AFTER holding Jayson Tatum out for the entire first Olympic game, head coach Steve Kerr is switching up his decision.
Team USA put on a dominant display in their opening game, but many eyes were on Tatum sitting on the bench.
Steve Kerr held Jason Tatum out of Team USA’s first gameCredit: X/OhYesHeDid24
Kerr said Tatum will play against South Sudan on WednesdayCredit: Getty
Team USA took down Serbia 110-84 on Sunday and got great production out of LeBron James and Kevin Durant, and Kerr didn’t witch up his rotation much.
Because of that, Tatum didn’t get a single minute of playing time, and Kerr had to face that decision after the game.
“Jayson will play [Wednesday],” Kerr said.
“I’m not going to answer your next question, which is if he plays, who doesn’t.
“But we’re going to need him, and part of this job for me is to keep everybody engaged and ready, because my experience with this is crazy stuff happens.”
Olympic basketball has different rules than NBA basketball, favoring using big men in the rotation.
That doesn’t suit Tatum’s game very well, but Kerr emphasized that Tatum will needed during the games.
He also shared that it is incredibly hard to pick a starting lineup with a roster of All Stars.
“The hardest part of this job is you’re sitting at least a couple of guys who are world-class, some of the very best players on Earth,” Kerr said.
“On one hand, it makes no sense at all. On the other, I’m asking these guys to just commit to winning one game and then move on to the next one.
I have to do the same thing. And so I felt like last night those were the combinations that made the most sense.”
Team USA is playing against South Sudan in their next game, a roster that has more speed and s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 rather than size.
Tatum is expected to match up well against that roster, and is slated to play in the game on Wednesday.
“With South Sudan, it’s more about the speed, and speed is a 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁er,” Kerr said.
“You have to be prepared for everything, and that means we need everybody.”
Tatum averaged 6.7 points in Team USA’s exhibition games before the Olympics.
He played 16 minutes in an exhibition against South Sudan, scoring nine points in the game.
Tatum likely won’t start in the upcoming game, but could feature off the bench.
Team USA are still overwhelming favorites to win gold in Paris.
Tatum played in five exhibition games before the OlympicsCredit: Getty
