While Trae was getting where he wanted versus a rusty Smart last night, Tatum played some solid defense on Trae last night. TY scored a 30' bomb on JT last night on a tip-out offensive board, otherwise, JT didn't allow him to penetrate or score another point.. And I am still skeptical of Tatum's elite defensive rating. He has improved, no doubt, but I think Stevens has as much if not more to do with it than Tatum.
Without a doubt, Tatum is an elite perimeter defender due to his instincts, anticipation, positioning and length/wingspan. The eye test and adv metrics back that up.
CBS is turning to Tatum more frequently to shut down the opponents' 3pt snipers. He guards 1-4 and can hold his own versus small 5s. He'll get more ferocious on defense as he gains strength.
I'm not dealing Tatum ++ for KAT, who isn't in my top10, and plays a dying position. I expect the C's to stay economical at the 5 and spend on wings/a ballhandler.