Will Jayson Tatum play for Team USA against South Sudan?

Team USA got their Olympic journey off with a dominant 110-84 victory over Serbia on Sunday but their win was not without controversy.

Head coach Steve Kerr opted not to play Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum for a single minute against Serbia, a surprise considering Tatum’s successful season in NBA. Tatum was not suffering from any injury or illness that kept him on the sidelines.

Ahead of Team USA’s second group stage Game against South Sudan Kerr faced a number of questions about his plan for the team, with Tatum’s situation a particular talking point. Kerr, normally unwilling to give too much away, did give a clear answer to the question on everyone’s lips.

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“Jayson [Tatum] will play,” the Team USA head coach confirmed on Tuesday. He added that he had told Tatum of his intentions ahead of the Serbia game and was impressed with his reaction, saying that the player “handled it well.”

Kerr’s openness has cleared up the question of Tatum’s selection but has posed another. The American team romped to a 26-point win over Serbia, who drops out against South Sudan?

“I’m not going to answer your next question, which is if he plays, who doesn’t,” Kerr told reporters. “But we’re going to need him, and part of this job for me is to keep everybody engaged and ready. Because my experience with this is crazy stuff happens.”

We’ll have live coverage of Team USA - South Sudan right here on AS USA. NBA expert Dane Arlauckas will have full text commentary for the US’ second Game of the Olympic Games, with the action begining one hour ahead of tip-off.