In Olympic discourse around Jayson Tatum’s DNP, we’ve lost sight of the real storyline

On Sunday afternoon, Jayson Tatum sat on the bench and watched Group USA blow out Serbia, with out even having to take off his warm-ups.

He wasn’t damage, and he wasn’t sick — for perhaps the primary time in his profession, he merely fell out of the rotation. In flip, regardless of America’s dominant victory, the nationwide storyline grew to become the DNP.

Overwhelmingly, media and followers alike between blasted Steve Kerr’s determination to maintain the five-time All Star completely out of the lineup.

“The reigning defending NBA champion Jayson Tatum — and you’ll’t discover minutes?” Stephen A. Smith yelled on his show. “In a 26-point lopsided victory, you possibly can’t discover one minute?”

ESPN analyst Tim Legler criticized the teaching employees’s determination to bench a celebrity of his caliber in a extra pointed means, citing the truth that Derrick White performed quarter-hour, whereas Jayson Tatum by no means even checked into the sport.

“Derrick White simply joined the crew,” Tim Legler said on the All NBA podcast. “Derrick White was the fifth greatest participant on his personal crew.”

However, the truth is that Derrick White wasn’t the rationale that Tatum didn’t play. Group USA enjoys some fairly exceptional depth on the ahead place, and Lebron James and Kevin Durant had been each distinctive towards Serbia, combining for 45 factors on 17-21 taking pictures. Plus, as head coach of the Warriors, Kerr famously choose three-guard lineups — and he’s continued to lean into that desire with USA Basketball, choosing heavier doses of Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, Steph Curry and Jrue Vacation. Possibly these explanations make sense, perhaps they don’t.

Regardless, the dialog round this recreation from a Celtics lens shouldn’t have completely centered round Tatum’s lack of minutes.

In 16 minutes off the bench, Derrick White performed tenacious protection, racking up two steals and a block. Group USA outscored Serbia by 15 when he was on the courtroom. His efficiency and solidified rotation spot, nevertheless, grew to become an afterthought. In exhibition play towards South Sudan, White helped change the momentum of the sport, meting out 5 assists in 11 second-half minutes, and serving to safe a game-saving cease on the ultimate possession.

For the second time in lower than a month, Derrick White’s accomplishments have been diminished in effort to raise his Celtics teammates. When Kawhi Leonard was a late scratch from the Olympics crew, White’s substitute wasn’t sufficiently celebrated by the Celtics world, as a result of the discourse centered round Jaylen Brown’s omission. A few of that was undeniably a few of Brown’s doing, however the broader dialog nonetheless failed to spotlight the two-way worth that somebody like Derrick White may carry to the crew.

Derrick White will let you know the surface noise doesn’t influence him — final month, his father confirmed to CelticsBlog his son instructed him he was simply going to remain true to himself.

“There’s all the time going to be some type of chatter or buzz about one thing,” Richard White mentioned. “This entire yr, there was all the time stuff being mentioned. He goes and he controls what he can management.”

Nonetheless, one thing particular is going on to one of the vital beloved gamers in Boston, and it’s not getting the popularity it deserves. A participant who couldn’t even get a Division I supply out of highschool has solidified himself as one of the vital precious guards on a U.S. Olympic basketball crew pursuing a gold medal.

And it’s not simply White both — Jrue Vacation was the crew’s second-leading scorer with 15 factors, and headlined the stifling protection together with his full-court stress. The elite play of the championship backcourt has been missed, albeit maybe inadvertently — but it surely’s one thing that Celtics followers ought to have fun. White and Vacation’s play was instrumental in securing Banner 18, and will show to be equally essential en path to an Olympic gold.

It’s the character of the information cycle: harp on the damaging, break down the controversy, level fingers, and debate who has been disrespected. Controversy sells, and Steve Kerr created an enormous one whether or not or not he realized the backlash that might observe. And, it’s plain that the Jayson Tatum benching storyline is an intriguing one — it’s extremely uncommon for a participant of his caliber, and together with his resume, to take a seat on the sidelines for a whole basketball recreation.

However, if it’s the solely Celtic storyline, we’ve missed a possibility to present credit score the place it’s due and benefit from the play of two of probably the most well-rounded guards in all of basketball. Vacation and White have each been fairly good up to now, and from an extended listing of gifted American guards — one that features Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, and numerous others — it’s the Celtics’ championship backcourt that has anchored Group USA early on within the Olympics.

Olympic play will proceed, and new storylines will emerge. Possibly Jayson Tatum will get 20 minutes of motion towards South Sudan, or perhaps the DNPs will proceed to pile up. Regardless, I’d urge those that observe the Celtics to acknowledge and recognize how exceptional it’s that the identical two position gamers who helped safe the NBA championship are getting the possibility to showcase on the Olympics that they’re the perfect position gamers on this planet.