The US basketball team’s victory over Serbia opened the 2024 Olympic campaign, bringing joy to fans of the American basketball team. But for those who love the NBA champion Boston Celtics, they will have two opposite emotions.
While Jrue Holiday shined and Derrick White played well, the Celtics’ No. 1 star Jayson Tatum was… “frozen” on the bench. Sharing the same fate as Tatum was Tyrese Haliburton, All-Defenseman. Star of the Indiana Pacers.
From his role as the Boston Celtics’ top scorer last season, Jayson Tatum took on the task of “carrying water and chopping oranges” and did not play for a second in the opening match of the US Olympic team.
Some information appeared about Jayson Tatum not being in good health, but the Celtics star soon denied this. So what is the reason why the star of the NBA champion more than a month ago had to sit out the Olympic match even though he was completely healthy?
Coach Steve Kerr shared with reporters about this, saying that Jayson Tatum does not have any physical problems.
” Jayson Tatum will definitely play, it’s just that each match we will rotate the squad differently depending on the opponent and divide the players “, explained the captain of the US basketball team.
“Jayson trains hard and professionally. His class is also undisputed with 3 consecutive years of 1st Team All-NBA. I felt bad not letting Jayson play. But with a 40-minute Olympic match, it’s difficult to use all 10 players.”
Coach Steve Kerr added that Kevin Durant’s return has affected Tatum’s minutes:
“With Kevin Durant returning, I chose the lineup that I felt was best. Jayson Tatum will have a chance to prove himself. I know he will be professional and ready for the next match.”
In his first match since joining the US team, Durant left a strong impression with 23 points in just 17 minutes of play. He sometimes achieved 8-8 FG with 5-5 3PT before ending the match with an 8-9 FG performance, a rate of 88.9%.
In the US team at the 2024 Paris Olympics, coach Steve Kerr has 11 All-Star/All-NBA players. The only name that is not a star is Derrick White, however he is a versatile and less flashy player who usually does very well on defense.
To choose a reasonable roster rotation among the 12 names will not be easy, especially when FIBA basketball has less playing time than the NBA (each half is 10 minutes compared to 12 minutes in the Basketball Tournament). basket of American professionals).
Highlights of the match between America and Serbia | Paris 2024 Olympic men’s basketball group stage
“I told the students to forget everything that happens in the NBA and focus completely on the Olympics. The whole team set a goal of winning 6 victories and will be determined to achieve that,” coach Steve Kerr said. more.
There is a high possibility that Jayson Tatum will be able to play in the US team’s next match against South Sudan, which will take place at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 1.
