BOSTON — Steve Kerr couldn’t consider the story isn’t the gold medal. Staff USA trounced Serbia in one of many all-time nice Olympic basketball video games earlier than profitable the match over France in Paris. But Jayson Tatum by no means stepping off the bench within the semifinal grew to become a long-lasting picture and lingering story following the crew’s return from Europe. Even Tatum admitted it was a humbling expertise.
“I don’t assume anyone really cared sufficient about me to boo me (throughout my profession),” Kerr joked. “We’ll see the way it goes tonight. I’m certain, additionally, a whole lot of Celtics followers are gonna cheer me for being a part of Staff USA, profitable a gold medal for the nation. I’m a patriotic American, I really like my nation. Three Celtics on the crew who gained a world championship and two months later gained a gold medal, fairly unbelievable stuff. Folks can write about no matter they need to write about, enjoying time or no matter.”
Every thing about Wednesday’s assembly between two sizzling Warriors and Celtics groups lived as much as expectations solid instantly upon the 2024-25 schedule launch, from Kerr’s long-waited reflection on the Tatum choice to his response to yesterday’s presidential election to the group’s reception of him. Kerr defended the method his teaching employees took in Paris and obtained thunderous boos by means of a becoming drum-up by public tackle announcer Eddie Palladino — who slowly learn Kerr’s title in introductions. Golden State would finally flip a seven-point deficit late and gained, 118-112.
Tatum shook off an 0-for-4 begin to end 10-of-20, scoring 17 factors within the third quarter to erase a 14-point halftime deficit earlier than taking a tough shot trailing by 4 with one minute left within the sport and failing to contest Buddy Hield in transition. He confirmed poise in opposition to tough Warriors defensive schemes, and referred to as the sport simply one other Wednesday earlier than relating his method to the night time to the incessant requires him to behave extra fiery.
“We will’t management the story,” Kerr stated. “It’s a part of the deal, you’re going to be within the story is you’re gonna be within the story, and that may be robust. I believed, from the start, in Vegas the entire thing was we’re on this collectively. We acquired 12 Corridor-of-Famers and we’re simply dedicated to profitable, and we gained the gold medal. I don’t give it an entire lot of thought apart from, ‘yeah, I didn’t get pleasure from not enjoying Jayson in opposition to Serbia (and) not enjoying Joel in opposition to South Sudan.’ These are usually not enjoyable choices, however our guys have been all superb. They dedicated to one another. They dedicated to profitable the gold medal. They introduced the gold house for his or her nation. All of them carried one another with unbelievable dignity and sophistication, and that’s the actual story. However we reside in a time the place we’ve got to speak about stuff that really doesn’t actually matter.”
Kerr’s frustration with the fallout is sensible as a sliver of the crew’s run ballooned right into a long-running referendum on Tatum or Kerr, relying in your perspective, following a run that met all expectations for each the Celtics and the US. Tatum’s particular person struggles grew to become an extension of his poor Finals taking pictures or Kerr confirmed bias in opposition to Tatum, or perhaps a lengthy sport to mess together with his head forward of a theoretical 2025 Finals matchup, in probably the most convoluted telling of the story. All ignoring the truth that elder statesmen Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and LeBron James in most certainly their ultimate worldwide play took the ground in entrance of Tatum, and that Tatum struggled in preliminary play after going deepest within the NBA postseason.
Now, would Staff USA have misplaced if Kerr expanded the rotation and gave Tatum a couple of minutes in his DNP-CD video games fairly than zero? It’s laborious to think about that costing them. So Celtics followers let unfastened one final frustration with the pinnacle coach earlier than play tipped-off on Wednesday. They usually principally moved on after. Solely a comparatively gentle “Steve Kerr sucks” chant grew to become audible halfway by means of the sport.
“I don’t assume that Tatum ought to’ve gotten two DNPs within the Olympics,” one fan stated pre-game. “However however, he type of unleashed a monster, and we is perhaps seeing an MVP … I’m gonna thank him. I’m gonna be like, ‘thanks Steve Kerr … however boo.’”
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