I agree with you. More role players might have been the better option. Tatum would be a starter (and a star player) on any other team in the Olympics.
What you say is accurate you can’t really compare international basketball eras. Managing minutes might have been a concern due to the amount of egos that were in that team that wanted to play.If anyone is seriously trying to compare the state of international basketball in 1992 to today, I don't know what to say.
Dream Team games were more akin to a Globetrotters exhibition than today's Olympic matches, so managing minutes was not exactly a concern.
I am going to have to agree with you, Yeah the only players i believe didn't play as much were Stockton, Bird and Laettner. It was the first year NBA players were allowed in the olympics so the talent pool was heavily one sided. The egos probably didn't matter as much as they all wanted to be there regardless of anything and were happy to dominate everyone and everything that came their way and they did.The Dream Team players obviously had egos, but come on.
That tournament was — you have 20 minutes and you have 20 minutes and you have 20 minutes. We all have 20 minutes! Except for you John Stockton... (and Laettner as you mention but he was just happy to be there.)
No matter how big your ego is are you really going to piss and moan too much when you are crushing Angola by 70 points? When you are nearly losing to South Sudan I imagine things get a little more tense and player management and role definition becomes more important.
I'm not going to pretend I follow social media or drama filled sites but I will agree with you on Kerr if Tatum and Haliburton are spitting tacks after that game and everything is going to crap.
If the coaching staff has made them aware of their specific roles and minute expectations and the players are accepting of them then I find it harder to criticise.
I'm always a bit confused why people try to put down 90s basketball to the current era.If anyone is seriously trying to compare the state of international basketball in 1992 to today, I don't know what to say.
Dream Team games were more akin to a Globetrotters exhibition than today's Olympic matches, so managing minutes was not exactly a concern.
I think I'd be pissed if I was Tatum. I've just won the NBA title as one of the two best players on the team. Some could argue he should have won Finals MVP... This surely puts you in a good position to be one of the best players on Team USA?
If the other guys were so good at being superstars then they would have gone further in the playoffs with the role players they had (this possibly speaks to the importance of role players).
But then, seeing my fellow Celtic get minutes over me would really be a kick in the guts.
I used to be a big Tatum fan until he won the ring and went all copycat, now I've gone right off him so this isn't coming from a Tatum fanboy.
I believe the world has caught up. Only because the quality of players has increased over the last 20-30 years all over the world and not just in America. Don’t take anything away from Serbia they played well and they tactically took it to them. USA seems to rely more on individual brilliance such as Curry’s 36 points (16 more than the next highest) last night than an all round team game. Is it a lack of intensity from America or is complacency because they believe they are the best and don’t think they can lose.Tatum has been hard done by for sure.
KD has been really good though, same with Booker.
Who else do you leave out?
The US team has lacked intensity and it shouldn't really have been close. They say the world has caught up
But Serbia has a bunch of no name players going up against multiple NBA MVPs. The excuses for them are wild.
I believe the world has caught up. Only because the quality of players has increased over the last 20-30 years all over the world and not just in America. Don’t take anything away from Serbia they played well and they tactically took it to them. USA seems to rely more on individual brilliance such as Curry’s 36 points (16 more than the next highest) last night than an all round team game. Is it a lack of intensity from America or is complacency because they believe they are the best and don’t think they can lose.
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