I'm- as of yesterday- 47 years old. I feel pretty good saying that Tatum is the 2nd best Celtic of my lifetime.
He's a better player than Pierce, and that really just leaves Larry.
When caricature shirts were a thing I had a Celtics shirt with Gamble, Brian Shaw and Dee Brown I'm pretty sure.. not sure if there was another one on there.Happy Birthday! What about Kevin Gamble?
I feel like I had a shirt like that. Lot of cold nights in Fall River watching these guys.When caricature shirts were a thing I had a Celtics shirt with Gamble, Brian Shaw and Dee Brown I'm pretty sure.. not sure if there was another one on there.
edit: it was Reggie Lewis.. I just didn't think he was in the same tier as those other guys.
https://www.celticslife.com/2015/04/they-just-dont-make-t-shirts-like-they.html
Just behind E-Z Ed Pinckney, ahead of Stoyko.Happy Birthday! What about Kevin Gamble?
Dino Radja, Vitaly PotapenkoJust behind E-Z Ed Pinckney, ahead of Stoyko.
I feel like I had a shirt like that. Lot of cold nights in Fall River watching these guys.
Greg Kite. His shirt is so stiff it never needs ironing.Just behind E-Z Ed Pinckney, ahead of Stoyko.
I don’t know why this made me think of Joe KleineGreg Kite. His shirt is so stiff it never needs ironing.
Basketball Reference categorizes this as Tatum's age 25 season, based on his age when the season started.Not a lot of guys who have 3x first team all NBAs with a ring by age 26. Rare air.
This actually should be a lesson for all other superstars moving forward. It's about T-E-A-M, not about the individual superstar. If your top goal is to be a star and make money, by all means, chase your stats. If your top goal is to win it all, do whatever it takes to win, even if it means elevating your teammates and reducing your own statistical profile. That's what Tatum did. That's why he's a champion now.A lot of players say they truly only care about winning, very few have backed it up like Tatum has this season.
Russell?I'm- as of yesterday- 47 years old. I feel pretty good saying that Tatum is the 2nd best Celtic of my lifetime.
He's a better player than Pierce, and that really just leaves Larry.
This is why I'm really not worried about the 6ers. Embiid, George (?)... they will never be able to do this. Embiid referring to himself as the MVP in the pregame and mentioning the CBA as the reason the Cs won't be a dynasty tells you all you need to know.This actually should be a lesson for all other superstars moving forward. It's about T-E-A-M, not about the individual superstar. If your top goal is to be a star and make money, by all means, chase your stats. If your top goal is to win it all, do whatever it takes to win, even if it means elevating your teammates and reducing your own statistical profile. That's what Tatum did. That's why he's a champion now.
I don't know how to break it to you, but Russell didn't play in a 47 year old's life time.Russell?
Oh I missed the “in my lifetime” part of it. My bad.I don't know how to break it to you, but Russell didn't play in a 47 year old's life time.
I'm only 40, and I'm routinely blown away how old shit that feels contemporary to me, is. Bill Russell's career being one of them.
Yeah. No problem with folks giving the MVP to JB, but JT is the guy who makes everything happen. You just can't cover him with one man, and he makes great decisions. The shot quality that he creates for everyone is magical. And the fact that he can switch 1-5 is so underrated as to be laughable. He was credibly covering everyone on the court in this series, from Kyrie to Gafford. We're watching greatness.That was about as good a playoff run as you can have in terms of "how elite can you be while shooting like crap?"
Reminds me of LeBron when he shot 39% in the 2015 Finals and was amazing.
Well he did have better 3% than Luka.That was about as good a playoff run as you can have in terms of "how elite can you be while shooting like crap?"
Reminds me of LeBron when he shot 39% in the 2015 Finals and was amazing.
Great post.He played a lot like prime LeBron during the playoffs. His playmaking was tremendous and very LeBron-like in bending the defense and making quick decisions to move the ball, and his versatile defense was arguably better than any defense LeBron played over a consistent period of time in the playoffs.
Also he could not BUY a foul last night despite the Mavs' routine hammering of him as he went to the basket. Just a magnificent performance on both ends.
Tatum has played in 113 more regular season games than Embiid since Tatum's rookie year. That's about 16 a season, not counting playoffs (or the two full seasons Embiid also missed earlier in his career). Joel also plays a bit more than 2 MPG less per game, which isn't massive but in aggregate across 400 games is another 25 games total. And that's not even counting playoffs.This is why I'm really not worried about the 6ers. Embiid, George (?)... they will never be able to do this. Embiid referring to himself as the MVP in the pregame and mentioning the CBA as the reason the Cs won't be a dynasty tells you all you need to know.
Tatum is going to be awesome to watch these next 8+ years. We're lucky.
+1 to that.Tatum has played in 113 more regular season games than Embiid since Tatum's rookie year. That's about 16 a season, not counting playoffs (or the two full seasons Embiid also missed earlier in his career). Joel also plays a bit more than 2 MPG less per game, which isn't massive but in aggregate across 400 games is another 25 games total. And that's not even counting playoffs.
Joel may be the best per-minute-when-healthy guy in the league, but until and unless he can be counted on to play 65 or so games a year he simply isn't in Jayson Tatum's class as an overall impact player. You can't contribute to winning from the bench, or from the halftime show. Embiid had two sort-of-healthy years before this one, and maybe next year will be another---but people consistently underply availabilty as a factor when talking about the top guys in the league.
In addition, having Jrue basically healthy for the entire season + playoffs is a huge upgrade in terms of availability and health.The Celtics were very lucky this year health wise, but I certainly don't think it was an accident they targeted key guys who were generally available players (minus Porzingis...but having one of your key 5-7 guys be that is so different than your #1).
I think it was Bontemps who suggested (on Windhorst's post-game podcast with Lowe) that it could go the other way - now that JB and JT have won a chip, the pressure is off and they can play even more freely and not worry as much about statistics.Unfortunately, the reason Tatum wasn't the finals MVP is because he didn't score enough points (although one could also argue it was because of some poor shooting games). My only fear is that subconcsiously he thinks he needs to dominate the game more to get those individual accomplishments. He seems like a very unselfish player, but I'm sure he was hoping his performance last night would get him the award (who wouldn't be hoping for that?).
Time flies so who knows if I am remembering this right. Going into his first all star selection, Tatum was slumping but once he made it, he kind of unlocked again: I think he said he was pressing. I expect with this pressure off, we will get FULL TATUMS going forward.I think it was Bontemps who suggested (on Windhorst's post-game podcast with Lowe) that it could go the other way - now that JB and JT have won a chip, the pressure is off and they can play even more freely and not worry as much about statistics.
Good memory! He was on fire in February prior to the ASB and Lowe (among others) suggested he was pressing before being named to the All-Star team (see: Zach Lowe Suggests One Reason For Jayson Tatum's Recent Tear - NESN.com ).Time flies so who knows if I am remembering this right. Going into his first all start selection, Tatum was slumping but once he made it, he kind of unlocked again: I think he said he was pressing. I expect with this pressure off, we will get FULL TATUMS going forward.
Thinking about this mage me remember he won the skill comp at his first all star.
Remember when Ben Simmons and Mitchell were over him for ROY. Voting in sports, LMAO. Play the games where we can see who wins, ok, now have morons vote on what was good.
He led the team in points/rebounds/assists (in the playoffs).. he's the only player in NBA history to do that and not win MVP. BUT, Tatum has talked extensively about how he knows he could score 30+ points per game if he wanted to.. he's talked about how he's actively trying to balance scoring with the team he has. Tatum, like everyone else, has put himself second to the team ..everyone had to sacrifice to make it a better team. I imagine that now that he's seen it actually worked..why would he go backwards? Plus..he's always said that all he wants is a championship and nothing else matters. Now that they've won he also will probably get a bit more respect..as they all will.Unfortunately, the reason Tatum wasn't the finals MVP is because he didn't score enough points (although one could also argue it was because of some poor shooting games). My only fear is that subconcsiously he thinks he needs to dominate the game more to get those individual accomplishments. He seems like a very unselfish player, but I'm sure he was hoping his performance last night would get him the award (who wouldn't be hoping for that?).
Helps when he is blowing by Luka (had highest blow-by rate of any player in the last 10 years in a playoff series).According to Second Spectrum, Tatum recorded a 58.3% blow-by rate on drives in the Finals, the second highest by any player in a series in the past 10 years.
True, but last night, he was getting by nearly everyone.Helps when he is blowing by Luka (had highest blow-by rate of any player in the last 10 years in a playoff series).
Just rewatching the highlights.. Tatum at the end of the game was peak Tatum.. a ton of confidence going to the rim with a ton of different moves. If we get that Tatum along with his assists next year.. the C's could be better.It got lost given how dominating he was on the drive but Tatum passed up a bunch of open 3’s last night – especially in the second half. His first 3PA missed everything and was an air ball.
Tatum has always had shooting slumps and usually plays his way out of them, often announced with a monster 40-to-50 point game. That never happened this time.
Thinking back to earlier in the playoffs with him bending his wrist at the foul line between shots; I’m wondering if he was playing through an injury.
He blew by any and everyone who tried defending him.True, but last night, he was getting by nearly everyone.
Oh both levels.He blew by any and everyone who tried defending him.
Yes, everything they do in player acquisition strategy and offensive system is built around what Jayson Tatum lets them do.I thought he should have been the finals MVP, although it is hard to fault a vote for Brown because his series was also great.
But today, in addition to Tatum putting up numbers across the board, was a reminder of how the Celtics are so built around Tatum, and Brown and othersd can do what they do in large part because of Tatum.