Team USA had fans on edge during the first three minutes of Sunday’s match against Serbia at the 2024 Olympics. Falling behind 10-2 early, the United States quickly turned the game around, thanks to stellar performances by Kevin Durant and LeBron James. The team ultimately secured an impressive 110-84 win.
A notable storyline from the game was All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum not playing a single minute. After the match, head coach Steve Kerr addressed this decision, expressing his initial hesitation but pointing to Durant’s return as a key factor.
“It’s really hard in a 40-minute game to play more than 10 guys,” Kerr explained. “With Kevin coming back, I just went to the combinations that I felt made the most sense. It seems crazy. I thought I was crazy when I looked at everything and determined these are the lineups I wanted to get to,” he told Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.
Kerr also praised Tatum for his professionalism in handling the situation, assuring fans that the Boston Celtics star will “make his mark” during the Olympics.
“Jayson is first-team All-NBA three years in a row. He’s one of the best players in the world. I went with the combinations I felt would make sense, and I talked to him, and he was incredibly professional. [Tatum will] make his mark,” Kerr added. “Our guys know the key to this whole thing is to put all the NBA stuff in the rearview mirror and just win six games. Jayson is the ultimate pro and champion and he handled it well, and he’s going to be ready for the next game.”
Tatum and Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton were the only players who didn’t see the floor in Team USA’s opener. The decision on Tatum was particularly surprising, considering he logged between 14 and 21 minutes in the four exhibition games while Durant was out due to injury.
As Team USA prepares to face South Sudan on Wednesday, it will be interesting to see how Kerr manages his rotations. Given Tatum’s talent, another DNP-CD would be quite unexpected.
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