After some shaky moments during their pre-Olympic tour, Team USA has handled both Serbia (110-84) and South Sudan (103-86), the latter coming just days after a one-point win over them in their final tuneup prior to heading to Paris.
As the team finished off reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Serbia in their Olympic opener last Sunday, the attention quickly turned to South Sudan, who present a totally different look and challenge for Team USA.
In the aftermath of the Serbia win, Team USA head Steve Kerr was called out for not playing three-time first team All-NBA player and Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. Kerr attempted to use the return of Kevin Durant to the lineup as an excuse, but also admitted that he dropped the ball in not playing Tatum. Kerr caught a ton of backlash for the error, as he should’ve.
Bam Adebayo Should Sit?
As the team prepared for South Sudan many analysts and talking heads gave their opinion on who they believed might be the next guy to not play. During an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” ESPN NBA analyst Brian Windhorst gave some lame excuse as to why he believed Bam Adebayo was the candidate.
“South Sudan’s got a bunch of athletic wing players. Tatum’s gonna be out there. They’re gonna be switching all those screens because they gotta play the perimeter, and there may be a guy like Bam Adebayo gets benched.”
Following his game-high 18 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in the win, Adebayo didn’t waste anytime responding to Windhorst’s comments. The former Kentucky Wildcats star and five-time All-Defensive Team selection took to X with this.
“Why he say f— me for?”
Those type of comments make you wonder if these analysts actually pay attention to the game.
To say the team might bench Adebayo, who outside of Anthony Davis is the team’s best defender and one of the top defenders in the NBA is asinine. Adebayo is comfortable guarding any position on the floor and he does it regularly as the anchor of the Miami Heat’s top defensive every season.
No way Kerr was gonna bench him in a matchup like that. If anything, he was perfect for a team like South Sudan.
Bam Responds Emphatically
Just goes to show that just because analysts are on television and giving opinions, doesn’t mean they know what they’re talking about. In many ways Adebayo, along with the aforementioned Davis, have been Team USA’s third- and fourth-best player after LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
