Wait...Larry went 0-1 from three and Tatum 1-2? Does this mean...TATUM IS GOIGN TO BE A BETTER THREE POINT SHOOTER THEN BIRD!?!?!
And yes I am only joking so please don't hate haha although I am really struggling to control my hype level for Tatum. Really love this kid and I feel his potential is through the roof.
Embiid on minute restrictions and Fultz coming off bench, Tatum could be in play for rookie of the year
I believe that Embiid is (finally) no longer considered rookie.
Precisely, and thank the lord for that. I really don't like this idea of 22-23 year old guys who have been on NBA rosters for 2-3 years still being classified as rookies.
Even if these guys haven't played a game they have been being paid NBA money, been trained by NBA trainers and dieticians, been schooled by NBA coaches and veterans, and in many cases have even engaged in practice sessions for 2-3 years against NBA teammates.
That's really not a fair player to compare against a young kid coming fresh out of college at 19 having absolutely zero NBA experience outside of a couple of months of summer league and training camp.
I mean seriously. look at Embiid's body at the start of last season - it was transformed quite dramatically from where it was on draft day, as had his skill set. You really cannot consider him to be even remotely the same player he was when he was a TRUE rookie.
I also don't really like the idea of guys who have been playing professional basketball for years in overseas coming in and being given a shot at rookie of the year. Again, a guy like Dario Saric (who is like 25 or 26 and played 3-4 years pro basketball in Europe against grown men) is not even remotely comparable to a guy like Fultz or Tatum, who come into the league at 19 having never played a game of professional basketball in their lives and who have never competed against guys older then 24.
A great example was that Knicks player (Prigioni or whatever his name was) who came over to the NBA about 5 years ago at the age of like 35 years old and was considered a rookie. That's just silly IMHO.