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There aren’t a whole lot of sports fans who take Skip Bayless too seriously, so this can be taken with a grain of salt. After the Boston Celtics dropped their second straight loss for only the second time this season, Bayless ripped Celtics star Jayson Tatum. He wasn’t alone in doing so.
Tatum finished with 15 points in 39 minutes in a 115-109 loss, two days after the Celtics blew a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Against Cleveland, Tatum faltered down the stretch. Against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, March 7, he struggled all game and missed several late opportunities to put the Celtics in position to win. After the game, Bayless took a swipe at Boston’s star.
Skip Bayless Claims Jayson Tatum ‘Isn’t That Guy’
The game was built up by many as a preview of the 2024 NBA Finals. Despite the consecutive losses, the Celtics still own the best record in the NBA at 48-14. Denver, the reigning NBA champion, is one game out of first place in the Western Conference at 43-20.
Tatum, a five-time NBA All-Star and three-time All-NBA player, made just five of his 13 shots from the floor. With Boston down two points with less than a minute remaining, Tatum missed an uncontested 3-pointer from the corner.
Ever since the 2022 NBA Finals when the Celtics lost to the Golden State Warriors, Tatum’s reputation for coming up big in crunch time has taken a hit. Bayless called him out on social media after another tough performance from Tatum when his team needed him most.
“Jayson Tatum is a great guy … who just isn’t That Guy,” Bayless posted on X. “With 45 seconds left at Denver, he had a wide-open corner 3 for the lead … and left it a little short. That has been his story in the biggest moments.”
Bayless is not wrong. Yes, Tatum came up big in Game 6 against the Milwaukee Bucks in 2022. He scored 51 points against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 last year. The problem with Tatum is consistency. He was more off than on in both of those series.
He also hasn’t helped his cause. After being nearly invisible through three quarters of Game 6 against Philly in last year’s conference semifinals, Tatum put up 16 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter in a 95-86 victory. After going 5-for-21 in that game, he announced on national TV that he was “humbly one of the best basketball players in the world.” When you don’t even play like the best player on your own team, criticism will find you.
Bayless Wasn’t Alone In Knocking Tatum
Bayless was far from the only person with thoughts that Tatum isn’t considered a clutch player. While fans saw Jaylen Brown score 41 points on 16-for-29 shooting against the Nuggets, much of the focus was on Tatum after the game.
“This team will never win the title with Tatum as number one option,” one X user wrote.
Many others followed suit.
“Tatum was clearly the worst starter on court!” wrote another.
“Tatum gotta show up in these type of games,” another fan posted.
Celtics fans have been spoiled this season. Despite the two latest setbacks, Boston still owns a 7.5-game lead over the Bucks in the East. The Celtics arguably have the best starting five in the NBA, and they’ll be there in the end. Until Tatum and the Celtics prove they can win the big one, however, this type of criticism will stick around.
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