In the dominant victory over the Serbians, Kevin Durant and LeBron James led the way for Team USA. Durant, in his first game back, dropped 23 points, delivering one of the most consistent performances in his international career. However, aside from their epic performances, the highlight of the game was Jayson Tatum‘s absence. The new champion did not play a single minute, leaving fans questioning Steve Kerr’s decision. Kerr was already receiving a lot of negativity due to his decision to start Embiid. A DNP beside Tatum’s name on the stat sheet added more fuel to the fire among fans and critics.

Kendrick Perkins mentioned who JT would replace coming off the bench. “Yes we should be talking more about Kevin Durant, yes we should be talking more about LeBron James after what they did last night. But you know what was the real topic of the game? Jayson Tatum with a DNP. My thing is, if you ask me who he’s gonna replace, he’s gonna replace Derrick White. It’s a positionless game, when you talk about the game of basketball,“ said Perkins.

Replacing a player comes after the decision to play him from the coach’s perspective. Tatum deserved to be on the court, but it was Kerr’s plan for the game against Serbia, not for the overall tournament. In fact, Tatum did not even warm up and went straight to the bench from the locker room. It seems likely that he knew he wouldn’t be playing in the Olympic opener. On the contrary, the rotations that Kerr had in mind worked out great, especially with KD coming off the bench.

There will be fans and supporters who doubt Kerr’s decision, given JT’s previous Olympic run. Tatum was the player to watch after Durant in Tokyo. This time around, Team USA has a lot of talent and many elite veterans. The players prioritized so far are Embiid, Steph, LeBron, and Holiday. If KD becomes healthy enough to start, he’ll likely replace Booker in the starting lineup. Still, there are no talks of JT playing in the starting lineup. But what will happen with him moving forward?

Jayson Tatum is the key to the second unit

Jayson Tatum is the key to the second unit. Steve Kerr’s second unit includes Anthony Edwards, AD, Bam, Tatum, and Booker. There will be a lot of noise surrounding Tatum’s presence in the next game, especially considering he sat on the bench the entire game. The next matchup will be the toughest in the group stage, with the Sudanese coming close to beating Team USA in an exhibition game, which the Americans won by just one point. Tatum is one of the most versatile and productive players on the roster.

There are chances that KD will be in the starting lineup on Thursday. If that happens, Tatum will be a priority as the second unit comes in. It will be interesting to see whether Kerr plans to include Tatum in his rotations against South Sudan. What are your thoughts on Tatum’s absence? Do you think Steve Kerr should play him on Thursday? Let us know in the comments.

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