Duke MCBB Urges Team USA to Start Jayson Tatum in Gold Medal Game Despite Bench | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats & Rumors

The Duke Men’s Basketball account on X called for Team USA head coach Steve Kerr to start former Duke and current Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum in the 2024 Summer Olympics gold medal game against France on Saturday.

In the post, the Duke Men’s Basketball administrator wrote that they would start Tatum to “help deal with the size of France,” as the host team features San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year, and NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert:

Tatum played only sporadically in Paris and did not play a single minute during the United States’ surprise semifinal victory over Serbia.

The 26-year-old Tatum is having the best season of his life, earning his fifth All-Star nomination, finishing sixth in NBA MVP voting and helping lead the Celtics to an NBA championship.

Tatum was one of three Celtics players selected to Team USA, along with Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. However, he played only 60 minutes in the five games he played in, and was not selected in any of the games against Serbia.

After the Americans overcame a 17-point deficit to beat Serbia in the semifinals, Kerr explained to Adam Himmelsbach how Boston Globe (thanks to CBS Boston’s Matt Geagan) that Tatum’s second DNP was just a numbers game, saying:

“It’s not what I’m not seeing from Jayson; it’s what I’ve seen from the other guys. As I’ve said many times during this tournament and the last six weeks, it’s just hard to have 11 guys playing, even in an NBA game.

“Our second unit wasn’t great last night, but that group is one of the bright spots on this team, especially on defense. So it’s not about what Jayson does or doesn’t do. It’s just combinations and the way that group has played together, the way Kevin (Durant) has stepped in since he came back from his injury. It’s more of a math problem than anything.”

Kerr relied heavily on four players in the fourth quarter against Serbia, and it proved to be a winning move.

Warriors star Stephen Curry led the US with 36 points, Los Angeles Lakers legend LeBron James had a triple-double, former Warriors and current Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant had nine points off the bench, including a number of game-winning goals in the closing stages, and 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers had 19 points.

While the lack of consistent playing time may have something to do with it, Tatum hasn’t been at his best even in Paris, averaging 6.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game while connecting on just 38.9 percent of his shots.

Tatum isn’t the only one left out, as Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton has barely played, averaging just 2.7 points in 8.8 minutes per game.

While it’s hard to imagine Kerr expanding his rotation too much given how much his plan has gotten Team USA to this point, he may have something up his sleeve when it comes to Tatum when the U.S. and France battle for gold on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET.