“He just makes bad choices, bad decisions where you say ‘what are you doing?’… That’s just careless” - Skip Bayless says Boston Celtics star is “3000 miles away from being a superstar“

The 2022 NBA Finals has moved to Boston where the Celtics will play two games. [Image Credit: Getty Images]
The 2022 NBA Finals has moved to Boston where the Celtics will play two games. [Image Credit: Getty Images]

Jayson Tatum and his Boston Celtics are currently in the NBA Finals. They beat the Golden State Warriors in Game 1, stealing home court advantage from them.

Tatum has had some fantastic performances so far in the postseason. Furthermore, he's been the top scorer in the playoffs.

Despite his amazing performance, some fans and analysts don't consider Jayson Tatum a superstar yet. The Boston Celtics forward has had a couple of bad games so far, and that is a big reason why he hasn't reached superstar status.

Jayson Tatum is not a superstar yet

Being a superstar is not an easy thing to achieve. While the definition of this term differs from one person to another, it is hard to put Jayson Tatum in the elite company.

Tatum has averaged only 20.0 points so far in the finals. His shooting has been inefficient as he's only made 30.6 percent of his shots.

Skip Bayless doesn't consider the Celtics forward a superstar. The biggest reason for this is the poor shooting he's had so far in the series.

When asked about Tatum, this is what the NBA analyst said:

"We are right at 3,000 miles from here [Los Angeles] to Boston. That's about how close Jayson Tatum is to be my definition of a superstar."

Bayless pointed out how Jayson Tatum has shot 4-for-22 from 2-point range so far in the finals. That's only 18.2 percent, which isn't just way below the league average, but also one of the worst shooting performances ever.

Skip mentioned that this is the worst 2-point percentage in the first two games of the NBA Finals in the shot clock era. In addition to this, Tatum has been careless with the ball and has averaged 4.2 turnovers per game so far in the playoffs.

"He still turns the ball over at a high rate... He is just flat out, wildly careless with the basketball. ... He just makes bad choices, bad decisions."

Jayson Tatum is only 24, and there is no doubt he will become a superstar soon. He's been a great team leader, but just like every other player, he does have flaws. After all, this is his NBA Finals debut, so we can expect him to improve after this valuable experience.

Boston Celtics still have a chance to win it all

Despite the poor shooting performance by Tatum, the Boston Celtics still have a great chance of winning it all. However, the forward will definitely have to do a much better job for the rest of the series for this to happen.

Keep in mind, Tatum recorded a career-high 13 assists in Game 1. He is capable of impacting the game in different ways other than scoring, and this is what the Celtics need from him.

Game 3 of the series is on Wednesday night in Boston. It will be interesting to see if the Celtics can hold on to their home court advantage.

The Golden State Warriors have also been very inconsistent. It seems that everyone but Steph Curry has been on and off. While this isn't a perfect scenario for either team, it's what could potentially make this series very interesting.

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