Is Ant>Tatum an unreasonable take at this point?

[Kblaze8855]

https://i.ibb.co/J7K2LPV/IMG-8102.jpg

[RRR3]

Yes

[Carbine]

Absolutely not. It's debatable, and I for one would take Ant right now and for the next five years.

[tpols]

Similar level players. Both top 10 case guys.

Threads gonna look dumb though if Boston wins the title and Minnesota gets bounced in the 1st round by LA, Dallas, Golden State or Pheonix.

[Kblaze8855]

Similar level players. Both top 10 case guys.

Threads gonna look dumb though if Boston wins the title and Minnesota gets bounced in the 1st round by LA, Dallas, Golden State or Pheonix.

I don’t think anyone thinks Minnesota is better than Boston. Is that what you’re taking this question to mean?

[ImKobe]

Tatum is more consistent offensively & a better shooter as of right now, but Edwards has more of that dawg in him. Post-ASB the numbers are really close, but that's with Tatum shooting a ridiculous 45% from 3 in those games.

With it being this close at their respective ages (Ant Man 22, Tatum 26), I think Ant could surpass him in a year or two unless Tatum takes that next step.

[tpols]

I don’t think anyone thinks Minnesota is better than Boston. Is that what you’re taking this question to mean?

Nah just that the play in teams look stronger than the twolves right now. And losing 1st round with a top seed always generates hate.

[tontoz]

Tatum is 3 years older and was 1st team All-NBA the last two seasons so no i don't think Ant is better right now. He might be better in a few years though.

Both guys have the same problem of settling for jumpers too often instead of using their physical advantages to get to the rim.

[FultzNationRISE]

Tatum is 3 years older and was 1st team All-NBA the last two seasons so no i don't think Ant is better right now. He might be better in a few years though.

Both guys have the same problem of settling for jumpers too often instead of using their physical advantages to get to the rim.

Well the thing is Tatum's not that strong and Edwards is not that tall. Neither are really ideal guys for making plays in the paint for your offense. Sure they can finish plays in there some of the time but I dont think they're ideal for being primary shot creators for others.

Which is why I think teams should be wary of just forcing the ball into their hands because they're 'stars.' These guys can finish from anywhere, theyre good defenders, theyre athletic, you still get plenty of value out of them as all around players even if youre not giving them carte blanche to go 'mamba mentality.'

I think both guys would benefit from playing with a true point guard, which Conley is I guess but he's a more methodical one. When you watch OKC, Giddey pushes the tempo a lot and this gets SGA plenty of chance to finish in transition. They still go thru SGA when the offense slows and he has the leagues third highest usage, but it doesnt feel forced. But again thats the value of having a tall guard who can get into the paint and open up plays for the finishers. Guys like Giddey, Halliburton, Doncic. Tatum and Edwards arent really play makers, theyre finishers, but I feel like too often the offense starts AND ends with them. And I just dont see either of those guys playing that role at a championship level.

[rawimpact]

Can't speak on it until Ant performs more in the post-season.

Both are great during the season, but Tatum always becomes inconsistent in the post-season when opposing coaches figure him out. He and his coaching staff always fail to make adjustments leading to the Ls.

[Phoenix]

To be honest I haven't seen a single Wolves playoff game the last two years so I looked up ANTs numbers and so far( albeit a small sample size), he's had a decent start to his playoff career albeit in losses. I think that's what I need to see more of from him, a few more playoff runs. I think in terms of pure talent and upside, ANT has the edge if he can continue to refine his skills to match his otherwordly athleticism.

[iamgine]

Not entirely unreasonable since they're not far apart but Tatum's still slightly better.

[fsvr54]

Tatum is among the more overrated players in the league. He's seen as great because his team has always been loaded.

Tatum on the Pistons would be Cade Cunningham.

[Jasper]

Tatum is among the more overrated players in the league. He's seen as great because his team has always been loaded.

Tatum on the Pistons would be Cade Cunningham.

Tatum is a player waiting in the weeds in a game for 3 qtrs , then when his team is ahead , plays the hero baller.
Ant like J.Brown is the core of their teams and I would take Ant any day of the week.

Tatum I believe can not carry his team(.)

[Manny98]

You can count on Ant to show up when it matters

[John8204]

Yes...Tatum has basically put himself in the hall of fame this season. Once you get 5 All-Star appearances, 3 All-NBA and 4 conference and NBA finals runs and now they have the best record in the league.

Anthony Edwards might be the best player of his generation but this is just a run...Ja Morant, Luka Doncic, Trae Young all had single runs. Now if he gets a ring or an MVP the conversation changes a bit

[brownmamba00]

Tatum can be a liability in crunch time. Average handles average jumper. Derrick White bailed them out yesterday at Chicago.

He's still ahead of Ant but I think by next season that will change.

[ShawkFactory]

Ant certainly has more upside, but at the moment it’d be Tatum. So no I don’t think it’s unreasonable.

But 2 years from now I think Ant will be firmly in that top 5 in the league and truly competing for MVPs.

[Kblaze8855]

Yes...Tatum has basically put himself in the hall of fame this season. Once you get 5 All-Star appearances, 3 All-NBA and 4 conference and NBA finals runs and now they have the best record in the league.

Anthony Edwards might be the best player of his generation but this is just a run...Ja Morant, Luka Doncic, Trae Young all had single runs. Now if he gets a ring or an MVP the conversation changes a bit


Luka feels like a weird one to say had a run. How long are we saying he run was? Kinda feels like…it’s been 5 years. Hes been an all time great since his second season started. He was all nba first team at 20.

[Kblaze8855]

It’s being revisited for obvious reasons

https://www.hostpic.org/images/2405060541590411.jpeg

[tontoz]

Just yesterday I was listening to the Zach Lowe podcast and he asked the question ' for one playoff series would you choose Ant or Tatum '. Both guys chose Ant.

Then today I get this:


https://youtube.com/shorts/IIZWzka5g4I?si=hR8dLam4iwLjM4rz

[FultzNationRISE]

Well obviously if Edwards is gonna keep doing what he's done in the playoffs so far he's pretty much the choice over everyone. If he keeps shooting 55% on high volume the way he has in 4 out of their first 5 games, there's not much to discuss. He's that guy.

It's still a small sample size tho. The good sign is that the one bad shooting night he had, when he went 3 for 12, he did have 8 assists which was his playoff high. And that's what I wanna see. When the shot's not falling, can he still CONTROL the offense. That's what takes you from being an MJ comparison... to being a Lebron comparison.

But he's been very impressive so far, and a lot of fun to watch. I still think it's tougher these days to have a primary play maker who's smaller, when you look at all the top guys (in the regular season) and see the size of Joker, Giannis, Embiid, Luka, Shai... there's clearly a size trend. With today's spacing it's just easier to pass out of the paint as a taller player. But Edwards obviously has all-time level athleticism, so that compensates to an extent.

He's progressing very impressively tho. You can tell he's hungry and he wants it. Which is so important because it's something you cant teach a guy no matter how gifted he is. Not that I'm looking at you Joel Embiid.

[90sgoat]

I've known of Ant of course, but didn't watch that much, so it was interesting to see a full playoff game.

What surprised me was how versatile and complete scoring game he has already, really can do all distances, 3 pointers, midrange, postup. No weakness. Particularly liked the baseline moves, long time since we saw that.

I didn't notice a lot of playmaking which could be a weakness.

I think he could project to be a D-Wade level player. Not on Kobe/MJ trajectory - yet.

[WhiteKyrie]

Ant is better. More dimensional scorer. Better defender. More entertaining personality. Seems like the best teammate you could have and has an innate feel when to take over games.

[Axe]

Can ant become better than butler one of these days? He still has a long way to go but would definitely love to see that happening.

[GimmeThat]

Ant still needs to perfect the spin dribble