My brother in-law and I often argue whether Booker or Tatum is better than another. It’s not the best argument because we’re both extremely biased, him being a Celtics and Duke fan and I’m a lifelong Suns fan. I also know it’s difficult to compare the two because they play different positions and roles on their respective teams.
That’s why I wanted to ask y’all, why is Tatum or Booker better than the other?
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