Is Tatum better than Tmac?

[AirBonner]

I feel like with little success in the playoffs Tmac gets way overrated. Tatum appears to be better offball and defensively. Both are 3-level scorers

[ImKobe]

No he's not... T-Mac legit had GOAT potential skill-wise.. Tatum is like half the player.. Nowhere near as good as a playmaker nor as a scorer inside the arc. :kobe:

T-Mac put up 32/7/6/2/1, a 30+ PER, 10+ BPM season as a wing in '03 for crying out loud.. Tatum's peak in today's soft ass era (not counting this season yet) is nowhere near those numbers man.. Tatum is not that guy. T-Mac could shoot volume 3s like Tatum 20 damn years ago as well.

[AirBonner]

No he's not... T-Mac legit had GOAT potential skill-wise.. Tatum is like half the player.. Nowhere near as good as a playmaker nor as a scorer inside the arc. :kobe:

T-Mac put up 32/7/6/2/1, a 30+ PER, 10+ BPM season as a wing in '03 for crying out loud.. Tatum's peak in today's soft ass era (not counting this season yet) is nowhere near those numbers man.. Tatum is not that guy. T-Mac could shoot volume 3s like Tatum 20 damn years ago as well.
So Tmac put up good stats in the regular season ok. Tatum has led a team to the finals. Tatum is averaging 31ppg and still improving at 24 years old. Not even peak

[ImKobe]

So Tmac put up good stats in the regular season ok. Tatum has led a team to the finals. Tatum is averaging 31ppg and still improving at 24 years old. Not even peak

You asked if Tatum's better than T-Mac right now.. the answer is no. Tatum's playing on stacked teams (drafted to a team that made the ECF) and he beat an injured Bucks & Heat team to barely make the Finals when he has 3-4 elite defenders and a great 2nd scorer on his team. T-Mac had a pile of trash in ORL. He went 7 games against the Pistons with Drew Gooden + a bunch of nobodies in '03.

[AirBonner]

You asked if Tatum's better than T-Mac right now.. the answer is no. Tatum's playing on stacked teams (drafted to a team that made the ECF) and he beat an injured Bucks & Heat team to barely make the Finals when he has 3-4 elite defenders and a great 2nd scorer on his team. T-Mac had a pile of trash in ORL. He went 7 games against the Pistons with Drew Gooden + a bunch of nobodies in '03.
TMac played with Yao and Ron Artest on a loaded rockets. Guy shit the bed

[ImKobe]

TMac played with Yao and Ron Artest on a loaded rockets. Guy shit the bed

Shit the bed? He put up 31/7/7/2/1 and shut down Dirk when they lost to the Mavs in the '05 Playoffs, a series that we know was rigged against them in hindsight with the refs calling ridiculous fouls on Yao that kept him off the court..

Boozer shit all over Yao in the '07 series and especially in Game 7 when T-Mac had 29/5/13 3 blocks in elimination but it wasn't enough as Boozer dominated them on the other end.

And Ron wasn't there until '09, when T-Mac was nowhere near his prime self and barely played.

Anyways, the point is that prime/peak T-Mac is one of the most gifted players ever, Tatum is not on that level right now man. His raw averages this year might be close but that means nothing as it's much easier to get those numbers 20 years later.

[Sulico]

Ofcourse he is. He is much better shooter, much smarter and better defender.
Tmac was better ISO player and contested shot maker with better shot off the dribble.
Tatums skills are better suited for winning actual basketball games. Tmacs skills were better for fans love, highlights reels and popularity contests like all-star games and all-nba teams voting.

[HoopologyPhD]

You could certainly make a convincing argument that Tatum is or will be "better" than Tmac but it is always difficult to compare players because of the differences in their teammates.

[ShawkFactory]

No not yet. If he continues improving and puts the consistent effort in on both ends then you can argue that he will be as impactful.

But he’s certainly not as skilled or smooth. Never will be.

[Gudo]

TMac is still much better for me. Although I do like Tatum's growth as a complete player.

[Kblaze8855]

Worse ball handler, passer, and athlete in a league that caters to their play style much more. Similar defensive potential. Tatum plays better D than Tmac did deep into his career but young Tmac was similar or better. I’d say no overall.

[pandiani17]

Anyways, the point is that prime/peak T-Mac is one of the most gifted players ever, Tatum is not on that level right now man. His raw averages this year might be close but that means nothing as it's much easier to get those numbers 20 years later.[/QUOTE]


This. T-Mac gets quite underrated nowadays, he didn't even make the Top 75 list, when guys like Westbrook, Lillard or AD are in that list.

[SouBeachTalents]

Anyways, the point is that prime/peak T-Mac is one of the most gifted players ever, Tatum is not on that level right now man. His raw averages this year might be close but that means nothing as it's much easier to get those numbers 20 years later.


This. T-Mac gets quite underrated nowadays, he didn't even make the Top 75 list, when guys like Westbrook, Lillard or AD are in that list.
Even without a playoff series win, McGrady imo could've been argued for a top 50 list. Not making the top 75 is legitimately inexcusable, as is Dwight.

[Real Men Wear Green]

It would be tough to argue that Tatum is better than McGrady ever was but he's absolutely going to be remembered as having had a better career. At 24 he is already comparable to peak McGrady and has three trips to the conference finals and one trip to the finals. Weighing postseason careers is the unfair thing that always happens in these discussions and it will absolutely have Tatum rated above McGrady by the time he's 30.

[AirBonner]

It would be tough to argue that Tatum is better than McGrady ever was but he's absolutely going to be remembered as having had a better career. At 24 he is already comparable to peak McGrady and has three trips to the conference finals and one trip to the finals. Weighing postseason careers is the unfair thing that always happens in these discussions and it will absolutely have Tatum rated above McGrady by the time he's 30.

Fair enough I think Tatum is the better nba player. Nba is in the format of 5vs5 which Tatum has shown he’s superior at. But if you like ball hogging 1vs1 than McGrady is your guy

[HylianNightmare]

So Tmac put up good stats in the regular season ok. Tatum has led a team to the finals. Tatum is averaging 31ppg and still improving at 24 years old. Not even peak


Tmac before Injuries never had a team approaching Tatum's Boston team

[Phoenix]

Tmac before Injuries never had a team approaching Tatum's Boston team

I'm not even sure any of his teams post-injury approached the current Celtics. Tmac and Yao on paper should have caused some damage but they could never stay healthy.

[AlternativeAcc.]

Big Tatum fan but he's worse than Peak T-Mac at literally everything

[Axe]

It really depends whether you're talking about just the regular season or overall.

[ShawkFactory]

It really depends whether you're talking about just the regular season or overall.

How?

[WhiteKyrie]

Hell no.

[GrayGoat]

Hell no.

As far as playing a winning brand Tatum is better

[tontoz]

I'll take Tatum over TMac. Tmac loved taking jumpers he just wasn't that good at making them. I always thought Tmac was one of those guys who looked better than he actually was.

Tatum is kind of the opposit. He looks kind of mechanical which masks how good he is.

[WhiteKyrie]

As far as playing a winning brand Tatum is better

Based on what? No prime TMac team was ever near as talented or well built as these Celtic teams

[GrayGoat]

Based on what? No prime TMac team was ever near as talented or well built as these Celtic teams

Tmacs offense consisted of holding the ball with one hand at the 3pt line driving in and taking ill-fated jumpers. Tmac had talent around him