“There ain’t no way, we should be burying this kid just yet” - Stephen A. Smith believes 3-time All-Star should not be getting so much heat despite his struggles in the NBA Finals

Veteran NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith came out in support of Jayson Tatum after his poor performance for the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. Smith brought out examples of legends, Isiah Thomas and Larry Bird, who also had forgettable debuts on the biggest stage.

He pointed out Jayson Tatum's stats, but also said that the 24-year-old has a lot more to learn in his career. Keeping the finals aside, the forward was having a great postseason campaign.

However, he was unable to deliver his best against an experienced Golden State Warriors team. Speaking about him on "Stephen A's World," the analyst said:

"There ain't no way he should be getting all this heat, all of it, but some of it, of course. Now, did Jayson Tatum underperform in the finals, did he disappear at times on the big stage? Without question y'all, without a doubt. Shot just 31.6% on two pointers in the series, the worst by any player with at least 75 field goal attempts in the last 60 finals.

"And that's bad dammit, that's bad, he also had a record 100 turnovers this postseason, that's really bad. But there ain't no way we should be burying this kid just yet."

Jayson Tatum averaged 21.5 PPG, 7.0 APG and 6.8 RPG in six games against the Warriors. These may look like good numbers, but they were not great, as per his standards. The 24-year-old is stellar from mid-range. But the Dubs did a good job of forcing tough shots on him and this prevented him from having any impact.

A lot of criticism was fired at him for his failure to deliver a good performance. However, Stephen A. Smith believes in a bright future for the Celtics forward. Further speaking about him, Smith said:

"Don't forget in Larry Bird's first Finals, he scored eight points in two different games, in Isaiah Thomas' first Finals, he had two games with just 10 points had another game with seven turnovers and how'd they turn out all the greats have growing pains.

"I'm not ready to say Jayson Tatum is a player anywhere near their level but he's only 24 6-9 with a j mid-range game all that stuff he's got time to look in the mirror and reflect on this he can grow from it and get better."

Is Jayson Tatum a superstar in the league?

2022 NBA Finals - Game Six

Jayson Tatum is one of the best young talents in the NBA. There were a lot of expectations of him coming into the finals. Although he fell short of his best, there is no denying that the 24-year-old is a certified talent.

His ability to score from mid-range and get to the basket is what makes him special. Jayson Tatum is also developing into a great defensive talent. The Celtics have a young core and Tatum certainly looks like he can once again compete for a championship with them.

Going into the sixth season of his NBA career, the youngster will be looking to work on a few more aspects of his game.

He has not been careful with the ball and due to that he conceded a lot of turnovers in the playoffs. Many questions were raised about his superstar status after a dismal run in the NBA Finals.

However, he will be looking to bounce back stronger next season and cement his place as a superstar.