Celtics

Steve Kerr said Jayson Tatum ‘will play’ in U.S. Olympic game against South Sudan

"Part of this job for me is to keep everybody engaged and ready, because my experience with this is crazy stuff happens."

Jayson Tatum
Jayson Tatum during a Team USA practice prior to the start of the Paris Olympics. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

By Hayden Bird

After not featuring for Team USA in Sunday’s Olympic opener, Jayson Tatum is set to log some minutes in the upcoming game against South Sudan on Wednesday.

Steve Kerr, coach of the U.S. men’s team, discussed his usage of the Celtics’ star following Tatum’s conspicuous absence from the lineup in the 110-84 win over Serbia on Sunday.

“For sure the hardest part of this job is you’re sitting at least a couple of guys who are world class, some of the very best players on earth,” Kerr told reporters on Monday.

“On the one hand, it makes no sense at all,” Kerr admitted. “On the other, I’m asking these guys to just commit to winning one game and then move on to the next one. I have to do the same thing. I felt like [Sunday] night those were the combinations that made the most sense. Jayson will play [Wednesday].”

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Facing a Serbian team that featured a bigger lineup (including Nikola Jokić), Kerr and the U.S. coaching staff opted to rotate all three centers on the roster.

That left both Tatum and Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton as odd men out of the rotation. Kevin Durant’s return from injury further impacted the American lineup, as the veteran forward poured in 23 points (including a perfect 100-percent shooting performance in the first half).

But against South Sudan, the U.S. will need a different arrangement of its superstar talent. Instead of Serbian size, the upcoming game will require more of what Tatum has to offer to handle South Sudan’s floor-spacing and shooting.

“With South Sudan, it’s more about the speed, and speed is a killer,” Kerr explained. “You have to be prepared for everything, and that means we need everybody.”

This, obviously, includes Boston’s 25-year-old scoring leader.

“We’re going to need him,” Kerr said of Tatum. “Part of this job for me is to keep everybody engaged and ready, because my experience with this is crazy stuff happens.”