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The United States eked out a victory over Serbia to earn the right to face off against France in the gold medal game, and Steve Kerr has addressed the decision to leave Jayson Tatum on the bench for a second time despite Team USA’s struggles in the comeback win.
There’s a reason America was the overwhelming favorite to win the gold medal heading into the Olympics in Paris, as there isn’t a single country that can come close to matching the talent of a squad of All-Stars who boast more than 125 seasons of NBA experience between them.
Steve Kerr obviously benefits from having such a stacked cast at his disposal, but one of the downsides of having a roster overflowing with superstars is knowing that some of them are inevitably going to get the short end of the stick when it comes to playing time.
Jrue Holiday and Joel Embiid were both exiled to the bench when the United States faced off against Puerto Rico in the final game of group stage play, and on Thursday, Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton found themselves in the same position against Serbia for the second time during the rematch where Team USA had to overcome a 17-point deficit to secure the win.
Tatum’s absence was especially surprising when you consider the forward is coming off a season where he led the Celtics to a championship (and arguably deserved to be named Finals MVP) while earning All-NBA First Team honors for the third in a row, and his mom made it very clear she wanted an explanation after seeing her son benched at the Olympics for a second time.
No he not. But if you find out what’s going on please let me know – unacceptable and makes NO SENSE. https://t.co/vtz1W398XJ
— BCole_Esq (@Brandy_N_Cole) August 9, 2024
On Friday, Kerr did what he could to address her concerns while explaining his rationale, as The Boston Globe reports he essentially said the decision boiled down to logistical issues, noting:
“It’s not what I’m not seeing from Jayson. It’s what I’ve seen from the other guys. Like I’ve said many times during this tournament and this last six weeks, it’s just hard to play 11 people, even in an NBA game…
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.”
While you could argue Kerr should’ve deployed Tatum to switch things up based on how Team USA looked for the majority of the game against Serbia, the fact that they were able to pull out the victory means it’s slightly harder to criticize the decision.