TEAM USA coach Steve Kerr stood by his decision not to play NBA star Jayson Tatum in their 95-91 victory over Serbia in the semifinals.
LeBron James and Team USA will take over France in Saturday’s men’s basketball gold medal game at the Paris Olympics.
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Kerr counted on the team’s starters and Kevin Durant, who scored nine points in the fourth quarter, to achieve the comeback against Nikola Jokic’s goaltending. Serbia.
Team USA mounted a 17-point deficit, with Steph Curry scoring 35, LeBron having a triple-double and Joel Embiid adding 19 points, including seven in the fourth quarter.
But Tatum and Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton did not appear in the game.
Many NBA fans questioned Tatum’s lack of playing time and Kerr responded to why he didn’t see the court.
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“It’s not what I don’t see from Jayson; that’s what I’ve seen from the other guys,” Kerr said.
“As I’ve said many times during this tournament and over the last six weeks, it’s hard to play against 11 people, even in an NBA game.”
Tatum was also left out of the rotation in group play.
Kerr then said that Team USA’s bench unit played extremely well, except for Thursday, and blamed math for Tatum’s multiple DNPs.
“Our second unit wasn’t great last night, but that group has been one of the bright spots on this team, especially on the defensive end,” the Golden State Warriors coach said.
“So it’s not about what Jayson is doing or not doing.
“It’s just a question of combinations and the way the group played together, the way Kevin [Durant] filled in since returning from injury.
“It’s just a math problem more than anything.”
Even Tatum’s mother, Brandy Cole, shared her displeasure that her son wasn’t featured in the knockout game on social media.
ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale shared an X post on Thursday night asking if Tatum was not getting any minutes because of an injury.
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Tatum’s mother responded, writing, “No, no. But if you find out what’s going on, please let me know – unacceptable and MAKES NO SENSE.”
Tatum, 26, was a vital part of Team USA’s gold medal run at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but didn’t get the same opportunity at this year’s games.
His best game was against Puerto Rico, when he scored 10 points and 10 rebounds in 22 minutes.
Three-time All-NBA First Team Tatum’s diminished role in the Olympics comes after winning the N.B.A. championship with the Celtics in June.
Regardless, Team USA will have a chance to win its fifth consecutive gold medal.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
