Stephen A. Smith has one strong criticism of Celtics’ Jayson Tatum
Stephen A. Smith questions Tatum’s ‘Mamba Mentality’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
For the Boston Celtics to force a Game 7 vs. the Golden State Warriors and potentially raise Banner 18, Jayson Tatum needs to step it up.
The three-time All-Star has scored 20 or more points in four of the five NBA Finals games, but the point totals don’t tell the whole story. He has yet to put together a truly dominant performance and his fourth-quarter struggles have proved costly. He’s shooting just 5-for-21 (23.8 percent) in the final frame this series.
Ahead of Thursday night’s must-win Game 6, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith joined 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Felger & Mazz with some criticism for Tatum. While he believes in the 24-year-old’s superstar talent, Smith is turned off by a couple of Tatum’s qualities.
“I have all the confidence in the world for him in the future,” Smith said. “For this series, my number one problem with him is that he looks for the referees for help every play. Every single play. And it’s gotten into his head. It’s very annoying.
“Because you’re looking at them and one minute he’s shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. He’s giving it to you. He can take you off the dribble. He’s got a mid-range game. He’s got a long-range game, He can finish at the basket. He can finish in the open court, plus he can defend. You know he belongs on the court with these guys. And then, he’ll start off the game, he don’t shoot for the first 10 minutes.”
Host Michael Felger asked Smith whether he worries about Tatum’s “killer instinct.”
“Yes, without question,” Smith answered. “I think he wants to have it, but talking about Kobe (Bryant) and the ‘Mamba Mentality’ is entirely different than being that dude.
“I have no doubt that he’ll get there. Jayson Tatum is the future of this franchise, him and Jaylen Brown, and that’s saying a lot because ya’ll will be back here, make no mistake about it. Ya’ll are that gifted.”
Tatum will look to have his signature Finals…
Source : yahoo
