Imagine anchoring your squad to a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals and still facing the ire of the critics! This fate has befallen Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum, who has been the target of several sports voices recently because of his inefficient shooting performances. Of course, Skip Bayless wouldn’t miss out on a chance to take shots at a superstar in a shooting slump on the biggest stage. He pointed out the lack of the clutch gene in the 26-year-old in his recent tweet.
On his X post, Bayless highlighted Tatum’s fourth-quarter stats in the NBA Finals dating back to the 2022 Finals against the Golden State Warriors, where his Celtics lost in six games. In the fourth quarters of his nine Finals appearances, Tatum has made just 9 out of 42 field goal attempts. That’s shooting 21% from the floor.
In the three games of the 2024 Finals, Bayless noted, the Celtics star has made only 3 out of his 17 attempts from the floor. That’s 18% shooting from the floor.
The 72-year-old brought out these numbers to justify his consistent criticism of Tatum, calling out folks who questioned him for blasting JT throughout the playoffs. “But of course, I’m just being a hater to dredge up such irrelevant numbers,” Bayless added sarcastically.
Anybody but me notice that in the 9 NBA Finals 4th quarters Jayson Tatum has played, he's 9-42 (21%). In this year's three 4th quarters, he's 3-17 (18%). But of course, I'm just being a hater to dredge up such irrelevant numbers.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 14, 2024
He had also highlighted Tatum’s deciding quarter shooting woes after the conclusion of Game 3, where the Mavs were able to erase a 21-point deficit and were just a bucket away from tying things up. The FS1 analyst had expressed that Tatum’s fourth quarter troubles are now a writing on the wall and would have hurt his team, if not for his teammate Jaylen Brown.
The veteran analyst wrote, “Celtics won it in the 3rd quarter … then played another shaky 4th – only 21 in the 4th. Tatum went predictably cold. Jaylen Brown saved ’em“
Therefore, despite having one hand on the Larry O’Brien trophy, JT has been in Bayless’ radar during multiple occasions this series. However, the Undisputed host hasn’t been the only one who has taken Tatum to task for his scoring inefficiencies.
Jayson Tatum’s shooting struggles have been in the limelight
Akin to Skip Bayless, his former ‘UNDISPUTED’ co-host Shannon Sharpe has also highlighted Tatum’s below-par scoring performances. After a 6/22 shooting night in Game 2, Sharpe declared that Tatum doesn’t seem to be in the same pedigree as greats like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant, who delivered at the biggest stage.
He argued that like JT, greats like MJ faced persistent double-teams, but didn’t let that affect their shooting rhythm. On First Take, Sharpe said,
“We’re asking him [Jayson Tatum] to be the face of the NBA and now we’re saying he is struggling cause he got double-teamed?…He is struggling shooting the basketball”
In Game 3, Tatum did show up to the scene and inserted 31 points to help build a big lead by the end of the third quarter. Apart from that, he has been an excellent passer and rebounder, showing his willingness to accomplish tasks that help make for an all-around team effort. While he has been the target of various critics, an NBA title would soon quell the narratives around his inconsistent scoring.
The post “Just Being a Hater”: Skip Bayless Brings Out Jayson Tatum’s 4th Quarter Stats in NBA Finals appeared first on The SportsRush.
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