Warriors and Team USA head coach Steve Kerr has been greatly criticized for his decision to bench Jayson Tatum in Thursday’s semifinals win over Serbia.
This was Tatum’s second DNP of the Olympics, which has resulted in several prominent basketball figures coming after Kerr.
While Kerr has plenty of critics right now, he also has a supporter in former LA Clippers guard Patrick Beverley. Defending Golden State’s head coach, Beverley listed his accomplishments as a coach and player in a post on X, saying the numbers do not lie.
Speaking with reporters in Paris, Kerr said per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe, “It’s not what I’m not seeing from Jayson; it’s what I’ve seen from the other guys… It’s just hard to play 11 people, even in an NBA game… It’s a math problem more than anything.”
Tatum has appeared in three games for Team USA at the Olympics, tallying 60 minutes played. Tatum has scored 19 points in his minutes, but has needed 18 shots to do so.
Not having anything against Tatum, Kerr simply feels the 10 players he has in his rotation make the most sense right now – or at least against Serbia. Set to face France in the gold medal game, perhaps Kerr will see an opportunity to use Tatum.
