead he camps in the corner and if he doesn’t hit 5-6 threes he’s having quiet night. He’s too easily phased out of games by physical defense.
I’ll hold my overall opinion of him when I see how the playoffs shake out this year but man some of the bad habits are starting to rear its head again.
Raw averages do not tell the whole story, especially when you actually watch the games.
No one is saying he doesn’t put up numbers and hasn’t delivered in big spots in the past, but his performance in statement games this season has been disappointing. He hasn’t done himself any favors in terms of quieting the haters with his play on national TV this year. Look at his Thursday night splits this season. Not saying he can’t, but he hasn’t done it this year.
He is good, very good. But he has to win a championship to be great.
Tatum splits on Thursdays (usually big games) this season:
22/6/5 on 40/37/81
We need him to show up when everyone’s watching
Probably the best rebound small forward in the game
Consistency/efficiency is the big thing with Tatum. On any given night in the playoffs he’s as likely to go 5/14 as he is to go 14/21. It’s part of the reason why they get pushed further than expected in almost every series.
That 2022 Bucks series is the epitome of the Tatum experience. The Middleton-less Bucks were not a top-tier team, and yet the Celtics found themselves down 2-3 with Tatum averaging 25-5-6 on 39-30-77 shooting splits on the series.
Tatum’s Game 6 performance overwrote what the narrative of the entire series would’ve been. People mainly know that series for Game 6, but if you zoomed out, the streaky shooting in games 1 and 3 contributed to them facing elimination twice against a 4th/5th seed-level team in the first place.
It’s ridiculous. They win 11 striaght then lose two and people freak out.
it’s like…11 and 2 is incredibly good you dummies.
I dont think you understand: we are disappointed because we KNOW how good he is. That’s what’s frustrating.
It means that our expectations on him are VERY high. It is not a bad thing. And no, it is not “unfair to him”, because he is no longer 19yo, but a seasoned 26yo NBA player.
He also earns in a week more than what would take YEARS for some of us. So, he cannot just disappear when we need him the most, just because he has been good for us in the past.
I don’t watch every Celtics game, but would be interested to know if you guys think Tatum’s shot selection could be part of why he’s inconsistent. He takes a ton of threes off the dribble, which are typically your tougher looks. On top of that he also takes some highly contested mid range jumpers that can amazing when they go in, but have a high degree of difficulty.
If you watch Tatum during last shot clutch moments, it always looks like he’s hesitating and overthinking about what move to make. He dribbles out the clock, attempts to dribble penetrate, and if he fails he panics and attempts a desperation fadeaway.
Just stop overthinking it, master a signature shot like Pierce’s post up fadeaway, and use it with confidence instead of reacting to the defense and hoping for a break. If Pierce who was never as athletic or tall as Tatum could do it without getting blocked all the way until he retired, you know Tatum could too.
Most turnovers in a playoff run, and disappearing in certain games.