“Larry Bird is shaking his head saying ‘I’m gonna disown these guys’” - Skip Bayless says the Boston Celtics gave the Bucks a Christmas bouquet, says Jayson Tatum still hasn’t arrived as a superstar
Jayson Tatum has yet to prove himself as a superstar, according to Skip Bayless. After giving up a lead in Game 3, the analyst weighed in on how the Celtics handed the Bucks a “Christmas bouquet.”
Jayson Tatum gifts Milwaukee a Game 3 victory
Skip Bayless stated:
“The Boston Celtics, in command, they were up 14 with 10:16 left last night in the fourth quarter. They were up 14 points at home.
"The Boston freaking Celtics. Somewhere Larry Bird was saying, ‘I think we got this one right’, then a couple of minutes later, Larry Bird is shaking his head saying ‘I’m gonna disown these guys.’”
"The Celtics spit it up and gave it right back to the Bucks. This game was all about what Boston didn't do, not what 'The Best Player on the Planet' did do. Every time I try to say Tatum has arrived as a superstar, he won't let me." — @RealSkipBayless https://t.co/lw6ATVWoeS
Although Jayson Tatum finished with 34 points, six rebounds and four assists, the Celtics still gave up a large lead in the fourth to a Bucks squad without Khris Middleton.
Failing to show up on the defensive end late in the game, Bayless explained that Tatum has yet to prove himself as a superstar. Bayless said:
“[Boston was] up 11 with 8:15 left, they were up 6 with 2:12 left, and you know the rest of the story. It was a disaster. This game was all about what Boston didn’t do. … In the end, someone has to say no, and it wasn’t Jayson Tatum.”
On top of Tatum's defensive struggles, this year's Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart, also showed lackluster effort. In fact, in the final minutes of play, Bucks guard Jrue Holiday ended up locking down Smart for two of the biggest defensive stops of the playoffs so far.
The Celtics dominated until the fourth quarter. Tatum had himself a great offensive performance, but a bleeding Giannis Antetokounmpo ended up in the limelight after sealing the victory with a 40 point, 11 rebound performance.
After a lackluster effort from Tatum and the Celtics late in the game, Bayless said that the game seemed to be a gift to the Bucks.
The flow was much in Boston’s favor for most of the game and then the script quickly flipped. Jayson Tatum and company seemingly did nothing to stop it. Skip outlined the game:
“It was the all time Christmas bouquet wrapped up and said, ‘here, you guys take this from us.’”
With Khris Middleton rumored to be possibly returning for Game 6 or 7 of this series, the Celtics are going to have to step up.
Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown combined for only four points more than Tatum’s total in Game 3. If their scoring continues to struggle, the squad will inevitably have to tighten their defensive efforts.