Jayson Tatum was the best player on the reigning NBA champion. Typically, players who reach that level are regarded as somewhat sacred. Their reputations are beyond reproach. Their skill sets can no longer be questioned. So when Steve Kerr sat Tatum out of Team USA's group play game against Serbia, fans ranged from surprised to outraged. Tatum returned to the rotation against South Sudan, Puerto Rico and Brazil, but was again held out against Serbia in the semifinal rematch Team USA came from behind to win on Thursday.
Again, critics have blasted Kerr for the decision, but as he said, it had far less to do with the Celtics superstar than the rest of the roster.
"It's not about anything Jayson is doing or not doing," Kerr said. "It's just about combinations and the way that group has played together, the way Kevin has filled in since he came back from his injury. It's just a math problem more than anything."
Team USA presents this sort of math problem almost automatically. It is the curse of having a nearly limitless supply of basketball stars. Most countries that compete in the Olympics have one or two players with the sort of stature to actively command playing time. Team USA sends 12 stars. Everyone on the team is justified in believing they deserve to play. Playing all of them isn't practical. "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," Kerr explained.
Tyrese Haliburton has barely played in the Olympics. Semifinal hero Joel Embiid has a DNP-CD under his belt as well. Kerr, the Warriors coach, has ultimately decided to stick to 10 players per game. Against Serbia, he has deemed Tatum No. 11. That doesn't mean he's No. 11 against everybody, but Serbia is a team heavy on guards and bigs. Tatum's skillset, even as a versatile wing, isn't needed as badly in that specific matchup, and his inconsistent shooting could have posed problems in such a close game.
The chorus of Kerr critics over his decision to bench Tatum grew on Friday, as Celtics legend Bob Cousy spoke out. Cousy, the 96-year-old Hall of Famer who won six NBA titles with the Celtics in the 1950s and 1960s, said Tatum not playing on Thursday was "an embarrassment."
"This isn't just a snub," Cousy told the Boston Globe. "This is an embarrassment for that poor kid all over the [expletive] world. The Olympics have gotten that big. Everyone's going to think that there's something wrong this this kid."
Cousy added he thinks "someone from Boston should stand up" for Tatum. "When Kerr did it last week, he was in no danger of losing the game, but in this case they got down by 17 points and he's got to worry about losing the game," Cousy added. "And then to not let Tatum get off the bench -- to me, there's got to be some kind of bias that he's got against the Celtics."
Kerr, for what it's worth, did play two other Celtics -- Jrue Holiday and Derrick White -- a combined 27 minutes in the win over Serbia.
Ultimately, Kerr's job is to win a gold medal. Things got precarious in the semifinal, but it's hard to say that Tatum's presence would have changed that. Serbia succeeded largely because of all the open shots Nikola Jokic created and because they actually made most of their open 3s early on. Tatum can't defend Jokic one-on-one, and he can't change how well his opponents shoot when they're open. Team USA won the game in the end. The Americans are heavily favored to win gold, and there's a good chance Tatum will play a significant role in Saturday's bout with France. No matter who Kerr sits, it will cause controversy in some manner. That's what happens when 12 stars are made to fight for 10 spots.
