Obviously it’s the mystical and all-powerful BOSTON SPORTS MAFIA helmed by DON BILL SIMMONS mind melding people into believing that Tatum is better at defense or something…
this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2023
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If you finish 3rd place MVP you have an argument for top 3, if you have one of the best game 7s ever and a half decade of ECFs you're probably pretty good and too many people rate Booker comfortably out of the top 10 because of his early career lack of any team success.
booker was top 4 in mvp himself.
I think currently they're around the same tier Tatum is just being rated higher cause he has better defense
Because Tatum is just better. Anyone watching the past few seasons can see that. Dbook took a big step up recently which puts him just under Tatum but he still hasn’t matched him. If book keeps up this play all season and they go far in playoffs with him playing well then we can revisit the conversation. Sure book did awesome last year… but Tatum has also been deep playoff runs for years now.
Book is in a weird spot for these comparisons, but people love to do them. To me, he has clearly jumped well ahead of the group he used to be compared to (Klay, Lavine, Mitchell). I think he is closing the gap but hasnt done enough to reach the next tier (Luka, Tatum). So he gets these comparisons that feel way too low or way too high.
I honestly think the correct comparison group are younger players who in my opinion havent caught him yet (Shai, Ant and Fox). IMO, Book should be considered the better player, but that is the next wave of guards.
Tatum is not in that Luka tier. Luka belongs to the tier with Steph Jokic Giannis and KD. Tatum is a fair bit below that
Jokic and Giannis are both a clear tier above Luka
To be fair, deep playoff runs are about the team, not the individual (if you ignore Lebron in 2018 or Kawhi in 2019). Especially with someone like Tatum, who had some awful series in the past few seasons.
i argue that booker is becoming not just slightly better on offense, but significantly better due to the development on playmaking since last year's playoffs which has continued so far this year. if he can keep scoring efficiently as well as run the offense, his advantage on offense can be as big or bigger than Tatum's on defense.
plus, in today's league offense just matters more anyway.
id argue that booker is more consistent especially in the playoffs
tatum put up 14 points in two of the most important games against the heat last playoffs
As others have mentioned, defense is a huge factor, as well as health. Also, I am not sure of Booker's on/off numbers, but Tatum's are insane. People always talk about the talent around Tatum, but once he is off the court, the team completely crumbles. And when he is on, no matter who is out there with him, they excel.
Booker is an extremely talented player - maybe even slightly better offensively - but he doesn't quite have that heliocentrism of the league's other superstars that Tatum has seemingly developed.
the are 7-1 with booker this year. before book came they looked like a play in team
Because one guy is a borderline elite wing defender on track to become the #2 playoff scorer in the history of the NBA and the other is Devin Booker.
becoming “on track” to be one of the leading playoff scores isn’t that much of a flex cuz he’s been on a playoff caliber team every year of his career
Boston Media Mafia
Booker is a baby face but Tatum is an actual baby
Why do you care?
There are two players in the NBA that have fans OBSESSED with their ranking amid other players and nobody else really cares. Shut up about Devin Booker and Trae Young, nobody cares about their arbitrary rankings. Fans of these two players are obsessed with spamming threads about them though. Do you not understand nobody else really cares?
Size
I like Booker more personally
Tatum Plays Defense
per 100 possessions booker is 43.6 8.1 12.7 on 51.3/45.2/92.3 shooting splits with 1.3 steals and .6 blocks. with an offensive rating of 130 and a defensive rating of 116
per 100 possessions Tatum is 36.8 11.8 5.4 on 49.9/36.5/81.2 shooting splits with 1.5 steals and .5 blocks. with an offensive rating of 118 and a defensive rating of 107
so yes tatum's defense is better. but booker is on a whole other level offensively right now. and when you combine that with the playoffs last year when booker was way better than everyone in the league except jokic it becomes clear that booker is the better player as of now. the only person with more points per 100 better than booker is embiid and booker has a 4% better TS% and a 6% better eFG% than embiid. he's also 5th in assists per 100. booker is not only the best SG in the league but he's a top 3 PG in the league.
The only reason people think Tatum is better is narrative over their careers, Boston media mafia/east coast bias, 3 inches of height, and an improper understanding of how big the gap is between the 2 offensively and defensively. The offensive gap is way bigger than people think and the defensive gap is smaller than what people thing (though still a decent sized gap).
Defense and rebounding. I think Booker is slightly better on offense though.
How many of these do we need? I’m telling y’all, chill tf out
Booker is much better on offense. Tatum has a horrific mid range game and his 3pt is shot is not falling its over. Booker can score from anywhere is a superior passer. Tatum is much better defender due to his size. Slight edge to Tatum overall due to defense.
I think availability has something to do w it too. Tatums rarely out
Because boston
tatum is better so far, but remind me after this season to see how Booker has developed as point guard. if he succeeds, he can potentially leap Tatum, who seems to have peaked in terms of development.
What in the world would make you think Tatum has peaked in development??
what has Tatum added to his game in the last 3 years or so? he already had the scoring and defense.
The numbers you presented shows that Booker is much better thus far this season, no? I’m taking the higher ppg and assists with a better ts% and +/-.
Idk Bookers clearly better
Because he plays for the Celtics and Boston owns the NBA storylines.
It’s all a fucking BMM sham
He shouldn’t be
Winning. Book dropped 70 in a game they lost in a blowout and they were celebrating like they won. Lost a lotta respect for him that day, as did buncha other bball fans.
Tatum has been winning since he came into the league, day 1 and onward. Tatum is in pace to surpass LBJ in terms of career playoff games.
It's not that difficult. One plays defense and the other doesn't
They value tatum defense. I think book offensively is better tho
It’s not a secret Bookers one of the most hated players in the league
tatum is better than booker sorry to tell you
They’re my two favorite players. Booker is better in the midrange and as a passer, but tatum is a better rebounder, defender and has improved getting to the rim this season. I think Tatum impacts games more.
Everyone knows /r/NBA shits on Booker all the time. Add in the number of Boston fans lurking all over this post and you're going to get the majority leaning Tatum. This is the biggest misconception in the league. Booker is a better player this season as of today. But it's not worth arguing with most of y'all who have it twisted when it comes to Devin.