Steve Kerr made a pair of noteworthy changes to the United States men’s national basketball team’s starting lineup for their second game of group play in the Olympics.
Forward Jayson Tatum and big man Anthony Davis were inserted into the starting lineup while guard Jrue Holiday and center Joel Embiid were demoted to the bench for Wednesday’s game against South Sudan.
The decision to put Tatum in the lineup comes after Kerr faced some scrutiny for not playing him at all in Team USA’s 110-84 win over Serbia on Sunday. Kerr explained that Kevin Durant’s return to the lineup played a role in Tatum getting bumped from the rotation, though he seemed to question his decision following the win and said he “felt like an idiot” for not playing the forward in an interview with ESPN.
“It’s really hard in a 40-minute game to play more than 10 guys,” Kerr told reporters. “With Kevin coming back, I just went to the combinations that I felt made the most sense. It seems crazy. I thought I was crazy when I looked at everything and determined these are the lineups I wanted to get to.
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“Jayson is first-team All-NBA three years in a row. He’s one of the best players in the world. I went with the combinations I felt would make sense, and I talked to him, and he was incredibly professional.
“[Tatum will] make his mark. Our guys know the key to this whole thing is to put all the NBA stuff in the rearview mirror and just win six games. Jayson is the ultimate pro and champion and he handled it well, and he’s going to be ready for the next game.”
Tatum, who is the only player on Team USA to be named first-team All-NBA this past season and led the Boston Celtics to an NBA title in June, struggled a bit during the five-game exhibition series ahead of the Olympics. He scored 6.4 points per game and failed to make a 3-pointer over that stretch.
Chris Paul’s message for Jayson Tatum after his DNP in USA vs. Serbia
Meanwhile, Durant scored 23 points in Sunday’s win as he made his first eight shots as he took Tatum’s role as the first forward off the bench.
Embiid had some struggles throughout the exhibition series. He scored just four points in 11 minutes of play in Sunday’s win. Davis had seven points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench, while Holiday had 15 points to go with three assists and two steals.
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