Expectations for Celtics trio as Team USA prepares for Olympic debut originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
The United States men’s national basketball team and its triumvirate of Celtics champions begin their quest for gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday with a group match against Serbia (11:15 a.m. ET on NBC).
What are reasonable expectations for the three Boston players – Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White – who make up a quarter of Team USA’s roster?
Here’s what we’ll be watching in Paris as these green players hunt for gold:
Jayson Tatum
Tatum could be the future face of US basketball, but even coming off an NBA title, he’s more likely to play a supporting role in Paris. The question is whether he will get the kind of minutes – and touches – that will allow him to make his superstar mark in the quest for gold.
As part of Team USA’s 2021 gold medal squad, Tatum had some notable outbursts, including a 27-point night in a group match against the Czechs. He also scored 19 points on 8-of-14 efficient shooting in the gold medal game against France.
Unfortunately, the absence of players like LeBron James and Steph Curry that year created opportunities in Tokyo. Tatum also came off the bench in most of those games, but simply may not see as much usage with players like Joel Embiid and Anthony Edwards also now on the roster. There are many mouths to feed.
The key for Tatum will be efficiency. Through 123 minutes at the Tokyo Olympics, he totaled 91 points, shooting 55.2% from the floor and 44.7% from beyond the 3-point arc. He was +78 plus/minus during his time on the court, continuing a career-long trend of making good things happen whenever he’s on the court.
Emboldened by a previous gold medal and now an NBA title, it would be easy for Celtics fans to want Tatum to dominate the game, to further cement his place among the league’s elite. It seems that this is more likely to happen in four years, when the Olympics take place in the United States, in Los Angeles.
Tatum could still make his mark on this Olympic team, it simply seems like the spotlight is more likely to fall on players like James and Curry. If Tatum brings his 2021 efficiency to the court, he will force coach Steve Kerr to ensure he is a key piece of the Team USA puzzle.
Jrue Vacation
Does the role actually change for Holiday? We’ll cut and paste the same statement when we get to Derrick White as well.
Holiday, a Team USA veteran who already knows a lot about winning gold immediately after an NBA championship season, will be asked to set the defensive tone, knock down open shots and simply make life easier for everyone else on the court. .
Some nights, teams will commit too much to their fellow superstars and Holiday’s score will show. Other nights, he’ll be content to make defense his priority and run the offense for long stretches.
Holiday averaged 11.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 25.7 minutes per game at the 2021 Olympics, coming off the Bucks’ title win that year. He started five of the six games in Tokyo, including the gold medal match.
There’s a reason why Team USA has long wanted Holiday to be a part of this year’s team. On a team full of talent and ego, Holiday does whatever it takes to win.
If Team USA needs a big stop in a clutch situation, we suspect Holiday will be on the floor with a chance to make her mark in the gold medal chase.
Derrick White
White received late approval to join Team USA largely because he will happily do whatever is asked of him in Paris, all without worrying about playing time.
But wouldn’t it be appropriate if, at various points in this race, we saw the Boston Stock Exchange’s backcourt sharing the floor at key points when Team USA craves defense and steady presences?
Team USA general manager Grant Hill stressed that part of the desire to add White in place of the injured Kawhi Leonard stemmed from his ability to make everyone around him better. We can certainly argue that Jaylen Brown deserves to be on Team USA’s roster regardless of the number of Celtics already involved, but we can also acknowledge that White is a truly perfect addition, particularly entering the fray as late as he did.
Our only hope is that White can get a consistent time. There are 11 players in front of him that Kerr can rely heavily on, but White makes good things happen even in short bursts. It’s funny to say he deserves time in the fourth quarter compared to so many All-NBA players, but everyone in Boston knows how well he does in those situations.
Kerr needs to find the right spots to throw the white curveball. The Holiday/White backcourt can accommodate a team quickly and will have plenty of scoring options to feed alongside them.
It’s been a remarkable year for White, from his rise to All-Star consideration early in the season, to another All-Defense nod, to winning a title, to earning a long-term contract extension and lots of money earlier this month, and now the invitation from Team USA. Perhaps because Tatum and Holiday have already won gold, we’re more excited about the possibility of White capping what we’ll call the Year of the Buffalo (in honor of his Colorado roots) with a gold medal.
The bottom line is that, in a summer of celebration for every member of the 2024 NBA champion Boston Celtics, this trio has a chance to make the summer a little sweeter by doing their part to help Team USA achieve gold in Paris.
