Jayson Tatum turned a serious storyline for Crew USA on the outset of the Olympics. Nevertheless it wasn’t for what the Boston Celtics star did on the court docket.
Tatum obtained caught in a controversial second when head coach Steve Kerr elected to bench the five-time NBA All-Star for Crew USA’s Olympic-opening win over Serbia. Not many purchased Kerr’s clarification for not enjoying Tatum, both.
Kerr made positive Tatum wasn’t glued to the bench in Wednesday’s 103-86 win over South Sudan. Tatum was within the beginning lineup and performed 17 minutes as Crew USA secured a spot within the Olympic quarterfinals.
Tatum addressed Kerr’s determination for the primary time following the win over South Sudan and as he has completed all through his Celtics profession, he mentioned all the precise issues.
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“The competitor in you desires to play, clearly,” Tatum informed reporters, per The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach. “However I am not right here to make a narrative or make it about myself. We received. I used to be glad to simply get again on the market and play once more as a result of there was quite a lot of chatter over the previous few days. However I used to be in good spirits. I had a very good perspective about it. It was high quality. As a competitor, you need to play, however I am not holding any grudges or something.”
Tatum might have tried to showcase his elite expertise and take over the offense for Crew USA in opposition to South Sudan after being benched. However Tatum continued to play within the move of the crew assemble.
The 26-year-old took simply 4 photographs and completed with 4 factors, 5 rebounds, two assists and one block.
Getting benched definitely was a singular place for Tatum, given his stature within the NBA. He known as it a “humbling expertise” and it helped him acquire a brand new perspective, too.
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“There’s rather a lot you possibly can take from it,” Tatum mentioned. “You could be annoyed that you just need to play as a competitor, however perhaps have some empathy for some guys on my (Celtics) crew that do not all the time get to play or play spot minutes. So, studying expertise to see it from that viewpoint, and simply transfer on from it.”
