Amid some nail-biting pre-Olympic test games, Team USA had everyone on edge heading into the tournament. Questions were asked about whether the superstar-filled roster would gel together and how head coach Steve Kerr would implement his tactics. He showed a glimpse of that when he decided to bench NBA champion and Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum during Team USA's opening game against Serbia. Despite the win, the decision sparked debate among fans and analysts, who questioned coach Kerr's strategy and the idea behind benching the NBA champion.
It certainly didn't skip past vocal NBA analyst Stephen A. Smith. The talking head and the general public were critical of the coach, prompting him to defend his choice by calling Team USA an "embarrassment of riches." However, not only did these remarks help change the narrative, they may have incited more backlash, starting again with SAS.
"Jayson Tatum ain't even 28," Smith said on "First Take." "The man has been to five conference finals, two NBA finals, and has been first team All-NBA for the last three years. In the process, he swept [Kevin Durant] one of those years and is the reigning, defending NBA champion who just finished averaging nearly 27 points per game."
"He was the second-best player to Kevin Durant in the games in Tokyo. And before you even go out for warm-ups, you're letting him know, 'We got 10 players. We're gonna play before you. We might not get to you.' Do you have any idea how insulting that is?" SAS added.
Tactics first, reactions later
In coach Kerr's defense, Team USA beat Serbia, and he made it clear that Tatum would be involved in the second game. The forward returned to the starting lineup during Wednesday night's contest against South Sudan. After being benched in the opener, the reigning NBA champion called the experience "humbling."
This time, it was Joel Embiid who didn't play a single minute, as Tatum recorded four points, five rebounds, and two assists. In the fourth quarter, coach Kerr substituted him with Kevin Durant , indicating he plans to experiment with different player combinations to optimize the team's chances of winning gold.
The team clinched a spot in the quarterfinals with a comfortable 103-86 victory, a contrast to their previous meeting a fortnight ago, which ended in a narrow one-point victory for Team USA.
Related: Brian Windhorst says Steve Kerr is "dropping aces" with lineup changes: "If you're criticizing him, you're in a bad spot"
More involvement for Tatum
Jayson was heading into the Olympics on the back of winning the NBA championship with the Celtics. He was Boston's best scorer and best player, averaging 26.9 points per contest in what was a near-perfect season for the franchise. In the Finals, he averaged 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists to help see off the Dallas Mavericks in five games.
So when he was called to be a part of the star-laden United States roster, the idea was that he'd be more involved and be a huge part of the team—a major reason for the backlash coach Kerr received.
"Here's the deal," Smith continued. "The Boston Celtics are the reigning, defending champion, who's their number one option? Jayson Tatum. Who defers to Jayson Tatum? Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White. Two players from the Boston Celtics that defer to him, eight months out of the year, he's playing behind. That makes no damn sense."
Next for Tatum and the team is a dead rubber against Puerto Rico before the knockouts, which will be tougher and will require more difficult decisions. For a team that has gone without a loss, it still hasn't left Kerr out of the microscope. There has been some theme every game for Team USA about who will play in said game and who will sit. As long as the championship-winning coach doesn't seat another big name through the rest of the tournament, he'll evade the media scrutiny.
Related: "The beauty of the Olympics is none of that crap matters" - Steve Kerr on Team USA facing constant criticism
Local Boston, MA
Most Popular
Comments / 0