Celtics legend Bob Cousy turned 96 Friday and had a lot to say about US Olympic men?s basketball coach Steve Kerr not playing Jayson Tatum in Thursday?s critical 95-91 semifinal victory over Serbia in Paris. This isn?t just a snub, Cousy said from his Worcester home Friday morning. This is an embarrassment for that poor kid all over the [expletive] world. The Olympics have gotten that big. Everyone?s going to think that there?s something wrong with this kid.
Tatum is on the cover of Sports Illustrated this month. Any experts that I?ve read lately have chosen him in the top five, and sometimes No. 1 in the [expletive] world. Now Kerr is telling the world that he doesn?t agree. In a 40-minute game, if you can?t find five minutes to play somebody on the team without hurting yourself? When Kerr did it last week, he was in no danger of losing the game, but in this case they got down by 17 points and he?s got to worry about losing the game. And then to not let Tatum get off the bench? To me, there?s got to be some kind of bias that he?s got against the Celtics. He?s not alone there.
I don?t know Steve Kerr, and everything I?ve ever heard about him has been positive. But there?s such a difference between playing a guy for a few minutes as opposed to not playing him at all. And now he has doubled down on it. via Boston Globe