Steve Kerr's Honest Statement on Benching Jayson Tatum in USA vs. Serbia
![Dec 19, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr watches the game against the Boston Celtics during the first half at Chase Center. Dec 19, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr watches the game against the Boston Celtics during the first half at Chase Center.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2578,h_1450,x_0,y_78/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/inside_the_warriors/01j3x7jm32r55xc82zjb.jpg)
USA Basketball defeated Serbia in their Paris Olympics opener on Sunday. After going 5-0 in their Showcase Games, Team USA opened Group Play with an impressive win over Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic and the rest of Serbia's roster.
With Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant returning from a minor calf injury, USA Basketball head coach Steve Kerr had a difficult rotation decision to make. Choosing to bench Jayson Tatum, Kerr did not play the Boston Celtics star a single second in this win over Serbia.
Some wondered if Tatum was dealing with an illness, but Kerr confirmed after the game he was a DNP-CD.
Kerr admits Tatum was a straight up DNP-CD. “I went with the combinations that made sense. That was for tonight. He handled it well. He’ll make his mark.” #Celtics #Paris2024
— gary washburn (@GwashburnGlobe) July 28, 2024
"I went with the combinations that made sense," Kerr told reporters. "That was for tonight. He handled it well. He’ll make his mark."
Tatum was not at the top of Kerr's rotation towards the end of the Showcase Games, playing just 14 minutes against Germany which was the final preparation game before Group Play. With Durant's return, it was reasonable to assume a forward could be cut entirely out of Kerr's rotation, and Tatum was that forward.
Durant was special in his return from injury, finishing with 23 points on 8/9 from the field.
The all-time leading 🇺🇸 #USABMNT scorer keeps on adding to his tally.#Paris2024 #Basketball pic.twitter.com/19SI6WKlxp
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 28, 2024
As Kerr told reporters, Tatum will make his mark at some point in this run, as it seems the Golden State Warriors head coach could be adjusting his rotations from game to game.
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