Chances of Tatum starting at the 4

[Bostoncelticsforlife7]

I am going to assume that Stevens will start Morris at the 4 on opening night, but I'm  worried we will get destroyed on the glass with him starting along side Horford. Tatum is a very good rebounder for his size from what I've seen and I think he would benefit greatly by starting along side other veterans, like Jaylen did last year. I think he is underrated defensively and his length really seems to bother many opponents. It also goes without saying that Tatum will most likely feast on many of the bigger power forwards in the league.

If he learns the system defensive rotations fairly quickly could you see Tatum as out starting power forward by the middle of the season?

[Q_FBE]

Out went Olynyk, Amir Johnson, and Tyler Zeller. In came Aaron Baynes, Marcus Morris, Yubesule, Tatim. Crowder, Marcus Smart, and Jaylen Brown rebound better than most from the wings. I think Tatum could start eventually but it would be later in this season or next year.

[saltlover]

Honestly, I think Tatum is fifth in line for a starting spot, behind:

Morris
Baynes (with Horford at the 4)
Brown (with Crowder at the 4)
Smart (with Crowder at the 4)

I like Tatum, and I do think he will be a starter sooner than later, but not this year barring multiple people ahead of him being out.

[Jon]

This is a 53 win team that got better from last year. I don't see Brad rushing to start Tatum at any position, let alone the 4. While I like what I've see of the kid so far, he's arguably to skinny to be a starting 3 at this point.

That said, i'm sure we'll see him in some small ball lineups at some point, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's Hayward or Brown guarding the opposing 4 depending on the matchup.

[jambr380]

Honestly, I think Tatum is fifth in line for a starting spot, behind:

Morris
Baynes (with Horford at the 4)
Brown (with Crowder at the 4)
Smart (with Crowder at the 4)

I like Tatum, and I do think he will be a starter sooner than later, but not this year barring multiple people ahead of him being out.

I generally agree...but Tatum could take the NBA by storm and become an instant superstar. Then Brad would have to start him!

[GreenCoffeeBean]

Where is all of this coming from? Summer league? He's not muscular enough yet to play the 4 for long stretches against most teams.

[kozlodoev]

The chance that we'll start a 205 lbs PF is about... well, zero.

[saltlover]

The chance that we'll start a 205 lbs PF is about... well, zero.

That's only slightly less than the chance that Tatum starts the season at 205 pounds.

[Bobshot]

We'll see what happens pre-season. How Tatum looks vs NBA regulars.

I think he might be ahead of Brown at the same point last year, just from his shooting, but Stevens doesn't strike me as a coach who wants to start 20yo rookies, no matter how good they look. We'll just have to see how he stacks up vs Morris et al.

I think who starts isn't important anyways. Stevens' lineup will be determined more by matchups than anything else.

[Bostoncelticsforlife7]

Honestly, I think Tatum is fifth in line for a starting spot, behind:

Morris
Baynes (with Horford at the 4)
Brown (with Crowder at the 4)
Smart (with Crowder at the 4)

I like Tatum, and I do think he will be a starter sooner than later, but not this year barring multiple people ahead of him being out.

I think Smart will start at the 2 but that's just my opinion

[Bostoncelticsforlife7]

The chance that we'll start a 205 lbs PF is about... well, zero.

I respect your opinion considering you have lots of stars

[Bostoncelticsforlife7]

Where is all of this coming from? Summer league? He's not muscular enough yet to play the 4 for long stretches against most teams.

That's what I was thinking, he might be too light, but maybe his length would help him out a little bit defending bigger fours idk maybe not

[aingeforthree]

Scorer off the bench from the start for Tatum. Post up the backup small forwards all day and let the man eat.

[kozlodoev]

The chance that we'll start a 205 lbs PF is about... well, zero.

That's only slightly less than the chance that Tatum starts the season at 205 pounds.

Last time he tried to add a ton of weight over a very short period of time, he ended up missing games with a lower body injury. I hope he will be more careful this time around, even if this means disappointing some folks around here

[Big333223]

Pretty much zero. Tatum had a nice summer league but he's still only 19 and is going to take time to develop. He's also got plenty of capable vets in front of him.

It's possible he gets a spot start due to injuries a la Jordan Mickey last year (although I'm sure Tatum will play a lot more than Mickey ever did, generally) but he won't start regularly.