I am hoping that he takes this off season and works on his game and comes out even better next season. Tatum looked tired. He played a lot of minutes in the playoffs, during the season, and played with the Olympic team last summer. Maybe it all finally caught up with him, but he needs to find a way to bounce back and prove the critics wrong.
I guess I mean not dwelling on the negative aspect and instead feed off of how close he was and then dwell on what he can do better.
This right here. Man. That would have been so much worse. OTOH, the Heat were probably going to be swept by the Warriors.
This is how the 2008 title team got Posey, who was absolutely a difference maker.
Honestly a guy like Posey to take the defensive load off Tatum will have a bigger impact as it will free up Tatum to carry the offensive load. Much like prime Pierce this team's offense will run better with guards doing nothing more than handing him the ball in the frontcourt. They don't need a ball dominant guard. They need a long 6'8" guy that can play lockdown D and drain open treys.
I see any team wearing green and white on a Sunday and I expect bad things
But they didn't, showing the same frustrating trend of not being ready, and not delivering when they had the series in hand. The Warriors were too good for that type of lapse. Shoulda coulda. This team had to finih a few minutes to be up 3-1. Thye seemed a way better team than the Heat and were a bit lucky to even survive that series.
I think he is a bit of a strange dude. Was bad for almost half a year. I worry when he isn't hitting 3s if he can still score. Too often I hear the dredded S word when I talk to hoops guys about him
Agreed. He is much tougher than Tatum. He is not nearly as talented, but is much more aggressive and just keeps playing. He makes mistakes, but they are usually from being aggressive.
Yeah, he sucked tonight, but he had a fantastic year. Not sure he can do it again.
He had some great games, but he isn't great. He played his ass off, but if isn't making 3s he is almost useless on O. A real warrior and a great leader, but he looked his age this series. If he could score on Curry down low they maybe win the whole thing. That was the big story, he was nonexistent in the paint on O. There was zero risk for the Warriors to switch Curry off onto the Cs 5.
They have a pretty lengthy window. Should get at least a couple more bites at the apple.
All true. But it’s also true that was probably the worst Finals performance ever by a first team all NBA player.
This is the very definition of harping on the negative. If this team rolled over against Milwaukee or Miami, would you feel any better about it? Is anyone going to spend the offseason knocking the balls of Kyrie, KD, or Embiid? Giannis or Jokic?
Yeah, he clowned Durant. Had a big series against Giannis including out dueling him in a must win road game 6. Went toe to toe with Butler.
+1... Boston will run it back with some minor tweaks and get the benefit of Tatum, Brown, TL, Grant, PP potential age/experience improvement + a full season of White integration.
Great point about Klay. He didn't shoot well last nite, but the shots he hit were timely, and he had a fantastic series.
This entire post needs more love though I don't think it will get much this morning. This is exactly where I am. Maybe not the unquestioned favorites -- depends on who is healthy on other teams like GSW as well, but NOBODY would choose to face this squad if healthier next year in the playoffs and if they don't have to exhaust themselves all second half of the year to get to a reasonable regular season record.
IMO, they had two guys who could play our two best players straight up in Dray and Wiggins. That's the difference. Being able to lock up the two scorers with no help. Same as why we waltzed Brooklyn really. Not that Durant and Kyrie didn't have their moments, but the series was never in question.
I agree that the most surprising thing about the finals was how well GS defended the C's. Maybe Jimbo is right here. Wiggins sure seemed to have Tatum's number. I thought Brown did pretty well creating shots, but struggled when attacking the paint and the help defense collapsed on him. We just struggled so much to consistently create good looks.
Wade in 2006, in his third season at 24.
Good point, the C's should definitely add using the exception(s)...I doubt Brad will forget about the defensive job by Grant on Durant/Giannis or the fact that Pritchard shot lights out from 3 over the 2nd half of the season. Expecting continued improvement from 2nd/3rd-year bench players coming off a long playoff run isn't out of the realm of possibility.
good to hear he still has Top5 potential
It's pointless to do any of these comparisons. Tatum only played at or near his general physical peak this season and is now in his physical prime as an NBA player. He only figured out how to be a lead creator this season (really half a season). We are at the beginning of what will in all likelihood be considered his best 4-5 seasons. He is really not deeper into his career than it seems. You can't just count the seasons while discounting maturation.
Grant and Pritchard will be 24 and 25, respectively. Physically, they are what they are. Bench players are the easiest to upgrade, and their competition in the East will also be taking steps to upgrade their rosters. This team was one missed shot from having to prevail in OT in Game 7 of the ECF, and the Heat will be aggressively trying to utilize their Butler window before it closes.
Well, that should help drive up the asking price
Had at least one poster mention that "basketball people" are whispering "soft". I call bullshit, but there will be a "soft" narrative that develops in the local media.
My point was that he is not yet Top 5, first team All-NBA notwithstanding. To get there, he will have to (a) stop barking at the refs after every missed drive to the hoop; and (b) learn to play better when defended by a Wiggins. Chance of both of those happening are still good, IMO.
How does the exception work? If a player is signed to a multi-year deal, is it only concerned with the current year of the contract? This could be the worst idea in the world, but Duncan Robinson makes 16.9 next year and the exception is 17.1. Any hope that bringing our boy back to NE could help him regain his stroke, or is that ludicrous? Part of me thinks that if Miami is happy to get out of his deal, we should run.
I think that VanEveryman has it right, the Celts were tired. I mean, if you watched the games you could tell that they were absolutely exhausted. It has nothing to do with Ime being "in over his head". He took a team that was 11th in the Conference in January to Game Six of the NBA Championship. Sometimes the other team is just better.
I agree that Boston could have played better, but how could anyone have watched how the Warriors shot and defended in this series, and seen how deep their bench was, and not concluded that they were the superior team?
The lack of bench really limited anything Ime could do. I still maintain its probably not smart to play 2-3 of them at a time like he was doing but that’s not the main reason they lost and he had to try to steal minutes somewhere.
This is where I'm at. All series (and really playoffs) long, I longed for that guy who can come of the bench and just seems automatic from 3. I had hoped that PP would be that guy, but he really faded.
Nobody likes the incessant Tatum whining/giving up on plays with his arms raised after a TO in the lane. It sucked and was copied by others (like Grant/Smart). I'd expect JT/Drew Hanlen will go into the lab, watch video, and figure out a strategy. If Tatum continues to get bigger/stronger, as he has done every off-season, he will play through contact more which should draw a better whistle.
His next step is consistency and consistently figuring out how to impact the game when his shots not falling. (That and working on finishing at the rim)
