On Friday, NBACentral posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Boston Celtics legend Bob Cousy blasted Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr, suggesting that Kerr has some kind of bias against the Celtics.
Cousy told The Boston Globe,
“[Jayson] 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 [Steve] 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 [Steve] 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 [Boston] Celtics.”
Thursday’s benching of Tatum in USA vs. Serbia marked the second time Kerr has chosen not to play Tatum for one minute in the 2024 Summer Olympics. Cousy’s apparent frustration is arguably warranted, as Tatum is a good NBA player. Read on for further information.
An Overview of the Boston Celtics Bias
On Thursday, the USA men’s basketball team surged from a 17-point deficit to defeat the Serbian men’s basketball team 95-91. However, former NBA players Bob Cousy and Steve Kerr appeared to be more concerned about Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum’s overall minutes than the USA’s come-from-behind win over Serbia.
Some individuals have posted on X that Cousy and Kerr should focus on the USA’s win. But the USA was in danger of losing to Serbia until the final five minutes of the game, as Stephen Curry was pretty much the only scoring machine for the red, white, and blue.
Tatum, one of the top scorers in the NBA, wasn’t played in the USA vs. Serbia matchup. Tatum’s presence on the basketball court could’ve helped the USA avoid the struggle to score or minimize the scoring drought.
Bob Cousy vs. Steve Kerr
This is a tale of two halves. The Boston Celtics are the 2024 NBA champions, while the Golden State Warriors haven’t won an NBA championship since 2022. The Celtics’ influence on the basketball world has grown in recent years, so Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was blasted by not only Celtics legend Bob Cousy but also by critics.
According to CBS Sports, Kerr responded to Cousy’s statement, “It’s not about anything Jayson [Tatum] is doing or not doing … It’s just about combinations and the way that group has played together, the way Kevin has filled in since he came back from his injury. It’s just a math problem more than anything.”
Critics can take or leave Kerr’s response to Cousy, but the USA men’s basketball team has been suffering from the curse of having an almost unlimited supply of NBA stars. Kerr shouldn’t be expected to play all 12 NBA stars, let alone 11 in the Olympics.
Steve Kerr Plays Two Other Boston Celtics
Bob Cousy told The Boston Globe that “someone from Boston should stand up” for Jayson Tatum. But, for what it’s worth, Steve Kerr did play two other Boston Celtics, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, for a combined 27 minutes in the USA men’s basketball team’s 95-91 win over the Serbian men’s basketball team. Kerr could’ve played Tatum, but at the same time, the Celtics star probably couldn’t defend Nikola Jokic in one-on-one.
Kerr could play Tatum in the USA’s gold medal game vs. the French men’s basketball team on Saturday. If that happens, Tatum will likely play a significant role in the red, white, and blue. But we’ll see what happens.
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