One way to look at Team USA's lineup changes: Other teams at the 2024 Olympics only wish they had to choose which All-NBA player to sit before every game.
Steve Kerr and his coaching staff chose not to play Joel Embiid in the United States' 103-86 win against South Sudan on Wednesday, three days after Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton got DNP-CDs in a 110-84 win against Serbia. It is strange to see stars like them on the bench for entire games, but this is anything but a normal team.
"We have an embarrassment of riches on this roster, that's the best way to put it," Kerr said after the United States clinched a spot in the quarterfinals, per ESPN. "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."
Against Serbia, Kerr wanted to have all three of Team USA's centers -- Embiid, Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo -- at his disposal to deal with Nikola Jokic. In the next game, he wanted to match South Sudan's quickness and disrupt their offense with switching. After Wednesday's win, he called South Sudan "the fastest team in the tournament we're going to play," noting that they had made 14 3s against the United States in an exhibition game in London earlier in the month.
"The whole game today was going to be about switching and staying in front of people," Kerr said, per the Washington Post. "That's why Joel wasn't in the lineup. We just wanted to make sure we matched up with the smaller, quicker team and all their 3-point shooting."
Kerr and the American players were aware of the commentary about Tatum being out of the rotation in the opener. The coaching staff is not going to start playing all 12 guys in each of these 40-minute games, though.
"We need to give these guys more credit," Kerr said, via the Washington Post. "They're pros and committed to each other. Every game is going to be a little different. I don't read social media. I would hope our guys aren't paying too much attention to that. That's a regular season thing where the soap opera can carry the ratings. Here, it's just win a damn gold medal. Every opponent is different. We have options for everything. The beauty of the Olympics is that none of that crap matters. I know everyone's going to write about it, but none of that crap matters."
Kevin Durant added: "With the amount of talent, IQ and skill in the States, we can mix and match like that. 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. Defensively, our intensity was there. Coach mixed it up with starting [Anthony Davis], who can switch out on a lot of stuff because [South Sudan] is a smaller team. It's good to have a versatile team."
Embiid and Jrue Holiday are going to return to the starting lineup against Puerto Rico in Team USA's final game of group play on Saturday, according to Kerr. Maybe that means Tatum and Haliburton will be out of the mix again; maybe it'll be Derrick White's or Anthony Edwards' turn to take a seat.
"It's a unique situation and it's not about one individual player," Tatum said, per the Boston Globe. He also said that it was a learning experience that gave him empathy for his Boston Celtics teammates, who aren't always in the lineup.
"The competitor in you wants to play, obviously," Tatum said. "But I'm not here to make a story or make it about myself. We won. I was glad to just get back out there and play again because there was a lot of chatter over the last few days. But I was in good spirits. I had a good attitude about it. It was fine. As a competitor, you want to play, but I'm not holding any grudges or anything."
If the who-should-sit question is a problem for Kerr's coaching staff, it's an awfully luxurious one. And if Team USA eventually goes home with gold, no one will care about the rotation.
"We've got 12 guys who are all capable of dominating," Kerr said, per the Associated Press. "Every night is going to be a little different. But we like our chances with the number of great players we have on our roster."
