One recreation after Group USA head coach Steve Kerr referred to as himself an “fool” for not enjoying Jayson Tatum within the Olympic opener in opposition to Serbia, he had one other participant not see an oz of enjoying time.
This one was an NBA MVP.
Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers star middle, was a starter in opposition to Serbia, however he was changed by Los Angeles Lakers massive man Anthony Davis within the 103-86 victory over South Sudan on Wednesday in Paris.
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He might have began the sport on the bench, however Embiid certainly would verify in in some unspecified time in the future, proper? Incorrect.
Embiid was the one participant on Group USA to not see an oz of enjoying time within the first half, not to mention your complete recreation, in opposition to South Sudan, a scrappy bunch that gave the Stars and Stripes suits throughout their exhibition recreation this month.
Embiid, who opted to play for the US whereas additionally having eligibility for France and his house nation, Cameroon, was deadpan on the Group USA bench all through the sport, as the published picked up.
As a substitute of substituting for Davis off the bench, Kerr referred to as on Bam Adebayo to alleviate him. Adebayo performed 21 minutes and led the U.S. in factors with 18 on 8-of-10 taking pictures, together with seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal.
Davis performed 19 minutes, tallying eight factors on 4-of-7 taking pictures with seven boards, three assists, two blocks and one steal as effectively.
Embiid was the NBA’s main scorer final season, averaging 33 factors per recreation for the Sixers, however he struggled within the crew’s opener in opposition to Serbia. He solely performed 11 minutes, going 2-for-5 from the sector for 4 factors whereas going 0-for-3 from the free throw line. He had simply two rebounds as effectively.
Kerr’s clarification after the sport was that South Sudan’s pace was the rationale behind Embiid’s benching, believing that Davis and Adebayo matched up higher in opposition to them. He additionally mentioned Embiid will probably be within the beginning lineup in opposition to Puerto Rico on Friday.
Tatum was the odd man out in Group USA’s opener, which led to a frenzy of social media posts in regards to the Boston Celtics star not getting any enjoying time. Like Kerr mentioned, although, he obtained enjoying time on this contest, as he was among the many beginning 5.
Nonetheless, Tatum didn’t do a lot along with his 17 minutes on the ground, scoring 4 factors on 2-of-4 taking pictures with 5 rebounds and two assists.
But it surely’s clear Kerr has a tricky job with this loaded 12-man group he introduced over to Paris for these Summer season Video games. You don’t see each participant getting time on the court docket in NBA video games, and the identical goes for these contests once you’re making an attempt to win Olympic gold.
In flip, lineups are matchup-based for Kerr and his teaching employees, they usually clearly noticed Davis and Adebayo as the higher facilities for this recreation in opposition to South Sudan.
However when wanting on the field rating from Group USA’s 101-100 win over South Sudan this month, Embiid had 14 factors on 5-of-6 taking pictures with 4 three throws made out of six, seven rebounds and two assists whereas posting a plus-15 when he was on the ground.
Both method, after what occurred within the final recreation with Tatum, social media made jokes about Embiid sitting for the entire recreation.
With extra video games to come back, somebody goes to need to be the odd man out. However Kerr selecting Tatum, a three-time All-NBA first-team honoree the previous three seasons, and former MVP Embiid have been fascinating selections to start the Olympics.
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