Boston Celtics fans were in an uproar when Jayson Tatum did not play a single minute for Team USA on Thursday, and Steve Kerr explained his rotation strategy.
Stephen Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant led Team USA on a rally to beat Serbia in the semifinals and advance to the gold medal game of the Paris Olympics against France. Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton were the lone players to not play in the matchup, and Tatum's absence from the rotation followed the same strategy Kerr employed in the United States' opening Olympic matchup against Serbia.
Despite making it to the gold medal game, Celtics fans nor Tatum's mother were satisfied and criticized Kerr for not playing the Celtics star more. The Team USA head coach highlighted a "math problem" for his 10-man rotation.
"It's not what I'm not seeing from Jayson, it's what I’ve seen from the other guys," Kerr told reporters, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. "Like I've said many times during this tournament and the last six weeks, it's just hard to play 11 people, even in an NBA game.
"Our second unit was not great last night, but that group has been one of the bright spots on this team, especially on the defensive end. So it's not about what Jayson is doing or not doing. It's just about combinations and the way that group has played together, the way Kevin has filled in since he came back from his injury. It's just a math problem more than anything."
Based on Kerr's answer, it seems like the Golden State Warriors head coach isn't comfortable playing Durant and Tatum together. It's not clear why that would be the case, but Kerr mixed his rotations around depending on the opponent. Tatum might feature in a matchup against Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert.
Regardless, the Americans will be the favorite in the matchup as they seek their 17th gold medal in the Olympic Games.
