Celtics Legend Bob Cousy Rips Steve Kerr For Not Playing Jayson Tatum vs. Serbia: ‘This Is An Embarrassment’

NBA and Boston Celtics legend Bob Cousy ripped Team USA head coach Steve Kerr for not playing Jayson Tatum against Serbia in the semifinal game. 

“This isn’t just a snub,” Cousy told The Boston Globe. “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 this this kid.”

Team USA was down by 17 points to Serbia at one point. Although the Americans came back and won, they could have used Tatum’s scoring, shooting and defensive skills. 

Tatum, one of the top players in the NBA, has received two DNPs against Serbia. 

“Tatum is on the cover of Sports Illustrated this month,” Cousy said. “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.”

Team USA will face France in the gold medal game. It will be interesting to see if Tatum plays. 

“It’s not what I’m not seeing from Jayson,” Kerr said, via the Boston Globe. “It’s what I’ve seen from the other guys. Like I’ve said many times during this tournament and the last six weeks, it’s just hard to play 11 people, even in an NBA game.

“Our second unit was not great last night, but that group has been one of the bright spots on this team, especially on the defensive end. So it’s not about what Jayson is doing or not doing. It’s just about combinations and the way that group has played together, the way Kevin [Durant] has filled in since he came back from his injury. It’s just a math problem more than anything.”