I like them both. Jackson is a freak athlete, and he plays with a passion and an edge that you love to see. It can be argued that he's the best defensive player in the draft. There are times when you think there's more than one of him on the court. He seems to be everywhere, and that's at both ends of the court. At the same time, while he's good at a lot of things, he's not great an any one individual thing, other than defense. I have to admit that I'm nit picking here and going more on my gut reaction to him while ignoring the results. Which is not always a good thing to do.
Jackson, like Fox, plays at almost a frantic pace, but appears more out of control at times than Fox. And while Jackson shot around 37% from the three, he only shot around 55 % from the free throw line, which is a bit concerning. So I wish I had a little more to go on in that area. Make no mistake, if Jackson can polish off his skills, your looking at a potential superstar. But right now, the parts are greater than the sum. Could have said the same thing about Lebron when he came into the league.
Speaking of Lebron, if you break him down statistically, he isn't great at any one thing, except maybe passing the ball for a player his size. He's an average free throw shooter. Average 3 pt shooter, average to a little above average rebounder. Doesn't block shots, and is average at stealing the ball. His overall shooting percentage is very good at around 54%. It's what's between Lebrons ears that makes him great. Don't get me wrong, he's a very good athlete as well, or at least used to be. He's lost a little at 32 years of age. I suspect that if you could put Lebron's brain in Josh Jackson's body, you'd have another superstar.
But I digress. Point is, Jackson may be the next superstar. Or not! I like Tatum because he appears more polished overall, and always seems under control. I also like that he seemed to get better as the season wore on. He's also a good defender, and does it more with technique than raw athleticism, and that's not to say that Tatum isn't a good athlete. He's just not the athlete that Jackson is. I doubt you can go wrong with either player, and I won't predict who will be the better player. I honestly don't know.
One last thing I'll say about Jackson, and don't make more of it than it is. But there are times when Jackson can be a bit of a head case. He has a temper that occasionally pops up. I don't think it's a major issue, but it is there. Remember, this is a player that only knows how to win, and doesn't accept losing well. He plays with that edge, and sometimes a temper comes with that.