Team USA basketball coach Steve Kerr sparing no feelings or egos ahead of knockout round at Paris 2024 Olympics
Team USA has breezed through two opponents in Serbia and South Sudan so far at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The coherent theme of its Olympic run so far has been depth and versatility.
Coach Steve Kerr unleashed two distinct lineups against Serbia and then South Sudan and both moves provided the desired results: blowout wins as the US advanced to the Knockout round. But Kerr is sparing no feelings or egos with his playing rotations. Jayson Tatum sat against Serbia and Joel Embiid did not play against South Sudan.
Who will sit Saturday against Puerto Rico? Kerr made it clear all 12 players can’t be part of his rotation. He prefers two five-man teams and then mixing and matching as the game progresses. Kerr has told his team to forget their NBA experiences, the ample playing time they receive and roles they prefer. Team USA is asking them to be uncomfortable for a few weeks, to play shorter minutes, different positions and sometimes not play at all. It’s all for the quest for a gold medal.
“The NBA is so popular worldwide,” Kerr said. “The regular season is kind of a soap opera, and we understand that. Social media takes over, and everything becomes so dramatic. I don't read social media. I would hope that our guys aren't paying too much attention to that. That's a regular season thing where the soap opera can carry the ratings, but here it's just win a damn gold medal. Every opponent is different. We've got options for everything, and we're going to use those options how we best see fit.”
Jayson Tatum drives to the basket during a Men's Group Phase - Group C game between the United States and South Sudan on day five of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade Pierre Mauroy on July 31, 2024 in Lille, France.
Tatum scored four points in his return Wednesday and he admitted dealing with his first benching of his professional career was humbling. But the message has been to leave the expectations and NBA mentality back in the States.
“Every game is different. We’re doing different line-ups and sub (substitution) patterns, so really just expect the unexpected, you never know when you're going to be out there,” Tatum said. “Most important thing is that we win. That's all that matters.”
Tatum is coming off an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics, his third All-NBA first-team appearance and several other accolades over the past few weeks. And then Sunday, he sits.
“It's definitely a humbling experience, right?” he said. “Win a championship, new contract, cover of (NBA) 2K, and then you sit a whole game. So it was definitely a humbling experience. There’s a lot you can take from me, right? Be frustrated that you want to play as a competitor, but maybe have some empathy for some of the guys on my (Celtics) team that don't always get to play, or play spot minutes.”
Superstar LeBron James, who has proven to be Team USA’s best player throughout the past few weeks, said every player has to make adjustments to the lineups.
“It's not tough because we know that's what the coaching staff may do throughout the course of the tournament,” James said. “We know it could be anybody's number any given night. It's not about who starts, it's not even about who finishes. It's about when you're in the game, the minutes that you play, you play at a high level and I think everybody did that in the minutes they played tonight. We got 12 guys that can go out and get the job done any given night.”
With top seed in Group C already clinched, Kerr can perhaps continue to experiment with lineups in preparation for Tuesday’s Knockout around. Regardless of who’s on the floor, they are an All-NBA calibre player who has to adjust to a different role, shorter minutes or even expanded responsibility.
“(With) the amount of talent, IQ and skill we have in the States, we can mix and match,” forward Kevin Durant said. “Last game, we had a champion All-Star NBA guy not playing any minutes. (Against South Sudan) we had an MVP not playing any minutes. They didn't complain. And we have guys that stepped up and filled those roles perfectly. I like what we're doing defensively. Offensively, there are going to be times when we're not perfect, but defensively, our intensity is there.”
Gary Washburn is an Olympic Channel correspondent and National NBA Writer for the Boston Globe.