The uproar over Jayson Tatum’s second consecutive DNP (Did Not Play) is still raging. Bob Cousy voiced strong criticism of US coach Steve Kerr, stating:
- “Tatum is on the cover of Sports Illustrated this month. Every expert I’ve read recently ranks him in the top five, sometimes even No. 1 in the [expletive] world. Now, Kerr is sending a message to the world that he doesn’t agree. In a 40-minute game, if you can’t find five minutes for someone of his caliber without jeopardizing the team…
“When Kerr benched him last week, the game wasn’t even close to being lost, but this time they were down by 17 points, and he had to worry about the outcome. To then leave Tatum on the bench — to me, it suggests some kind of bias against the Celtics. And Kerr isn’t the only one.”
Kerr isn’t short on critics. Draymond Green, his star player from the Golden State Warriors, also weighed in: “Not playing [Tatum] was wrong. We all know it was wrong. He should’ve played. He didn’t… What bothers me is that now it feels like a ‘covering my tracks, proving a point’ kind of situation, where Joel [Embiid] is out, and today, Jrue [Holiday] didn’t play… From an outsider’s perspective, it looks like the coaching staff is trying to cover up a mistake.”
Adding fuel to the fire, Dave Portnoy expressed his frustration, even saying he’s rooting for France on Saturday. The controversy took another turn when Tatum’s mother, Brandy Cole, spoke out, prompting a harsh response from former NBA coach George Karl, who said: “Am I really seeing Jayson Tatum’s mommy crying and upset about his playing time in the Olympics?!”
Despite the chaos, Tatum remains composed, commenting only on not playing against Brazil, with no further remarks about the Serbia game.
While fans would love to see Tatum get more minutes, it’s worth remembering how Mike Krzyzewski managed the national team. He had players commit to accepting any role, with the sole focus on winning.
With a challenging match against France on Saturday, fans’ energy might be better spent supporting the team rather than fueling distractions.
