Jayson Tatum with another DNP vs Serbia

[hugepatsfan]

I’m fascinated by people who think Tatum should play and that he would make the team better. His static offensive and lack of physicality at the rim vs Serbia in a game with maximum roughness allowed (on both sides) would surely be a negative. Yeah he’d help on defense but on the other end we’re basically playing 4-5. In a 1 and done you can’t risk that.

Tatum fans just need to realize the perception of Tatum isn’t the reality…

Basically playing 4 on 5 is just absolutely ridiculous. He's not static offensively, he's really well rounded and doesn't have a problem finishing at the rim against physical defense. That's just not based on reality. Your perception is wildly skewed.

His shooting has been woeful though, so it's understandable that you'd make him ride the bench in favor of guys who have been better and also hang their hat on that more so than he does in general (e.g. Booker, Ant, KD). Especially when, to your point, you've got LeBron playing that focal point for the team offensively where he wants to distribute the ball and you need to have shooters around him to capitalize on his insanely good floor vision.

The hyperbole really undercuts your more salient points.

Tatum is too inconsistent to play in a do or die game where you’re playing down ten for like 80% of the game. Sometimes…. Majority of the time his offense on the wing is wasting 5 seconds jab stepping or doing in and out dribbles before he makes a decision. His offense at the rim is him barreling out of control hoping to draw a foul against his defender. It works in the nba because there’s 48 minutes and the refs reward that. In Olympic/Fiba play (during a do or die game) it’s not worth the risk of “hoping” he’ll be in a good rhythm and making shots.

The other options are just more trustworthy than Tatum is in the scenario we were in yesterday. Theyre all more specialized or better than Tatum at what Tatum is good at. In 2028 he’ll be a permanent starter but in this tournament he wasn’t needed at all.

I'd be surprised if he plays in 2028. He makes deep playoff runs annually so his body will probably need some rest. He's already won a gold medal as a major part of the team so it's not like he still needs to experience that for the first time. And whether it's the right decision or not, all these DNPs have made a mockery of him. Even if he went in 2028 and was the starter, every time he misses a shot it'd be analyst commentary and social media jokes about how this is why he didn't play last time.

Maybe he's wired differently and just loves playing, but from my outside perspective looking in I don't see why he'd sign up for the team again.

[Crives]

Last Olympics Tatum was the go to scorer off the bench. This Olympics Ant has taken that role and has done well overall but was surprised when Ant struggled yesterday that Tatum didn't get a chance. Seem like they could have used his rebounding and defense vs Serbia. The play from the bench overall was poor yesterday which was a surprise because how well they've played throughout exhibition, group play and vs Brazil. If the bench plays that poorly again i think Tatum will be given a chance to shake things up.

Edward’s was awful yesterday on both sides of the ball. But if you swap Edward’s for Tatum you have 3 non shooters off the bench now. If Edward’s sucks again his minutes should go to Steph/Book/Jrue/White. Unless Tatum finds his shot, I really think Tatum needs to beat out 1 of AD or Bam to get a spot… and AD/Bam have been amazing outside of when they had to play Jokic

[Crives]

Basically playing 4 on 5 is just absolutely ridiculous. He's not static offensively, he's really well rounded and doesn't have a problem finishing at the rim against physical defense. That's just not based on reality. Your perception is wildly skewed.

His shooting has been woeful though, so it's understandable that you'd make him ride the bench in favor of guys who have been better and also hang their hat on that more so than he does in general (e.g. Booker, Ant, KD). Especially when, to your point, you've got LeBron playing that focal point for the team offensively where he wants to distribute the ball and you need to have shooters around him to capitalize on his insanely good floor vision.

The hyperbole really undercuts your more salient points.

Tatum is too inconsistent to play in a do or die game where you’re playing down ten for like 80% of the game. Sometimes…. Majority of the time his offense on the wing is wasting 5 seconds jab stepping or doing in and out dribbles before he makes a decision. His offense at the rim is him barreling out of control hoping to draw a foul against his defender. It works in the nba because there’s 48 minutes and the refs reward that. In Olympic/Fiba play (during a do or die game) it’s not worth the risk of “hoping” he’ll be in a good rhythm and making shots.

The other options are just more trustworthy than Tatum is in the scenario we were in yesterday. Theyre all more specialized or better than Tatum at what Tatum is good at. In 2028 he’ll be a permanent starter but in this tournament he wasn’t needed at all.

I'd be surprised if he plays in 2028. He makes deep playoff runs annually so his body will probably need some rest. He's already won a gold medal as a major part of the team so it's not like he still needs to experience that for the first time. And whether it's the right decision or not, all these DNPs have made a mockery of him. Even if he went in 2028 and was the starter, every time he misses a shot it'd be analyst commentary and social media jokes about how this is why he didn't play last time.

Maybe he's wired differently and just loves playing, but from my outside perspective looking in I don't see why he'd sign up for the team again.

He made a mockery of himself when he showed up to camp late and forgot how to shoot. Hopefully he takes some responsibility instead of trying to blame Kerr like Celtics media

[Sedale Threatt]

I believe kerr could have found tatum at least 5 mins or something last game. Some 1st half minutes for sure. If i'm Tatum, and i'm looking at jrue and d.white getting minutes over me, I'd be furious.

If so, he can take the next flight home. This isn’t about Tatum or any other individual. It’s about winning another gold medal and we’re one win away.

[Triple M]

Last Olympics Tatum was the go to scorer off the bench. This Olympics Ant has taken that role and has done well overall but was surprised when Ant struggled yesterday that Tatum didn't get a chance. Seem like they could have used his rebounding and defense vs Serbia. The play from the bench overall was poor yesterday which was a surprise because how well they've played throughout exhibition, group play and vs Brazil. If the bench plays that poorly again i think Tatum will be given a chance to shake things up.

Edward’s was awful yesterday on both sides of the ball. But if you swap Edward’s for Tatum you have 3 non shooters off the bench now. If Edward’s sucks again his minutes should go to Steph/Book/Jrue/White. Unless Tatum finds his shot, I really think Tatum needs to beat out 1 of AD or Bam to get a spot… and AD/Bam have been amazing outside of when they had to play Jokic

Calling Tatum a non shooter is a reach despite his recent slump. Curry shot poorly but completely changed that yesterday. The same thing happening is not an impossibility for Tatum, e.g. the Sixers series where he went 4 for 4 from 3 in the clutch after struggling with his shot.

[Crives]

Last Olympics Tatum was the go to scorer off the bench. This Olympics Ant has taken that role and has done well overall but was surprised when Ant struggled yesterday that Tatum didn't get a chance. Seem like they could have used his rebounding and defense vs Serbia. The play from the bench overall was poor yesterday which was a surprise because how well they've played throughout exhibition, group play and vs Brazil. If the bench plays that poorly again i think Tatum will be given a chance to shake things up.

Edward’s was awful yesterday on both sides of the ball. But if you swap Edward’s for Tatum you have 3 non shooters off the bench now. If Edward’s sucks again his minutes should go to Steph/Book/Jrue/White. Unless Tatum finds his shot, I really think Tatum needs to beat out 1 of AD or Bam to get a spot… and AD/Bam have been amazing outside of when they had to play Jokic

Calling Tatum a non shooter is a reach despite his recent slump. Curry shot poorly but completely changed that yesterday. The same thing happening is not an impossibility for Tatum, e.g. the Sixers series where he went 4 for 4 from 3 in the clutch after struggling with his shot.

It’s completely fair for Kerr to not trust his shot given what happened, which makes it difficult to find time. Bill Simmons said Tatum was also performing bad in practice.

Read on Twitter

?s=46

[jg77]

He should be playing.

[ForeverTFC]

Tatum should be starting over lebron. These games have been close bc of lebron. Dude is no different than when he's w/ the lakers during regular season padding his own stats at the detriment of his team. Dude is an absolute liability on defense and kills ball movement trying to be a floor general. Team usa has been very fortunage ever since kd came back he's been the juice for team usa to initiate momentum shifts.

If you enjoyed this, you should head over to the Celtics board and ready their Olympics thread. It's filled with stuff like this and it's fantastic. It's not just the delusion, it's how aligned they all are in their delusion.

[Triple M]

Edward’s was awful yesterday on both sides of the ball. But if you swap Edward’s for Tatum you have 3 non shooters off the bench now. If Edward’s sucks again his minutes should go to Steph/Book/Jrue/White. Unless Tatum finds his shot, I really think Tatum needs to beat out 1 of AD or Bam to get a spot… and AD/Bam have been amazing outside of when they had to play Jokic

Calling Tatum a non shooter is a reach despite his recent slump. Curry shot poorly but completely changed that yesterday. The same thing happening is not an impossibility for Tatum, e.g. the Sixers series where he went 4 for 4 from 3 in the clutch after struggling with his shot.

It’s completely fair for Kerr to not trust his shot given what happened, which makes it difficult to find time. Bill Simmons said Tatum was also performing bad in practice.

Read on Twitter

?s=46

I dont get your point. That same game Curry was 1-9. A slump or poor performance doesn't make you a non shooter. My original point was Ant was playing well and took Tatum's role but if Ant is struggling giving Tatum a go makes sense.

[Crives]

Calling Tatum a non shooter is a reach despite his recent slump. Curry shot poorly but completely changed that yesterday. The same thing happening is not an impossibility for Tatum, e.g. the Sixers series where he went 4 for 4 from 3 in the clutch after struggling with his shot.

It’s completely fair for Kerr to not trust his shot given what happened, which makes it difficult to find time. Bill Simmons said Tatum was also performing bad in practice.

Read on Twitter

?s=46

I dont get your point. That same game Curry was 1-9. A slump or poor performance doesn't make you a non shooter. My original point was Ant was playing well and took Tatum's role but if Ant is struggling giving Tatum a go makes sense.

Tatum didn’t hit a single jump shot in the Olympic scrimmages. Bill Simmons said Tatum was playing poorly in practice. Tatum showed up late to the training camp that was very important. It’s completely understandable why the coaching staff is considering Tatum a not shooter based on how he’s playing for them.

I agree on Ant, just that his minutes should have gone to guys that can currently be trusted in a tight game, that’s not Tatum given what I mentioned above.. the man’s last 3 hit the side of the backboard..

[cl2117]

I’m fascinated by people who think Tatum should play and that he would make the team better. His static offensive and lack of physicality at the rim vs Serbia in a game with maximum roughness allowed (on both sides) would surely be a negative. Yeah he’d help on defense but on the other end we’re basically playing 4-5. In a 1 and done you can’t risk that.

Tatum fans just need to realize the perception of Tatum isn’t the reality…

Basically playing 4 on 5 is just absolutely ridiculous. He's not static offensively, he's really well rounded and doesn't have a problem finishing at the rim against physical defense. That's just not based on reality. Your perception is wildly skewed.

His shooting has been woeful though, so it's understandable that you'd make him ride the bench in favor of guys who have been better and also hang their hat on that more so than he does in general (e.g. Booker, Ant, KD). Especially when, to your point, you've got LeBron playing that focal point for the team offensively where he wants to distribute the ball and you need to have shooters around him to capitalize on his insanely good floor vision.

The hyperbole really undercuts your more salient points.

Tatum is too inconsistent to play in a do or die game where you’re playing down ten for like 80% of the game. Sometimes…. Majority of the time his offense on the wing is wasting 5 seconds jab stepping or doing in and out dribbles before he makes a decision. His offense at the rim is him barreling out of control hoping to draw a foul against his defender. It works in the nba because there’s 48 minutes and the refs reward that. In Olympic/Fiba play (during a do or die game) it’s not worth the risk of “hoping” he’ll be in a good rhythm and making shots.

The other options are just more trustworthy than Tatum is in the scenario we were in yesterday. Theyre all more specialized or better than Tatum at what Tatum is good at. In 2028 he’ll be a permanent starter but in this tournament he wasn’t needed at all.

That just doesn't line up with the stats in his career. It's a lot of tropes that I think get tossed around that aren't really tied to reality but I can understand where some come from. Especially early in his career he relied way too heavily on the jab/side steps into a tough jumper a la Kobe, but he's reigned that in massively. He's not anywhere near as out of control as you're trying to paint him when heading to the rim, nor has he ever been, so not sure where that comes from though. He's a really adept paint scorer despite seeming like he lacks the kind of burst other stars have, he's sneaky quick (reminds me of Paul Pierce in that respect).

I mean how can you say he can't play in FIBA/Olympics when in 2020 he was the 2nd leading scorer with 15 ppg on 50/45/73 splits? He has already proven that he's elite in this arena.

Look at the other guys you're talking about as more reliable in terms of play in elimination games and this idea that he's vastly more inconsistent or untrustworthy really just falls away.

Career elimination game stats:

Tatum: 17 games 41 mpg
27/9/6/1/1 with 44/38/83 splits on 57% TS

Durant: 16 games 42 mpg
30/8/4/1/2 with 46/40/84 splits on 59% TS

Booker: 4 games 41 mpg
23/3/5/1/1 with 40/21/91 splits on 54% TS

Edwards: 7 games 41 mpg
28/7/6/1/1 with 43/36/76 splits on 54% TS

Curry: 14 games 41 mpg
29/6/7/1/1 with 44/36/90 splits on 58% TS

LeBron: 28 games 45 mpg
34/10/8/2/1 with 50/36/72 splits on 59% TS

Outside of LeBron who is just insane with his 34/10/8, Tatum is right there with rest of them during elimination games. He won 12 out of 17 as well, so it's not like he's putting up numbers in in losses. Durant comparatively won 5 out of 16, Booker is 0 for 4, Curry is 10 for 14, Ant is 4 for 7. There's not some massive gap or any real gap for that matter.

And for the record, despite highlighting all the above, I am not a Tatum "stan". I don't have a problem with Kerr sitting him (especially not when it's in favor of LeBron and KD), I don't think he's an MVP level player and it's pretty obvious he's not currently playing anywhere close to his best ball. So this isn't all to say that he's some persecuted individual, but rather just that it's false to extrapolate his current rough performance in these games and try to say that's who he is as a player. The numbers just don't back that up.

[LV-Suns]

Tatum should be starting over lebron. These games have been close bc of lebron. Dude is no different than when he's w/ the lakers during regular season padding his own stats at the detriment of his team. Dude is an absolute liability on defense and kills ball movement trying to be a floor general. Team usa has been very fortunage ever since kd came back he's been the juice for team usa to initiate momentum shifts.

If you enjoyed this, you should head over to the Celtics board and ready their Olympics thread. It's filled with stuff like this and it's fantastic. It's not just the delusion, it's how aligned they all are in their delusion.

Celtics fans are an entitled bunch. They are actively rooting for Team USA to lose because Tatum is not getting minutes. Even though they still have 2 guys getting minutes, and one of them is a starter. Player fandom is wild.

[NyKnicks1714]

Tatum should be starting over lebron. These games have been close bc of lebron. Dude is no different than when he's w/ the lakers during regular season padding his own stats at the detriment of his team. Dude is an absolute liability on defense and kills ball movement trying to be a floor general. Team usa has been very fortunage ever since kd came back he's been the juice for team usa to initiate momentum shifts.

If you enjoyed this, you should head over to the Celtics board and ready their Olympics thread. It's filled with stuff like this and it's fantastic. It's not just the delusion, it's how aligned they all are in their delusion.

I loved this one:

This team and this coach are disgusting to watch. They are embarrassing AF.

Kerr continues to start the 3 worst players on the team. You might get away this is crap against South Sudan but against an above average team like Serbia, it's not going to work. And Serbia outside of Jokic and Bogdanovic, they aren't that good.

I've been saying since the practice games 3 weeks ago that Lebron, Curry and Embiid have no busy playing on this team. Yet Kerr starts them and the team always gets to a bad start. No of these 3 play any defense. It's a joke. Lebron hasn't been good for about 3 years. Forget his padded stats, he is a third of the player he used to be. Curry can be a 12th man on this team at best. I don't care he got 36 against a terrible defensive team. Embiid is the best player out of the 3 at this stage in their careers, but Embiid is out of game shape.

**** the politics, put your best players on the court. But this BS.

It's not that hard. Start Jrue, White, Edwards, Durant and Bam. That's your best mix of offensive and defense. Give them the majority of the minutes. Bring in Tatum as your 6th man.

[Wingy]

Weird that Tatum sits for “match ups” when the match up is just Bogdanovic

Hey, Bogie’s a really good player, no need to drag him.

But yeah…Tatum is versatile af. He’s matchup proof. That whole excuse is thin as hell.

US is lucky we’re hosting 2028. Otherwise I bet both Tatum and Brown would’ve skipped it.

[3toheadmelo]

Edward’s was awful yesterday on both sides of the ball. But if you swap Edward’s for Tatum you have 3 non shooters off the bench now. If Edward’s sucks again his minutes should go to Steph/Book/Jrue/White. Unless Tatum finds his shot, I really think Tatum needs to beat out 1 of AD or Bam to get a spot… and AD/Bam have been amazing outside of when they had to play Jokic

Calling Tatum a non shooter is a reach despite his recent slump. Curry shot poorly but completely changed that yesterday. The same thing happening is not an impossibility for Tatum, e.g. the Sixers series where he went 4 for 4 from 3 in the clutch after struggling with his shot.

It’s completely fair for Kerr to not trust his shot given what happened, which makes it difficult to find time. Bill Simmons said Tatum was also performing bad in practice.

Read on Twitter

?s=46

And then he did this a couple days after

Read on Twitter

[cl2117]

If you enjoyed this, you should head over to the Celtics board and ready their Olympics thread. It's filled with stuff like this and it's fantastic. It's not just the delusion, it's how aligned they all are in their delusion.

Celtics fans are an entitled bunch. They are actively rooting for Team USA to lose because Tatum is not getting minutes. Even though they still have 2 guys getting minutes, and one of them is a starter. Player fandom is wild.

Wait what? American Celtics fans are actively rooting for Team USA to lose because Tatum isn't playing? I need to see some receipts on that, pretty sure that's just total BS.

People are definitely over the top on this whole thing with Tatum, there really shouldn't be any controversy. I haven't seen any, let alone a majority, of C's fans rooting against team USA. What a weird thing to make up.

[CBS7]

Tatum is better than a lot of guys playing, but I feel like they just don't trust him to not take bad/hero ball shots on offense.

TBH, by that logic Ant shouldn't play much either...

Not sure.

[kingr]

I believe kerr could have found tatum at least 5 mins or something last game. Some 1st half minutes for sure. If i'm Tatum, and i'm looking at jrue and d.white getting minutes over me, I'd be furious.

If so, he can take the next flight home. This isn’t about Tatum or any other individual. It’s about winning another gold medal and we’re one win away.

I agree with you. But he's human. Any player would want to get into the game. Getting a DNP like that will always suck for a player.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Tatum is not playing in 2028 if Kerr is coaching.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Calling Tatum a non shooter is a reach despite his recent slump. Curry shot poorly but completely changed that yesterday. The same thing happening is not an impossibility for Tatum, e.g. the Sixers series where he went 4 for 4 from 3 in the clutch after struggling with his shot.

It’s completely fair for Kerr to not trust his shot given what happened, which makes it difficult to find time. Bill Simmons said Tatum was also performing bad in practice.

Read on Twitter

?s=46

And then he did this a couple days after

Read on Twitter

He should have played, in the first half part of the problem was the 3 guard lineup which is a big reason why Serbia out rebounded us. It took until the 4th quarter for Kerr to figure out that he needed more size and ditched Jrue for KD. Those awful stretches for Ant or White should have gone to Tatum, just being big and keeping guys off the glass would have been a huge help in the first half.