This was Team USA head coach Steve Kerr’s explanation for why Jayson Tatum hasn’t been playing
As Team USA awaits its gold medal game opponent, head coach Steve Kerr was again pressed about the Celtics’ star’s lack of minutes. Here’s his answer.
While any fan can appreciate the difficulties of rotating a team of stars in a tournament setting i.e., a small amount of games. There is no avoiding the idea that the absence of a player who won an NBA Championship this past season was always going to cause a stir.
Steve Kerr addresses Jayson Tatum’s limited playing time
By now you know, that Team USA has secured a place in the gold medal game of the Paris Olympics men’s basketball tournament following a thrilling 95-91 win over Serbia. From Steph Curry’s 36-point contribution to LeBron James’ triple-double, it appeared that the Americans were back to their best against a solid team led by the NBA’s reigning MVP, Nikola Jokic. On that note, we’ve got to mention Joel Embiid who despite coming in for extensive criticism during the tournament, was the man of the moment down the stretch.
This of course brings us to the intricacies of Team USA’s journey to this point which is to say the team’ selection, one which has largely seen those three aforementioned players consistently used in the starting lineup alongside Kevin Durant and Jrue Holiday. To that end, there have been a few glaring absences such as Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton and Boston Celtics sensation Jayson Tatum. Where Haliburton is concerned, most have accepted that the two-time All-Star’s time will come given his age and stage. On the other hand, that’s not the case with Tatum and that’s something Steve Kerr has been forced to address with even Tatum’s mother chiming in.
Speaking with the media on Friday, Kerr attempted to calm the storm, explaining that it’s down to the mathematics of it all. “It’s not what I’m not seeing from Jayson; it’s what I’ve seen from the other guys,” Kerr said. “Like I’ve said many times during this tournament and the last six weeks, it’s just hard to play 11 people, even in an NBA game. ...Our second unit was not great last night, but that group has been one of the bright spots on this team, especially on the defensive end. So it’s not about what Jayson is doing or not doing. It’s just about combinations and the way that group has played together, the way Kevin [Durant] has filled in since he came back from his injury. It’s just a math problem more than anything.”
Now to be fair, given the star power of Team USA in any Olympics, the challenge of finding time for everyone is always going to be a problem. That’s to say, we’ve seen this before. Yet, there is no way to avoid that when it comes to Tatum, the situation is a little strange given what he’s just come from achieving. Indeed, the 26-year-old is fresh off of winning an NBA Championship which only solidified his legacy. After all, we’re talking about a consistent All-Star and first-team All-NBA player. Surely there’s a place for a player with that kind of pedigree, right?