Why can't we us Tatum the way Philly uses Simmons?

[keevsnick]

They're just different players. Tatum is never gonna be a point guard and Simmons isnt an outside scorer.

[greece66]

Tatum is not a good enough dribbler and passer to do that and he also lacks the explosiveness/strength of Simmons.

Having said this, in other areas of the game he is much  better than Simmons.

Different players.

[tazzmaniac]

Tatum is not a good enough dribbler and passer to do that and he also lacks the explosiveness/strength of Simmons.

Having said this, in other areas of the game he is much  better than Simmons.

Different players.

Besides shooting, what areas are Tatum better at? 

[Big333223]

Like others have said, Tatum doesn't have the same skillset as Simmons. So he wouldn't be particularly suited to a role like that. But it would also be a bit of a waste of the skillset Tatum does have. He's a great scorer. If he's looking to create for others all the time, he's not looking to do the thing he's best at.

[gouki88]

Tatum is not a good enough dribbler and passer to do that and he also lacks the explosiveness/strength of Simmons.

Having said this, in other areas of the game he is much  better than Simmons.

Different players.

Besides shooting, what areas are Tatum better at?

I feel like shooting is a pretty huge area of the game. Tatum is also much less turnover and foul-prone, which is pretty impressive considering age and Simmons having an extra year in an NBA system.

[Moranis]

Tatum is not a good enough dribbler and passer to do that and he also lacks the explosiveness/strength of Simmons.

Having said this, in other areas of the game he is much  better than Simmons.

Different players.

Besides shooting, what areas are Tatum better at?

I feel like shooting is a pretty huge area of the game. Tatum is also much less turnover and foul-prone, which is pretty impressive considering age and Simmons having an extra year in an NBA system.

Tatum is 3.5 fouls per 100 possessions.  Simmons is 3.6 fouls per 100 possessions.  I'd say that is about even.  As for turnovers, Tatum has the ball a lot less than Simmons does.  In fact Tatum's AST% is actually a lower number than his TOV%, while Simmons' is nearly double.  So Simmons has a 2 to 1 assist to turnover rate, while Tatum's is negative.  Simmons rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks at a higher rate (though blocks are fairly close).  Tatum is a much better shooter from outside of 10' (which includes the line), but that really is all he is better at than Simmons. 

[JumpingJudkins]

Wondering why we don't use Aron Baynes like Golden State uses Steph Curry ...

[__ramonezy__]

Tatum is a rare gem. It's been awhile since I've seen a player with literally no flaws in his game at 19. Smooth handle, accurate shooter, aggressive to the hole and not afraid of contact, good frame and may still grow an inch or two, respectable defense with a good work ethic.

 I think we sometimes equate a player's ability with what he's asked to do... which may not be the same thing. The one thing I learned over the past two seasons is that "court vision" can be schemed... James Harden and Westbrook are testaments to that.

But in general OP isn't saying I wished Tatum was more like Ben, but if we could utilize him in similar ways.

[Big333223]

Tatum is a rare gem. It's been awhile since I've seen a player with literally no flaws in his game at 19. Smooth handle, accurate shooter, aggressive to the hole and not afraid of contact, good frame and may still grow an inch or two, respectable defense with a good work ethic.

 I think we sometimes equate a player's ability with what he's asked to do... which may not be the same thing. The one thing I learned over the past two seasons is that "court vision" can be schemed... James Harden and Westbrook are testaments to that.

But in general OP isn't saying I wished Tatum was more like Ben, but if we could utilize him in similar ways.

James Harden is maybe a bad example as he's always had great vision and was a great creator, even in OKC where he didn't have the ball as much.

And Westbrook's high assist numbers do not necessarilly mean he has great vision. He has ok vision but a lot of his assists are on dump-offs and kick outs. He's not seeing a lot of things that everyone else doesn't see.

[Rosco917]

Seeing the dominance of larger ball handlers, such as Lebron and Simmons, I'm wondering why isn't Tatum used in a similar fashion... even in spells.

Is there an aspect of his game that needs development? Through my eyes he has the handles, driving ability, shot... am I missing something.

LOL My question is why can't Gronk be a backup to Brady? I mean both plays football, both walk upright,
Gronk can throw the ball...I've seen him.

[Boris Badenov]

Tatum is not a good enough dribbler and passer to do that and he also lacks the explosiveness/strength of Simmons.

Having said this, in other areas of the game he is much  better than Simmons.

Different players.

Besides shooting, what areas are Tatum better at?

I feel like shooting is a pretty huge area of the game. Tatum is also much less turnover and foul-prone, which is pretty impressive considering age and Simmons having an extra year in an NBA system.

Tatum is 3.5 fouls per 100 possessions.  Simmons is 3.6 fouls per 100 possessions.  I'd say that is about even.  As for turnovers, Tatum has the ball a lot less than Simmons does.  In fact Tatum's AST% is actually a lower number than his TOV%, while Simmons' is nearly double.  So Simmons has a 2 to 1 assist to turnover rate, while Tatum's is negative.  Simmons rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks at a higher rate (though blocks are fairly close).  Tatum is a much better shooter from outside of 10' (which includes the line), but that really is all he is better at than Simmons.

I think this boils a huge part of the game down to one thing in kind of a simplistic way.

I mean, Avery Bradley is a better shooter than Simmons too, right? Does that mean that Tatum and Bradley are similar in that that's "all they are better at than Simmons"?

Tatum is a better shooter from 3. He is better from the line. He is better from mid-range. Those are three separate areas of the game. These distinctions matter: in a lot of other discussions we focus on specifics like this when comparing players.

He's also better at catch-and-shoot scoring, and pick-and-roll scoring, and in ISO scoring. I'd say the disparity is lower when you talk about off-the-ball offense (like cuts and alley-oops). And Simmons is very good at drawing fouls, maybe about as good as Tatum.

Again, in other discussions we will often differentiate those things (when, say, comparing Harden to Steph).

The bottom line is that scoring is a huge part of the game, and Tatum is dramatically better in a lot of different areas. He's already a diverse scorer who can get his own offense or let it come in the flow of a play, from literally anywhere inside 25 feet.

I'm not saying Tatum is better, to be clear. Just that we shouldn't understate how big the difference is when it comes to scoring.

[Moranis]

Tatum is not a good enough dribbler and passer to do that and he also lacks the explosiveness/strength of Simmons.

Having said this, in other areas of the game he is much  better than Simmons.

Different players.

Besides shooting, what areas are Tatum better at?

I feel like shooting is a pretty huge area of the game. Tatum is also much less turnover and foul-prone, which is pretty impressive considering age and Simmons having an extra year in an NBA system.

Tatum is 3.5 fouls per 100 possessions.  Simmons is 3.6 fouls per 100 possessions.  I'd say that is about even.  As for turnovers, Tatum has the ball a lot less than Simmons does.  In fact Tatum's AST% is actually a lower number than his TOV%, while Simmons' is nearly double.  So Simmons has a 2 to 1 assist to turnover rate, while Tatum's is negative.  Simmons rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks at a higher rate (though blocks are fairly close).  Tatum is a much better shooter from outside of 10' (which includes the line), but that really is all he is better at than Simmons.

I think this boils a huge part of the game down to one thing in kind of a simplistic way.

I mean, Avery Bradley is a better shooter than Simmons too, right? Does that mean that Tatum and Bradley are similar in that that's "all they are better at than Simmons"?

Tatum is a better shooter from 3. He is better from the line. He is better from mid-range. Those are three separate areas of the game. These distinctions matter: in a lot of other discussions we focus on specifics like this when comparing players.

He's also better at catch-and-shoot scoring, and pick-and-roll scoring, and in ISO scoring. I'd say the disparity is lower when you talk about off-the-ball offense (like cuts and alley-oops). And Simmons is very good at drawing fouls, maybe about as good as Tatum.

Again, in other discussions we will often differentiate those things (when, say, comparing Harden to Steph).

The bottom line is that scoring is a huge part of the game, and Tatum is dramatically better in a lot of different areas. He's already a diverse scorer who can get his own offense or let it come in the flow of a play, from literally anywhere inside 25 feet.

I'm not saying Tatum is better, to be clear. Just that we shouldn't understate how big the difference is when it comes to scoring.

scoring and shooting aren't the same thing.  Simmons scores more than Tatum does.  And while Simmons shoots more, his 1.29 points per shot aren't much worse than Tatum's 1.34 points per shot.  Simmons hits 55.3% of his 2 point attempts.  Tatum hits only 49.7% of his 2 point attempts.  Even with the 3 pointers included, Simmons has a slightly better eFG% at 54.7 vs. 54.1 of Tatum. 

Tatum is a much better longer range shooter, eclipsing Simmons at every spot on the floor past 10' by a pretty wide margin, but there is more to scoring than just shooting (and Tatum is god awful from 3-10' at a paltry 26.1% - Simmons is 41.9% from that range). 

[Sophomore]

scoring and shooting aren't the same thing.  Simmons scores more than Tatum does.  And while Simmons shoots more, his 1.29 points per shot aren't much worse than Tatum's 1.34 points per shot.  Simmons hits 55.3% of his 2 point attempts.  Tatum hits only 49.7% of his 2 point attempts.  Even with the 3 pointers included, Simmons has a slightly better eFG% at 54.7 vs. 54.1 of Tatum. 

Tatum is a much better longer range shooter, eclipsing Simmons at every spot on the floor past 10' by a pretty wide margin, but there is more to scoring than just shooting (and Tatum is god awful from 3-10' at a paltry 26.1% - Simmons is 41.9% from that range).

This is all correct - part of the picture. Don't leave out one more area where Simmons is clearly worse than Tatum - free throw percentage, where he's just under 56% for the year while Tatum is just under 83%. That's one reason the gap between then is higher when you look at true shooting, which includes free throw shooting. Tatum is at .588 while Simmons is at .559. Still not a huge gap, but there.

Simmons is clearly a great player - not knocking him - but I'm wondering whether, at some point, teams start game-planning for this limitation. What happens to the Sixers if they can't give Simmons the ball at the end of the game because opposing teams will send him to the line?

[chiken Green]

Because it would be a waste of Tatum's SkillSet..

[droopdog7]

Yeah, this is a terrible question.  Simmons is in the Magic Johnson mode.  Those guys come around like what, every 40 years?  Okay, throw Lebron in and you have 3 of them in 40 years. 

So you can't just say, hey, this guy can sort of dribble too so why doesn't he play like that guy?  Um, there is a reason guys like Simmons are so rare.  Because it's not NEARLY as easy as it looks.