(1) Celtics vs. (8) Heat First Round Playoff Series Thread

[ShawkFactory]

Neither of those guys produced stats any better than Tatum has shown he is capable of producing over the last 4 years. Anyone who says others will back their argument on intangibles and some nonsense pseudo "it factor" and not back it by the numbers.

Over the last 4 years (purposely excluding his first 2 years when he wasn't the #1 option on his team), Tatum has produced on a comparable level of any star who isn't in the GOAT conversation.

It's just a matter of right rhythm, right timing for him and the Celtics. I'm not even a fan of his, but people have developed some insane standards for greatness recently.

So you're saying raw numbers are the only thing that matter?

I'd suggest you go back and watch some of those 2011 Mavs games. Dirk absolutely took games over at the end.

That's what being "the guy" means in this context.

[beasted]

Bro are you retarded?


Kawhi outscored the next best scorer by 11 points in the playoffs and Dirk outscored the next best scorer by 10 points.

They were quite clearly "that guy", as you falsely said those teams didnt have a man, which is so hilarously retarded when those teams are known to have been some of the biggest 1-man band champions ever.

How you somehow mixed teams like the Pistons or 2014 Spurs with the 2011 Mavericks or 2019 Raptors is mindboggling.

Wait a second, did you just use total playoff points across all series as a measure of impact? Your argument is incoherent, but if I understood that right, you very well may be the biggest idiot in the history of analysis given that we have so many more logical measures for a player's scoring ability. Total points is somehow even worse than PPG, and you didn't even use that. It's like you purposely decided on the stupidest measure imaginable.

[beasted]

So you're saying raw numbers are the only thing that matter?

I'd suggest you go back and watch some of those 2011 Mavs games. Dirk absolutely took games over at the end.

That's what being "the guy" means in this context.

It is not easy to compare splits and tracking stats in the clutch. I took a more high level approach of comparing their offensive rating and points per possession across an entire playoff run.

In that regard, Tatum is very much comparable to Kawhi and Dirk's playoff peaks. When you get to cherry picking their best series it becomes even closer.

[Real Men Wear Green]

Tatum has scored the third-most total postseason points of any player in NBA history before the age of 27. Third and counting, in fact. The two guys ahead of him are Lebron james and Kobe. There is a solid chance that he will pass James. And if he does... people will be saying the exact same things. There are very few superstars in NBA history that have done more in the playoffs than Tatum at Tatum's same age. And he continues to mature and improve. He is not as good as Jokic right now but that does not mean he can't lead the Celtics to the championship this season. Championships are won by the best team, which is not at all the same thing as having the best player.

[Axe]

Championships are won by the best team, which is not at all the same thing as having the best player.

Majority of ish here, mostly player stans, don't realize this.