A little love for Jayson Tatum

[jcastranio]

I don't think Jason is necessarily the problem or a black hole or whatever. I just think we use him incorrectly. I think he should be down on the baseline or in the low post - bouncing out for quick passes and shots. He should be the screener, rolling to the hoop or for a pick and pop. We have three guards who can initiate the action (Luke, Grayson, Frank). Jason isn't the best creator or ball-mover, yet that is where he ends up playing.

Think about it. How many times does Amile, Marques, or Harry end up with the ball after setting a screen and do nothing with it. They are not good mid-range shooters or strong drivers. If that was Jason, he would be an offensive force. Particularly since he would be 5-10 feet closer in than he is now.

Post Jason, darn it!

[kAzE]

This is a really good call. I'm wholeheartedly on board with this idea. Use him as a real power forward. He's skilled enough to cause problems in the paint even though he's undersized. In the post, he can hit a turnaround fadeaway jumper, make a move to get inside, or find an open shooter/cutter. These are all things that are well within his skill set. Using him as the roll man in the a P&R would also really get him some open looks.

It's a matter of if he's willing to not be a primary ball handler. He's auditioning for a role in the NBA as a perimeter player, so you have to wonder whether or not that is on his mind.

[JNort]

I think he is being used correctly. His problem has been in "transition" and I say it like that because he seems to consider "transition" offense to mean just scoring in the first 5 seconds after crossing half court. He rushes and forces things and that's his biggest problem. This isn't high school where he can get away with that, he needs to get into the flow of the game and settle down.

Many freshmen have this problem so i dont want to keep picking on him. It's why so many point guards and bigs struggle early. PGs because they have the ball so much and bigs because they can't just rely on superior height and weight. What's really been bothering people I think is that he is a 1 and done guy. If he was a lower prospect we wouldn't be as critical knowing he has another year or 3 to work it out but thats not the case he has around 20 more games to get it right.

PS. Not everything is even close to being his fault, I was just trying to respond solely on the topic of the OP.

[TKG]

Let's not forget about the defensive end of the court.

[Indoor66]

Let's not forget about the defensive end of the court.

Why not? He seem to.😕

[gam7]

I don't think Jason is necessarily the problem or a black hole or whatever. I just think we use him incorrectly. I think he should be down on the baseline or in the low post - bouncing out for quick passes and shots. He should be the screener, rolling to the hoop or for a pick and pop. We have three guards who can initiate the action (Luke, Grayson, Frank). Jason isn't the best creator or ball-mover, yet that is where he ends up playing.

Think about it. How many times does Amile, Marques, or Harry end up with the ball after setting a screen and do nothing with it. They are not good mid-range shooters or strong drivers. If that was Jason, he would be an offensive force. Particularly since he would be 5-10 feet closer in than he is now.

Post Jason, darn it!

Jason Tatum's aight. Just a little frustrated with Jayson Tatum.

[JNort]

Why not? He seem to.😕

100% agreed! This is his biggest failing and most disappointing one. With his length and athleticism he should be great on defense, however he is the worst on ball defender out of the main group of guys who get pt.

[CDu]

Let's not forget about the defensive end of the court.

Tatum did kill the team today. His plus/minus was -1 in 21 minutes. He has certainly had rough moments this year, but our struggles today came elsewhere.

[NashvilleDevil]

Tatum was the player I was most excited to watch in this class. When he's going he is impressive and can carry the team. Trouble is he thinks he has it going all the time and forces the issue. It is no coincidence that Duke's comeback happened after Tatum fouled out. I hope the young man sees what happens when the ball moves around on offense and effort is given on defense.

[TKG]

Tatum did kill the team today. His plus/minus was -1 in 21 minutes. He has certainly had rough moments this year, but our struggles today came elsewhere.

Amongst the guys who get major minutes, where does he stack/rank in the plus/minus category on a YTD basis?That might temper my reliance on the eye test as indicator because it sure seems like he is atrocious on D.

[NYBri]

It's shot selection.

And the flow seems to stop when he gets the ball.

He is a talent. Some of his plays are high on the wow-o-meter, but this is a team game.

[sagegrouse]

I support the title of the thread: we are ebign too harsh on Jayson. Grayson's contributions as a freshman were on one-on-one plays. Luke was an erratic shooter but otherwise savvy abut the game. We may indeed be better with veterans on the floor, but hardly anyone shows up at Duke ready to play well in all or most facets of the game. And... Jayson is an undeniable talent.

[tux]

I think we have played some with Tatum at the 4. But we're not using him the way you're describing. Probably our best lineup right now would be Frank, Grayson, Luke, Tatum, and then one of Amile/Giles/Bolden. And then run the offense through Luke as a point forward of sorts. I feel like the Duke staff has been trying to make Tatum the point forward. And, of course, he's had some great stretches of scoring. But he's inconsistent and prone to some suspect decisions with the ball. I.e., he's a freshman...

I have to admit, I was very curious to see how Duke would finish the game with Tatum on the bench. I don't think Tatum is necessarily the problem. He's a great talent, but to your point, I don't think the team has figured out the best way to utilize his skillset.

[CDu]

Tatum did kill the team today. His plus/minus was -1 in 21 minutes. He has certainly had rough moments this year, but our struggles today came elsewhere.

I obviously meant did NOT kill them today.

[Dukehky]

Why not? He seem to.😕

This is just not correct.

Jayson has been one of our best efficiency defenders all year. He's the only player in the past 16 years to have over a 3% block and steals rate in the same season. He makes some stupid gambles on defense, but his length and athleticism as well as his shot blocking ability is vastly understated.

By any metric, Jayson has been far better and more efficient on the defensive end than on the offensive end.

I just want this in the record right now. Don't argue this with your eye test, because if the coaches thought that he was as bad at defense as he has been on offense, there is no way in hell that he would be playing the number of minutes he plays. The numbers support Tatum on the defensive end.

[CDu]

Amongst the guys who get major minutes, where does he stack rank in the plus/minus category on a YTD basis?That might temper my reliance on the eye test as indicator because it sure seems like he is atrocious on D.

It really isn't a fair measure, as Tatum missed many of the early-season patsies. But his numbers are a bit lower than the veterans' numbers, a bit higher than Giles' numbers, and after today probably about the same as Bolden's.

[CDu]

This is just not correct.

Jayson has been one of our best efficiency defenders all year. He's the only player in the past 16 years to have over a 3% block and steals rate in the same season. He makes some stupid gambles on defense, but his length and athleticism as well as his shot blocking ability is vastly understated.

By any metric, Jayson has been far better and more efficient on the defensive end than on the offensive end.

I just want this in the record right now. Don't argue this with your eye test, because if the coaches thought that he was as bad at defense as he has been on offense, there is no way in hell that he would be playing the number of minutes he plays. The numbers support Tatum on the defensive end.

My only complaints with Tatum on defense are in transition. Especially after he misses a layup. But generally speaking, his half-court defense has been solid.

[wsb3]

Why not? He seem to.😕

What Indoor said.. I want to be nice here but I have to agree with earlier posts that Tatum fouling out might have been the defining moment in the game. I just don't feel like he has ever unpacked his bags at Durham.

Just because you are the best NBA talent on a college team does not necessarily mean you are the best college player. We are better with the offense running through Luke & Grayson IMHO..

[smvalkyries]

Give Jayson a break- he is still 18 and has played less than 1/2 a year and practiced even less than that. You don't expect a lawyer or doctor without a residency to practice their craft perfectly in their first half year and they are 25 or 26 and aren't carrying a full academic load or working through injuries at the same time. In addition we can't really say he has been working in a stable situation where he can establish his rrole and work on it. I will also add one more observation- I haven't seen any player been called for more mystery fouls than Jayson. I men its every game he gets one or two that neither he nor I can understand. Maybe they are obvious on tape but for whatever reason Jayson seems to get a tougher deal from the refs on both ends of the court than any other Duke player. It takes time to sort all these things out. I know as a one and done we don't really have the benefit of that time but then again one of us would turn down multi-million dollar contracts to learn for 2-3 years even if it might be more fun and we might learn even faster staying in school. Accepting that one and done contract extracts a price too both in terms of present expectations and future life style.

[Dukehky]

My only complaints with Tatum on defense are in transition. Especially after he misses a layup. But generally speaking, his half-court defense has been solid.

That's fair, although today it was the fact that he was in foul trouble and he just wanted to get in the way. Granted, he did that extremely poorly. Letting them get by and then slapping at the ball.

He also doesn't really hustle back, but I think that's more of a product of not wanting to take a charge/getting a chance to have a LeBron chase down block.