(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
The Americans were able to beat the Serbians during Sunday’s Olympics and they surprisingly did so without one of their biggest stars.
Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics didn’t play at all during the 110-84 win.
Celtics fans were surprised and disappointed to not see Tatum but they thankfully won’t have to wait long until they watch him again.
According to Brian Windhorst on “Get Up,” head coach Steve Kerr said that Tatum will be a part of Wednesday’s game against South Sudan.
However, Windhorst noted that because Tatum will play “somebody else is going to get left out. That’s the nature of this team.”
“In the next game when Tatum plays, somebody else is going to get left out. That’s the nature of this team.”
—@WindhorstESPN on Steve Kerr choosing to sit Jayson Tatum vs. Serbia pic.twitter.com/tWCO0lVoHs
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 29, 2024
Tatum’s absence on the court wasn’t because he isn’t a great player.
It also wasn’t because he doesn’t get along with his teammates.
Instead, Kerr just had so much great talent to choose from and went with a lineup he thought would fight hardest against Serbia.
The Serbian team has a few intimidating big men and Kerr wanted to rely more on Bam Adebayo, Anthony Davis, and Joel Embiid.
There wasn’t as much of a need for a player like Tatum.
But he will certainly be well-matched against South Sudan later this week and could perform very well.
However, that means someone else will have to sit out because Team USA is so loaded up.
That is the nature of this team and the nature of the Olympcs.
With such great power on the roster, some players will be forced to spend more time on the bench.
Tatum had to sit out of the first game but he will be back, perhaps in a big way, later this week.
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