While Team USA cruised to a 110-84 victory over Serbia on Sunday, head coach Steve Kerr made headlines for sitting Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton the entire game. However, Tatum won't ride the bench for the whole of the 2024 Olympics.
Team USA is shaking up its lineup ahead of its group stage clash with South Sudan on Wednesday, via ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
“Jayson Tatum & Anthony Davis into starting lineup for Team USA vs. South Sudan,” Windhorst reported. “Replacing Jrue Holiday and Joel Embiid. Coach Steve Kerr said game plan would change based on the opponent and Tatum has gone from out of rotation to starting as Kerr goes with more wings.”
One of the main storylines from Sunday's win against Serbia was that Tatum spent the entire game on the bench. Kerr insisted that it had nothing to do with Tatum's abilities, and had everything to do with the challenges of managing a superstar-laden Olympics roster.
Kerr sounded off about his thought process behind rotation changes, via The Athletic's Joe Vardon.
“The hardest part of this job is you’re sitting at least a couple of guys who are world-class, some of the very best players on Earth, and on the one hand it makes no sense at all,” Kerr said. “On the other, I’m asking these guys to just commit to winning one game and then move on to the next one. I have to do the same thing. And so I felt like last night those were the combinations that made the most sense.”
Will the new-look lineup pay off against South Sudan?
Jayson Tatum and Anthony Davis have no excuse to struggle in the Olympics
While it can be strange for a superstar player to be in and out of the starting lineup, the Red, White, and Blue still have the most talented roster in the world from top to bottom. Kerr may tinker with the rotation based on matchups, but the Americans have no excuse to not win the Gold in these Olympics.
Follow Us
Subscribe
