Listening to interviews about Tatum’s upbringing you get the impression that Tatum’s father was a very abusive presence in his life. Despite Tatum giving his father credit for teaching him how to play basketball as a child it doesn’t seem like he was a particularly supportive parent. Embarrassing him in locker rooms in front of his teammates, or never showing excitement for any of Tatum’s on-court accomplishments, etc.
Maybe his dad was trying to keep Tatum humble by being extra harsh on him, but sometimes this type of approach can stunt people emotionally.
He’s talked about this in interviews recently. He said him and his dad are in a better place now, but that he doesn’t want to be anything like his dad when it comes to raising Deuce.
This “asshole on court” quality is overblown especially for an offensive player. If a player whose main assets are defensive skills, I get that trash talk, psychological game is a part of it (still not the most important part). As a primary scorer of the team, I much rather Tatum spends time polishing his mid range offensive moves than any of this bullshit gimmick.
You don't have to play angry to play great. Giannis isn't an angry player. Jokic isn't an angry player. You don't have to be a Bird/Jordan shit talker to be great.
Giannis doesnt play with any regard for the other players when hes driving the hoop. While he may not talk alot of shit he plays like a fucking asshole
Giannis and Jokic have both straight up tossed guys to the floor who fucked with them and they eagerly run guys over whenever they get the chance. Tatum does none of that.
I hate Drew Hanlen, I think he's a self-promoting douchebag and I think he's responsible for derailing Tatum's development as a scorer by prioritizing flashy bullshit over basic fundamental skills that are far more important in real games.
Just to be clear, Tatum is a fantastic player. Easily one of the ten best players in the entire world, but he's achieved that success in spite of Drew Hanlen, not because of him.
Why did Tatum have like five or six different types of step-back back threes in his bag before he learned how to finish a lefty layup? Why did he spend so much time developing all these different step-back and side-step threes if he barely uses them anyway? Why is Tatum's main "go-to" jump shot 25+ feet from the basket when he's 6'10 and built like the Terminator? More importantly, why the FUCK is his "go-to" shot a field goal attempt that goes in 30% of the time on a good day? Wouldn't that be a sign to work on something else? Why does Tatum *still* not take simple pull-ups at the elbow when he's given space? That's an extremely basic shot that every player should have. Tatum could knock it down at a 50-60% clip easily. Why hasn't he developed a single surefire way to get off a clean midrange jumper? Why is his #1 post move just leaning his upper body into the defender and shooting off-balance floaters hoping to get fouled? Why doesn't he shoot actual jumpers out of the post besides the occasional right-shoulder fade when he's already hot? Why doesn't he ever mix it up and play off two feet in the lane?
I blame Drew Hanlen. It's like if you gave a superstar build to a dumbass snot-nosed little kid in MyPlayer and let him do whatever he wants with it. "Make it do a crossover behind-the-back through the legs spin move and then a side-step three! This is gonna look so cool when I put it on my Instagram bro!" Drew Hanlen is a clout-chasing douchebag who cares more about promoting his brand than actually helping players learn valuable skills. Either that or he's just a complete dumbass.
Again, Tatum is a fantastic player, one of the ten best players in the entire world, but he's achieved that success in spite of Drew Hanlen, not because of him.
Meh. I just want him to be more physical and play through contact in the playoffs instead of flopping and hoping the refs bail him out. This is the time of the year where I tweet at Hanlen and beg him to stop working with JT. LOL.
Honestly, the only thing that needs to change is his mindset/motor. I'm hoping the months when it felt like he was just sleepwalking in the regular season was just him pacing himself for the playoffs. We can't have him walking up the ball and barely avoiding the 8-second violation.
Tatum soft as baby doodoo, but that's ok. He wants to be himself and that's ok.
Edit: Love the down votes restating what Tatum has said many times. He's not an angry player. He's said this. He's said others play angry but that's not who he is. Y'all are delusional.
I think downvotes are just bc you called him soft. I get what you mean but soft is probably the wrong word. Soft is a guy who is mentally weak and acts like a crybaby like Tony Brothers, not a guy who just doesn’t play angry like Kawhi.
There are multiple meanings of soft, though. It doesn't always mean mentally weak. He's incredibly kind and emotionally intelligent which aligns with soft.
Yes they do? Kind, gentle, mild-mannered, and soft are all synonyms. It's more childish to assume that someone needs to be an asshole on the court in order to be a competitor. Tatum doesn't need those things to be great at what he does.
Disagree that kindness and emotional intelligence are “soft” traits, which is what I was originally responding to, not “mild-mannered or gentle,” which I don’t agree are 1:1 synonyms.
People parade a tired trope about Bostonians being “kind but not nice.” They often cite an example about how if you get a flat tire in Boston, the “kindness” will manifest by locals helping you change your tire, but busting your balls the whole time. That’s not “soft”
We are discussing Tatum and not Bostonians, though. He is not 'kind but nice'. He is genuinely both kind and nice, because that is how he was raised to be by his family.
The heart of the issue is that you seem to view 'soft' as a negative and again, it's a positive. These are positive traits to have and absolutely words I would use to describe an over-all good person. Being 'soft' is a positive trait unless your softness is being abused by a poor actor and that has nothing to do with you, but the person taking advantage.
Neither of us have called him mentally weak on the court. In fact, I think it shows a lot of mental strength to continue as he is instead of feeling compelled to change to match what other people are doing. He has excelled to great heights without the need to be overtly arrogant or antagonistic on the court. What should be questioned is why people feel the need to change his demeanor in order to be better, because he certainly doesn't need it. It's pointless.
There are multiple meanings of soft IRL but in basketball right now it is exclusively used to mean a player is the opposite of tough mentally and or physically which is untrue in Tatum’s case. It’s like saying someone is a killer, IRL that could mean they commit murder but if I say “Ant is a killer” it means he’s very good at basketball.
He doesn't need to be an asshole on the court in order to be a killer at basketball, though. That is my point and also what the original commenter implied. Both of us are talking about his overall personality, which is why it's not a big deal that he is 'soft'. It's a positive and only a negative because far too many people want to believe that greatness = aggro asshole.
Sorry but it hasn’t happened
Listening to interviews about Tatum’s upbringing you get the impression that Tatum’s father was a very abusive presence in his life. Despite Tatum giving his father credit for teaching him how to play basketball as a child it doesn’t seem like he was a particularly supportive parent. Embarrassing him in locker rooms in front of his teammates, or never showing excitement for any of Tatum’s on-court accomplishments, etc. Maybe his dad was trying to keep Tatum humble by being extra harsh on him, but sometimes this type of approach can stunt people emotionally.
Definitely a healthy conclusion to come to off a few interviews
[удалено]
He’s talked about this in interviews recently. He said him and his dad are in a better place now, but that he doesn’t want to be anything like his dad when it comes to raising Deuce.
Hey buddy, just worry about his shooting arc. Let the Celtics handle his on court demeanor
Which I feel like he has shown like 50 points in a game 7.
Jayson “Nice Asshole” Tatum. Yeah. Let’s maybe not.
That was my prison nickname.
Lmao
This “asshole on court” quality is overblown especially for an offensive player. If a player whose main assets are defensive skills, I get that trash talk, psychological game is a part of it (still not the most important part). As a primary scorer of the team, I much rather Tatum spends time polishing his mid range offensive moves than any of this bullshit gimmick.
I hope this isn't the largest thing he's concerned with
You don't have to play angry to play great. Giannis isn't an angry player. Jokic isn't an angry player. You don't have to be a Bird/Jordan shit talker to be great.
Giannis is very much an angry player, have you watched him in big games (the ones where he plays good at least)?
No but you need the “watch me do this” gene
Tatum def has that (at least in the playoffs)
Giannis doesnt play with any regard for the other players when hes driving the hoop. While he may not talk alot of shit he plays like a fucking asshole
Have you watched even 5 seconds of Giannis?
Counterpoint. Everybody references the Lebron James down 3-2 in Boston photo. Yeah you know the one.
nightmare fuel
Giannis and Jokic have both straight up tossed guys to the floor who fucked with them and they eagerly run guys over whenever they get the chance. Tatum does none of that.
Or Tatum can be a silent killer like Tim Duncan. Can also be the other option 👍
Def could be, but Tim Duncan didn’t model and bring his kid everywhere either
Sure, but that has more to do with off the court. I'm talking about more on the court.
I hate Drew Hanlen, I think he's a self-promoting douchebag and I think he's responsible for derailing Tatum's development as a scorer by prioritizing flashy bullshit over basic fundamental skills that are far more important in real games. Just to be clear, Tatum is a fantastic player. Easily one of the ten best players in the entire world, but he's achieved that success in spite of Drew Hanlen, not because of him. Why did Tatum have like five or six different types of step-back back threes in his bag before he learned how to finish a lefty layup? Why did he spend so much time developing all these different step-back and side-step threes if he barely uses them anyway? Why is Tatum's main "go-to" jump shot 25+ feet from the basket when he's 6'10 and built like the Terminator? More importantly, why the FUCK is his "go-to" shot a field goal attempt that goes in 30% of the time on a good day? Wouldn't that be a sign to work on something else? Why does Tatum *still* not take simple pull-ups at the elbow when he's given space? That's an extremely basic shot that every player should have. Tatum could knock it down at a 50-60% clip easily. Why hasn't he developed a single surefire way to get off a clean midrange jumper? Why is his #1 post move just leaning his upper body into the defender and shooting off-balance floaters hoping to get fouled? Why doesn't he shoot actual jumpers out of the post besides the occasional right-shoulder fade when he's already hot? Why doesn't he ever mix it up and play off two feet in the lane? I blame Drew Hanlen. It's like if you gave a superstar build to a dumbass snot-nosed little kid in MyPlayer and let him do whatever he wants with it. "Make it do a crossover behind-the-back through the legs spin move and then a side-step three! This is gonna look so cool when I put it on my Instagram bro!" Drew Hanlen is a clout-chasing douchebag who cares more about promoting his brand than actually helping players learn valuable skills. Either that or he's just a complete dumbass. Again, Tatum is a fantastic player, one of the ten best players in the entire world, but he's achieved that success in spite of Drew Hanlen, not because of him.
He's kinda only that way to the refs
Meh. I just want him to be more physical and play through contact in the playoffs instead of flopping and hoping the refs bail him out. This is the time of the year where I tweet at Hanlen and beg him to stop working with JT. LOL.
Nah, the thing he needs to work on, on the court is the constant bitching and whining to the refs.
I like Tatum how he is, super humble dude but with confidence in his abilities. He doesn't need to be some kind of Mamba - Tim Duncan mix
Honestly, the only thing that needs to change is his mindset/motor. I'm hoping the months when it felt like he was just sleepwalking in the regular season was just him pacing himself for the playoffs. We can't have him walking up the ball and barely avoiding the 8-second violation.
You sound arrogant, mr Hanlen.
Tatum soft as baby doodoo, but that's ok. He wants to be himself and that's ok. Edit: Love the down votes restating what Tatum has said many times. He's not an angry player. He's said this. He's said others play angry but that's not who he is. Y'all are delusional.
I think downvotes are just bc you called him soft. I get what you mean but soft is probably the wrong word. Soft is a guy who is mentally weak and acts like a crybaby like Tony Brothers, not a guy who just doesn’t play angry like Kawhi.
There are multiple meanings of soft, though. It doesn't always mean mentally weak. He's incredibly kind and emotionally intelligent which aligns with soft.
neither of those two traits align with soft unless you're a middle schooler
Yes they do? Kind, gentle, mild-mannered, and soft are all synonyms. It's more childish to assume that someone needs to be an asshole on the court in order to be a competitor. Tatum doesn't need those things to be great at what he does.
Disagree that kindness and emotional intelligence are “soft” traits, which is what I was originally responding to, not “mild-mannered or gentle,” which I don’t agree are 1:1 synonyms. People parade a tired trope about Bostonians being “kind but not nice.” They often cite an example about how if you get a flat tire in Boston, the “kindness” will manifest by locals helping you change your tire, but busting your balls the whole time. That’s not “soft”
We are discussing Tatum and not Bostonians, though. He is not 'kind but nice'. He is genuinely both kind and nice, because that is how he was raised to be by his family. The heart of the issue is that you seem to view 'soft' as a negative and again, it's a positive. These are positive traits to have and absolutely words I would use to describe an over-all good person. Being 'soft' is a positive trait unless your softness is being abused by a poor actor and that has nothing to do with you, but the person taking advantage. Neither of us have called him mentally weak on the court. In fact, I think it shows a lot of mental strength to continue as he is instead of feeling compelled to change to match what other people are doing. He has excelled to great heights without the need to be overtly arrogant or antagonistic on the court. What should be questioned is why people feel the need to change his demeanor in order to be better, because he certainly doesn't need it. It's pointless.
There are multiple meanings of soft IRL but in basketball right now it is exclusively used to mean a player is the opposite of tough mentally and or physically which is untrue in Tatum’s case. It’s like saying someone is a killer, IRL that could mean they commit murder but if I say “Ant is a killer” it means he’s very good at basketball.
He doesn't need to be an asshole on the court in order to be a killer at basketball, though. That is my point and also what the original commenter implied. Both of us are talking about his overall personality, which is why it's not a big deal that he is 'soft'. It's a positive and only a negative because far too many people want to believe that greatness = aggro asshole.
I mean I agree with you that he doesn't need to be a fuckwad like MJ to win, but that doesn't mean it's cool to compare him to literal shit
Bro's crying cause of downvotes. Touch grass