Poll

How do you rate him athletically. Make a good comparison too

7.5 Nothing special Average
0 (0%)
8.0 Solid Athlete
14 (40%)
8.5 very good
15 (42.9%)
9.0 Excellent athlete
6 (17.1%)

Total Members Voted: 35

Author Topic: Poll: Rate Tatum’s Athleticism  (Read 2589 times)

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Re: Poll: Rate Tatum’s Athleticism
« Reply #15 on: December 07, 2017, 07:24:17 AM »

Offline crimson_stallion

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He is deceptive. 

On eye test alone he LOOKS slower then he is, because he takes such long strides rather then lots of teeny little steps.  Yet if you watch him in transition he actually gets up the court VERY fast.

Likewise his leaping ability doesn't look anything special because he's not up there with his head at the rim pulling off flashy show dunks.  Yet I frequently see him finishing very difficult dunks in traffic that give off the impression he's getting higher then he actually is.  I think the key to this is that (1) his vertical reach is so impressive thanks to his long wingspan and (2) although he doesn't get high off the ground, he does get off the ground very quickly. 

As a result he seems to be able to rise up and throw down seriously impressive power dunks over people's heads that leave you thinking he must have had his head above the rim - but then you watch the replay and he's like a full head below the rim. 

He's an odd athlete because he isn't Rozier-like quick and doesn't have Brown-like leaps, yet he seems to get up the floor just as quickly and get the ball just as high as those guys based on those long strides and impressive reach.  It's like he emulates athleticism. 

Every time I watch him though, I'm always sitting there thinking "this kid is so much more athletic then he is given credit for..."