Tatum's Olympic Drama + Mailbag

Some thoughts on Tatum being benched for Team USA, and the completion of our mailbag.

After a short break to enjoy some of the rare summer sunshine here in the UK, we’re back on the grind. Today, I wanted to finish off the mailbag questions you sent last week and debut a new newsletter format. I hope you’re all enjoying the offseason and using the Olympics to scratch that basketball (and whatever other sport) itch that you may have.

Moving forward, The Celtics Chronicle will consist of five main segments:

1. Taylor’s Tea Time: Pertinent news with a personal twist.

2. [Main Topic] A flexible section with a changing title each issue (e.g., "Mailbag, "X Lessons," or “Playbook.”)

3. Eye'N'Ear Candy Corner

   • Latest podcast episode highlights and quick notes

   • Recommended basketball podcasts and content.

4. Shamrock Shorts: Bite-sized news items, fun facts, funny tweets or IG posts and intriguing stats.

5. Rival Rundown: Keeping tabs on other contenders and key developments around the league.

There will also be regular podcast release articles…so on some days, you will receive two posts. This helps keep everyone in the loop of what The Celtics Chronicle is publishing, both in written and audio/visual content.

Not all of these segments are guaranteed in each newsletter, but I like the idea of a repeatable format, especially once the season begins. Let me know your thoughts on these changes; I’m always open to feedback.

🫖 Taylor’s Tea Time

The Tea: As we all know by now, Jayson Tatum received a DNP-CD in Team USA’s opener against Serbia at the Paris Olympics. Steve Kerr’s team secured a 110-84 win, despite the All-NBA Forward watching on from the sidelines.

"It's really hard in a 40-minute game to play more than 10 guys," Steve Kerr told reporters after the game. "With Kevin [Durant] coming back, I just went to the combinations that I felt made the most sense. It seems crazy. I thought I was crazy when I looked at everything and determined these are the lineups I wanted to get to."

Kerr later admitted to Brian Windhorst that he “felt like an idiot” for not playing Tatum.

“He’s a total pro. He’s First Team All-NBA three years in a row. I felt like an idiot not playing him. But, in a 40-minute game, you can’t play more than 10; you really can’t.”

Taylor: Sitting a top-10 player in the world because you can’t find room for him in your rotation is certainly a choice. It’s not like Tatum isn’t versatile and can only thrive in one position. We’re talking about one of the most complete players in the world. He can play multiple spots and give you a boost on both sides of the ball.

Kerr went with a three-guard rotation against Serbia. It was clear his focus was on dominating on the perimeter while having multiple options to throw at Nikola Jokic. I was just perplexed that Devin Booker was given minutes at the 3 over Tatum. And to a lesser extent, Embiid continued getting some court time after looking so poor during the opening stretch.

I get that Kerr has some tough choices to make. I get that Team USA is overflowing with elite talent. What I don’t get is how Tatum — who was the second-best player in the Tokyo Olympics, isn’t seen as an “untouchable” in the rotation. He should be playing every game. That’s why you take such a versatile talent who just happens to be an NBA champion and one of the most talented (and complete) players in the world.

The Tea: Kerr has since confirmed that Tatum will play against South Sudan on Wednesday.

“Jayson will play (Wednesday),” Kerr said. “I’m not going to answer your next question, which is if he plays, who doesn’t,” Kerr said. “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.”

Taylor: South Sudan poses a different threat than Serbia. They have more wing and guard play. They have a core focus on controlling the glass and getting out in transition — they pulled down 18 offensive boards against Puerto Rico, registering 22 second-chance points — and they’re much more athletic.

Adding Tatum into the rotation is a no-brainer. He’s one of the better rebounders on the team. It is adept at providing secondary rim protection as a weakside rotator and can slide between multiple positions to match South Sudan’s size and length.

The Tea: Brian Windhorst believes Bam Adebayo could be the odd man out in Wednesday’s game.

"There's gonna be other All-Star players who get benched...South Sudan's got a bunch of athletic wing players," Windhorst said. "Tatum's gonna be out there. They're gonna be switching all of those screens because they gotta play the perimeter, and there may be a guy like Bam Adebayo that gets benched." 

Taylor: As long as Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White are getting playing time, what do we, as Celtics fans, have to complain about? I mean, it would be far easier to rationalize a member of the stock exchange sitting out instead of Tatum. Nevertheless, Adebayo sitting out could make sense. Team USA won’t need a three-big rotation against South Sudan, which should open up additional minutes on the wing. Swapping Adebyao for Tatum is a straight fix.

The Tea: The war of words between Jaylen Brown and Grant Hill continues to heat up. During a recent appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show,” Hill had discussed Brown being left off Team USA’s roster, noting how there’s an idea that the Celtics star’s omission is a conspiracy theory.

"I spoke to his agent,” Hill said. “I don't know if that was before or after things went out on Twitter, but yeah, I think this idea that there's a conspiracy theory. I always love a good conspiracy theory, but it was really truly a basketball decision and these are tough decisions. But having gone through this with the FIBA competition, you want to find the right balance and the right pieces on the court that we needed.”

Brown then responded in a post on Twitter/X, naming Hill directly.

Taylor: We clearly don’t know the full story here. We know that Brown has been outspoken about Nike in the past. And we’re assuming that he (rightly) feels slighted for being excluded from Team USA’s roster. Hill has maintained that the decision to select White over Brown was based on team needs — which is both fair and logical.

However, the argument is that Brown should have been on the original roster, especially if Kawhi Leonard wasn’t expected to be fit enough — which he ultimately wasn’t.

I have a feeling that this isn’t the last we’ll hear about this situation. Somewhere in the future, multiple interviews will be conducted about the entire story. Until then, we’re getting drip-fed information as some of the disagreement spills out into the public eye.

🔍 Mailbag Part 2.

Last week, before I took a few days to get some Vitamin D into my system, we looked at the first half of the mailbag questions some of you sent in. Today, we’re going to complete part 2 so that everyone’s question or statement gets some love.

Tim Y asks: What do you hope our Celtics Olympians learn from the experience?

My Take: I think that any time players have the opportunity to learn from other elite talents and work with some of the best coaches in the world, there’s always a ton of upside. Tatum, Holiday and White are currently on a roster that has Ty Lue, Erik Spoelstra and Kerr leading the way — each is among the best coaches in the world and can provide tidbits on how each player can approach the game or add wrinkles to their skillset.

Furthermore, everyone on the roster is facing off in practice. There’s no better way to improve than to face some of the best players on the planet in competitive settings, trying out new ideas or refining core parts of your approach.

Therefore, I’m hoping that all three members of Boston’s rotation find ways to elevate their game. Perhaps that change comes in their off-court approach. Maybe it’s an adjustment to their footwork. Or maybe we see an entirely new angle to how one of them looks to attack space. Whatever it is, the Olympics are a fantastic learning experience for everyone involved.

Tim K asks: Do you see a path to Jaden Springer getting regular minutes for the 2024-25 Celtics?

My Take: Springer has a tough path. Holiday and White are firmly locked in as the starting backcourt. Payton Pritchard is an NBA champion who has made the third-guard spot his own. Brown can slide down to the two when needed.

Both Boston and Springer are in a tough spot. He’s entering the final year of his current contract. He will become an unrestricted free agent next summer. There’s no doubt that he has the potential to be an elite point-of-attack defender. The questions surrounding his game are more focused on the offensive end.

Springer brings more size and physicality to the rotation than Pritchard. However, Pritchard is a more well-rounded talent. He’s proven capable of guarding up and he fights on every possession. He’s added bump-offs to his offensive game to give him some juice when looking to score at the rim. He’s a crafty rebounder, especially on offense. And he’s shown flashes of being a reliable tertiary playmaker.

However, I can’t imagine Springer gets glued to the bench for the entire season. Not when the front office has to make a decision on his future. I would expect Mazzulla to give him some opportunity early in the year, at which point, it’s on him to stake a claim for a regular rotation place.

What I will say, though, is Summer League success rarely translates into NBA success. Springer was clearly too good for Las Vegas, which is why he got shut down after one game. If he can have a strong showing at training camp, maybe he gets some early run as a two-guard, where he can work off-ball and focus on his defense. It’s going to be a tough road for him, but if he’s worthy of minutes, Mazulla will be forced to find them for him.

Timothy Simpson said: My opinion of our rookies is that Watson is the most well-rounded and fundamentally sound of the two and that he is more pro-ready right now than Scheierman is, but once Scheiermans defense catches up with his offense, he is going to be a really good player off of our bench. He also has a bad habit of catching the ball coming off of a screen and not getting his shoulders square to the rim b4 he shoots the ball.

My Take: I tend to agree. Watson showcased an all-around game throughout his tenure in Summer League. He has to work on containing drives when switched onto shifter ball-handlers, but for the most part, his positioning, movement and decision-making were all on point.

However, Watson’s path to minutes is much harder. Right now, he isn’t signed to a contract with the Celtics. I’m expecting that to change, but you can’t take it for granted. Furthermore, he’s behind Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Neemias Queta, Xavier Tillman and Luke Kornet in the rotation. If you think he’s better suited at the four, you can add in Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser, too.

Scheierman’s polished offensive game should allow him to slot into Oshae Brissett’s role next season. He is more likely to have a consistent role in the rotation — however minimal — due to his upside, multi-faceted skillset and the fact he’s under a legitimate contract. Although, I do think he spends some time in Maine.

Either way, Boston made two strong choices with the 30th and 54th picks. Scheierman has the clearer path right now, but that doesn’t mean Watson can earn a spot (potentially for the 2025-26 season) if he signs a deal to stick with Boston.

👁️👂🍬 Eye ‘N’ Ear Candy

Let me start this segment by reminding everyone that I’m currently rebuilding my podcast offering. After leaving the Green With Envy podcast, I left behind a podcast feed I had built over multiple years — since it was known as the CelticsPod — and a YouTube channel I had grown to monetize. I’m starting back on the ground floor. Right now, the YouTube channel has 250 subs. I need 1,000 to earn monetization status. The podcast has around 100 subs on Spotify and similar on Apple.

If you haven’t already, check out a couple of episodes, hit subscribe or follow (depending on the platform) and help me grow. The more avenues of monetization I have, the more I can focus on those aspects as I continue working toward self-sustaining coverage.

That said, on Sunday, Tim Sheils and I shared our frustrations with Tatum being benched by Kerr. We discussed where the minutes could have come from, why Embiid looks like a mistake in the starting lineup, and, of course, what Tatum brings to the Team USA Roster.

If you watch on YouTube, this embed should open the video or take you into the app.

If you prefer audio only, follow one of these embeds :)

We are scheduled to record another episode today, so a podcast post will be sent out later.

☘️ Shamrock Shorts

I’m just adding this here today so you get a feel for the layout. Currently, I have nothing I would add here.

🏀 Rival Rundown

Yesterday, Tim Bontemps released a fun piece for ESPN, where he polled multiple scouts and executives around the NBA regarding which teams had enjoyed the best and worst offseasons so far.

The voting looked like this:

Best offseason

Philadelphia 76ers: 8 votes
New York Knicks: 5
Oklahoma City Thunder: 3
Boston Celtics: 2

Worst offseason

Denver Nuggets: 6 votes
Chicago Bulls: 5
LA Clippers: 4
Los Angeles Lakers: 1
New York Knicks: 1
Detroit Pistons: 1

The part of the article I found most interesting, was that the Philadephia 76e’s addition of Paul George received votes for being the best (6 votes) and worst (3 votes) move of the summer.

I wrote about this for Yardbarker yesterday.

“Suddenly, Nick Nurse has a squad built on two injury-prone stars,” I wrote. “Joel Embiid and George have struggled to stay healthy in recent seasons, and neither of them has been highly impactful in recent playoffs. Morey is banking on both Embiid and George staying healthy at the same time for an entire season (including the playoffs.) When looking at their recent track records, that appears to be wishful thinking.”

Personally, I think the Thunder and Knicks have had the best offseason. While I think the Lakers and Bulls have been the two strugglers this summer.

In the comments section, let me know who you think has had the best or worst start to the summer!