The USA men’s basketball team kicked off their 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris with a victory over Serbia, winning 110-84.
However, the big story from the game was that Jayson Tatum didn’t play at all.
He and Tyrese Haliburton were the only two players who didn’t get any court time.
Steve Kerr said on Monday that Tatum will definitely play in their next game against South Sudan on Wednesday. “Jayson will play (Wednesday),” Kerr mentioned, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “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.”
Game Highlights:
Before Sunday’s game, Kerr had a chat with Tatum about why he wouldn’t be playing. Kevin Durant and LeBron James led the team against Nikola Jokic’s squad. Durant scored 23 points in just 17 minutes despite his calf injury , hitting all five of his three-point attempts. LeBron added 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting.
Fans might wonder why such decisions are made when star players are available.
All ten players who played on Sunday got at least 11 minutes of action. This included Jrue Holiday scoring 15 points in 24 minutes and Derrick White adding two points in his 16 minutes.
Windhorst also noted that Tatum played between 14 and 21 minutes during Team USA’s exhibition games when Durant was not playing.
“Against South Sudan,” Windhorst wrote, “a team that is loaded with athleticism and spreads the floor with three-point shooters, Tatum and his ability to switch on wings makes much more sense.”
What do you think about these lineup choices?
