Despite stomping into the Olympics’ semi-finals after decimating Brazil, Steve Kerr has still got people on his back, blaming him for his rotation policies. One of the prominent members of that herd was Golden State‘s Draymond Green, who called out his own coach for benching Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton publicly. However, it seems like coach Kerr has passed on the baton, or he’s rather stopped explaining every decision for now because it isn’t like Team USA is losing, isn’t it? The situation is in his favor.

In an interaction with media vet Rachel Nichols, Kerr got to know about the bold criticism from his Warrior, to which he seemed oblivious, as he said, “I haven’t heard from Draymond, so I don’t even know what he said.” It felt like Steve was just playing dumb, though Rachel made an impression to express Dray‘s intensity. However, Kerr seemed unfazed, as he finally answered, “It’s okay. Being in this position, you do what you have to do to win.”

Well, Team USA proved it with its spotless record in the Olympics till now. “Who you play every game is a little different based on your opponents. We’ve been practicing every single day with this group for a month. We know how to put our best foot forward, “ coach Kerr addressed all the critics out there, including Draymond Green.

It’s clear that he is firm on the fact that it’s him observing the players on the court during practice and he knows what’s best and what would work for the team as a whole, not for any specific individual.

Still, Steve Kerr acknowledged the public concerns, adding, “All 12 of these guys are worthy of playing, you know, the entire game, but it’s just not how it works.” He reiterated his point, concluding, “So we’re gonna keep doin’ what we’re doin’ and hopefully keep winning.” Now that he mentioned the necessity of doing anything to win, it seems another mega-star could be sidelined soon.

After Tatum and Haliburton, Steph Curry might be the next bigwig to bite the benching bullet by Steve Kerr!

Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton sitting on the sidelines in the first game did create controversy for Steve Kerr and Team USA. However, everybody knew that the duo had an underwhelming stint throughout the exhibition games. Even in the last pool game against Brazil, Tatum could only score 5 points after playing for 20 minutes. On the other hand, Hali only racked up 2 points in 8 minutes. Adding to it, another big name might be cutting it too close. Stephen Curry has only scored 22 points in all 3 group games.

In the quarter-finals also, he could not land his sole three-point attempt. Yeah, the Splash Brother and the word ‘sole’ are in the same sentence that described his 3p stat line.

He spent a total of 17 minutes, amassing 7 points. However, Kerr seems to be unworried about it, as he commented, “We are just completely focused on our defense, and part of defense is finishing the play with rebounds.” Steve Kerr is focusing on Steph as a holistic player since he got 5 rebounds in the game against Puerto Rico and a rebound against Brazil too.

“We’ve got lots of guys who have the ability to get rolling (on offense),” Kerr responded to the question of probable offensive lackluster. So it seems Stephen Curry does not have to worry about scoring, for now. However, things can turn around with just one bad performance and Steve Kerr might have to make tough calls to protect the team’s future.

A part of his upcoming tactical decisions will also be dependent on LeBron James’ fitness levels before the next game, as the turnaround time for him to recover from 4 stitches is less than ideal.

Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Asia Avinger