Jayson Tatum did not open the Olympics in the starting lineup, no surprise even as Kevin Durant came off the bench in his return from a calf injury. Team USA featured balanced lineups throughout exhibition play that often placed Tatum with the second unit. Yet when the bench shifted into the US’ Olympic opener on Sunday against Serbia, Tatum stayed seated and never left that spot. Gary Washburn, in Paris, noted that Tatum didn’t warm up after halftime.
Tatum, following possibly the first DNP-CD of his basketball life, told Washburn that he was not sick or injured, and Steve Kerr later confirmed that he made the decision to leave the Celtics star out of the game plan.