Boston Celtics: Ranking Jayson Tatum among the top NBA small forwards

No. 5: Khris Middleton

Questioning Khris Middleton‘s ability to hold up on his own without the benefit of being the Robin to Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s Batman isn’t an effective way to be skeptical of his standing as a star. Middleton’s game holds up well without the Greek Freak sharing the floor, as pointed out in Andy Bailey’s and Dan Favale’s shared piece:

"The Bucks aren’t the Bucks without their capacity to navigate minutes sans Antetokounmpo. Middleton is central to that independence. Milwaukee outscores opponents by 8.1 points per 100 possessions during his solo stints with an offensive rating that ranks in the 94th percentile."

Middleton’s place in the league is secure despite not having the flashiest game or most outgoing personality. That said, we feel he was ranked a tad too high.

No. 4: Jimmy Butler

Speaking of being ranked too high, Jimmy Butler similarly ranked ahead of Jayson Tatum this season despite being leading his team to an inferior record than the Boston Celtics. While the Miami Heat are clearly better because of Butler’s presence, the team showed weaknesses as the season went on and Butler continued to struggle with his 3-point shot.

Tatum is a superior scorer, and while Butler clearly has the edge as a distributor, the overall impact of Tatum’s play–especially in February when Kemba Walker went down with an injury–outweighed Butler’s culture change in Miami.