“Apart from Game 5, Stephen Curry has played exceptionally, whereas Jayson Tatum hasn’t played well at all”: Shannon Sharpe reasons why the Celtics star has more pressure in Game 6

According to Shannon Sharpe, Jayson Tatum has more pressure to perform in Game 6 of the NBA Finals than Stephen Curry has.

The Boston Celtics now face the brink of elimination with the virtue of the Warriors winning Game 5 of the 2022 NBA Finals. So far, Stephen Curry has been the best player of the series (apart from a horrid shooting outing in Game 5), putting up a staggering 30.6/5.8/4.6. As for Ime Udoka’s squad, Jayson Tatum has the most statistically pleasing stat line, averaging 23.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7 assists.

However, JT has been way off in these finals from what we have seen him do all season as well as postseason long. The 3-time All-Star has been shooting a horrific 37.3% from the field and merely 65.6% from the charity stripe. The former Duke Blue Devil has also been averaging an awful lot of turnovers (3.6 per game), with a grand total box plus-minus of -19.

Also Read: Jayson Tatum shows off his son’s jab step move and NBA Twitter demands a roster change

With Game 6 approaching, Shannon Sharpe believes that Tatum has more pressure than Curry (coming off a 0/9 3-point shooting game) to perform. The “UNDISPUTED” analyst said:

“Jayson Tatum, because he hasn’t played well this entire series. Steph Curry has played exceptionally, with the exception of Game 5, and he already has 3 chips, he has 2 MVPs, and he’s already thought of as a historically transcendent player. So there’s no pressure. And he has the luxury of having a Game 7 in his home building. Now it hasn’t worked out well the very last time he had a Game 7 in his building, but he does still have that luxury. All the pressure is on Jayson Tatum.”

“He has not been the Jayson Tatum we expected him to be to take that next step and enter into superstardom”: Shannon Sharpe

Sharpe further went on to state how the Eastern Conference Finals MVP has been hurting the team with turnovers and shooting at a “horrible percentage”.

“He’s in his building and he hasn’t played well. Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers, has plagued them. Yes shooting at horrible percentage… In this series he’s come up small. He has not been the Jayson Tatum that we expected him to be to take that next step and enter into superstardom.

He’s a star, he’s an All-Star, but we were ready to anoint him, I know I was ready to anoint him, a SUPERSTAR. And right now, he’s not there and he hasn’t played well. The pressure is on Jayson Tatum to the umpteenth degree. So I believe, in my estimation, more pressure is on Jayson Tatum than on Curry because Steph Curry is already a made man, and I still got Game 7 in my building… if I need it.”

Who has more pressure in Game 6: Curry or Tatum?

“Jayson Tatum, because he hasn’t played well all series. Steph has played exceptionally well and already has 3 chips, 2 MVPs and is a historically transcendent player. All the pressure lies on Tatum.”

— @ShannonSharpe pic.twitter.com/prunrnAy0M

— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) June 15, 2022

Agreed, the 6-foot-8 forward has put up good numbers, however, he has yet to go off for a huge game. And with Game 6 being the do-or-die game, there is no better time for the 2-time All-NBA player to carry his team to a huge win with an iconic display.

Also Read: Warriors and Stephen Curry continue to be a major draws