United States coach Steve Kerr admits he has “an embarrassment of riches” at his disposal as he tries to juggle a roster of superstars into a cohesive unit that can win Olympic gold.
Team USA eased into the quarter-finals of the 5×5 event in Paris with a routine 103-86 win over South Sudan last night.
But the post-match talk was not about who played, more who didn’t with former NBA MVP Joel Embiid left on the bench alongside Kevin Durant, Derrick White, Jrue Holliday, Anthony Edwards and Bam Adebayo.
Jayson Tatum, who was controversially benched in the weekend win over Serbia, did make the starting line-up.
“We have an embarrassment of riches on this roster, that’s the best way to put it,” Kerr said. “I mean these guys are all champions, All-Stars, Hall of Famers, however you want to put it. So the whole thing is are we committed to the goal? That’s it. That’s it.”
Turn up the Heat.
80% shooting for Bam in the win over 🇸🇸 South Sudan.
🇺🇸 #USABMNT #Paris2024 #Basketball pic.twitter.com/lye5hJX67c
— USA Basketball (@usabasketball) July 31, 2024
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Kerr eager to avoid soap opera
His decision to leave out Tatum against Serbia caused an outcry on social media but Kerr is adamant he pays no attention to the critics, adding: “The NBA is so popular worldwide and the regular season is kind of a soap opera, and so we understand that and social media takes over and everything becomes so dramatic.
“And I think we need to give these guys more credit. They’re here to win a gold medal. They’re pros. They’re committed to each other.”
In an attempt to ward off further criticism, Kerr announced that Embiid and Holliday will play in the final group game against Puerto Rico on Saturday.
Durant happy with role
And Durant says the squad accept there will be rotation as they head into the latter stages.
He said: “Last game, we had a champion and an all-NBA guy not play any minutes, and tonight we had an MVP not play any minutes.
“They didn’t complain. We had guys who stepped up and filled those roles perfectly.”
Adebayo certainly did his case for more regular inclusion no harm with a team-best 18 points.
