As great as Jayson Tatum is, he hasn’t been dominant in these playoffs and isn’t considered as a top-three NBA player like the stars on most recent champions have been, writes John Hollinger of The Athletic. If these Celtics win two more games, they would resemble champs like the 2014 Spurs or various Pistons squads (1989, 1990, 2004), according to Hollinger, who notes that those teams were extremely well-balanced but lacked a true mega-star in his prime.
Pointing to the recent success of teams like these Celtics and the 2021 Suns (who were two wins away from a championship), Hollinger wonders if we’re beginning to see a trend of teams whose postseason fortunes are determined “more by the strength of their weakest link and less by the greatness of their best player.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Holding only the No. 33 pick in this year’s draft, the Raptors are preparing for a wide number of scenarios on draft night, team executive Dan Tolzman told reporters on Wednesday. “We’re working really hard trying to narrow down the group of guys that we think we’re going to be looking at, and then trying to fine-tune who we like in that group,” Tolzman said, per Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “But then you also have to kind of prepare for, you know, five to 10 guys that might drop to you just in case, and then how do they compare against the guys that we were preparing for that we expect to be there?” Tolzman added that the team expects the player it selects to be on next season’s roster, meaning a draft-and-stash selection is unlikely.
- Fred Katz and Andrew Schlecht of The Athletic spoke to a high-ranking scout and an Eastern Conference assistant general manager to get their thoughts on 11 players the Knicks may be considering with the No. 11 pick, including Ochai Agbaji (“I don’t think it’s a guarantee that he’s an elite shooter,” the assistant GM said), Dyson Daniels (“He’s probably not the full-time offensive engine”), and Tari Eason (“His game is as an energy big with a little bit of shooting”).
- The Nets announced this week that they’ve hired Sam Zussman to be the CEO of BSE Global, the team’s parent company. Zussman is expected to become the Nets’ alternative governor, according to the team.
If the Knicks are letting Mitchell walk I think they go big like Mark Williams o don’t think Duren falls to them
Friendly reminder that Tatum is only 24 years old. I would call him a star but wouldn’t put him in the class of Durant, LeBron, Giannis, Steph and a couple of others.
Not to mention the fact that most people who watch the Celtics seem to think he’s playing through a shoulder injury
Everything doesn’t have to be a trend. There’s always been many different ways to win in basketball in general & in the NBA in particular
If I were the Knicks, I’d just target established guys, they have no desire to develop anyone.
Trade 11 for OG? S&T for Brunson? Take on WBrick/John Wall and clear cap space for next year? Could theoretically do all 3.
Ochai Agbaji = Byron Scott+Arron Afflalo/2
Dyson Daniels= Steve Smith+Allan Houston/2
Tari Eason = Renaldo Balkman+Al Thornton/2
Agbaji probably will never get close to the volume of Scott or Affalo, imo. I see Agbaji as a Ben Mathurin + Dylan Windler/2.
Houston was a super shooter and Smith was a ball handling shooter. I don’t think Daniel’s is a volume shooting guy at all.
Daniels= Derrick White + Dante Exum + Brandon Roy/3 as I see it.
The volume of Scott & Afflalo? Wdym volume?… Mathurin & Windler are worlds apart in pretty much every way lol. Windler is a washout & Mathurin is a future HOFer. Plus it’s supposed to br their nba comps… I could see BRoy as Dyson’s ceiling & Exum as his floor. I really like his game but I seriously doubt he ever gets to Roy’s level as a top3 2guard in the league like Roy was (behind only Wade & Kobe) in his prime. Dyson is gonna moreso a borderline all-star like Smitty & AHouston were. He’s definitely gonna be a really good 3pt shooter just like those guys too. He can handle like Smitty & has played a lot at pg early in his career like Smitty. His demeanor is more like Houston tho
I thought it was combinations. Windler is a plus rebounder and decent defender. Much like what I expect Agbaji to be on defense. Mathutin is a stub if you mix the washout and stud you get Agbaji.
I put the guys in a blender. Roy, obviously high end, White in the middle amd Exum low end, really big defensive pg with a good feel amd BBIQ.
If you add something together then divide by 2 what’s left isn’t one of the additives but is the mixture. I did the mean of the combo’s
Isiah Thomas wasn’t a mega star in ‘89 and ‘90? I mean, the dude is a 2 time HOF champion and maybe one of the top ten best PG of all time. If not top 5
He was a star, but he wasn’t viewed as a dominant top-three or top-five player in the league during those years, the way that guys like LeBron, Giannis, and Curry have been in recent years, or like Duncan, Jordan, Shaq, and Hakeem were in their championship seasons.
Not that award voting should be the determining factor, but for what it’s worth: Thomas didn’t make an All-NBA team in 1989 or 1990, and finished outside of the top 10 in MVP voting both years.
Yea those late 90s Pistons were way more team oriented than the early & mid 90s Pistons that Zeke had to carry a bit more
If the C’s win I can’t see a clear front runner for finals mvp I mean Tatum and Brown are pretty much putting up the same # with Tatum having a poor game one and Brown’s been up and down this series also
Brown had 1 bad half & been dominant otherwise. Also been way more impactful as a defender. Still obv a long way to go tho
Tatum is just a glorified Kris Middleton
Oh, what a sick burn.
Oh I would disagree with that. Khris Middleton is similar 2 an auxiliary, support, #2 guy. Pretty good scorer, an All-Star, good defender. Maybe is a Steve Smith or somebody like that. Good shooter, can score, brings a lot of consistency out there. Real good player.
Jayson Tatum on the other hand is a stud in every way. He’s young and not as consistent but the guy’s got skills. He can launch the three easily over anyone, and drives to the hole just as easily for buckets. Big time player in the making.
If Tatum was consistent we’d be talking about him along with other greats out there. And if his shot is off, he needs to learn to pick up the pace – he can do other things well. Players like Giannis don’t take time off – that motor continues whether he’s feeling it or not.
I think Jaylen Brown is even better than Khris Middleton. And Brown is the number two guy in Boston.