I think that he's slower to recognize it than Brown, but a better passer out of it when he does. I could be wrong.From what I saw yesterday, it was not entirely Tatum's fault. He did get the ball out quickly on a number of occasions, but the issue was whoever he passed it too (like Theis) was too slow making the next pass to get the easy basket. With that being said, getting aggressively double-teamed at the NBA level is very difficult, and Tatum really only started seeing it towards the end of last season when he made his big leap forward before the All Star break. He is 22, and he should be able to figure it out with more experience. I think in the mean time, the Celtics are willingly playing into opponents hands when Tatum runs the point.
Your point is correct though. It has to be identified early, and a good first pass and subsequent passes must be made. Overall I'd like to see Brad coach better passing and execution out of that. We should be welcoming the defense to throw extra bodies at a guy 30+ feet from the basket, because it's supposed to result in a layup or wide open look. Instead, we fumble it enough that the defense routinely recovers. NO isn't a good defensive team.