Team USA narrowly escaped defeat against Serbia in the semifinal of the Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournament. While most lauded Nikola Jokic and his teammates’ effort, Charles Barkley believes the performance was unacceptable. However, he claimed that the team’s underwhelming outing was due to head coach Steve Kerr’s poor management rather than the players’ lousy performance.
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In an interview with ESPN Radio, the Hall of Famer said that the team should be steamrolling every opponent they face. He claimed they haven’t because Kerr hasn’t utilized the talent at his disposal as well as he should. He was particularly incensed about the head coach’s treatment of Jayson Tatum. Barkley said,
“They haven’t used their depth the right way because one advantage we had in 1992, and they still have today when they go to their bench, they’re brining in better player. [Kerr] has not used his team properly. Put Jayson Tatum in an NBA game, he’s better than 99% of the guys already in the world, but especially who are coming from a foreign country.”
He added that Kerr should keep making changes to not let the other team settle and let his superstars with fresh legs take care of business on the court. While the two-time Olympic gold medalist pushed the blame on the head coach, NBA insider Brian Windhorst argued that it wasn’t that straightforward.
Windhorst disagrees with Barkley’s take
He argued that Kerr’s rotation hasn’t been a problem, but teams are far more talented than in 1992. He noted that most of Team USA’s roster has played a lot of minutes, so Barkley’s claim is factually incorrect. Windhorst said,
“The talent in the world is comparable and the wolf is at the door. [Team USA have] got 10 players averaging 16 to 22 minutes. He’s using the depth well, it’s been five-man swap-outs with the second unit that has made the difference… Charles is not on the right page here.”
He added that Team USA tweaked its tactics in the fourth quarter and played more physical defense, which thwarted the Serbian onslaught. The evidence backs his claim.
Jokic and his teammates banked 15 three-pointers in the first three quarters. However, LeBron James and Co. were more proactive in closing down Serbian players in the fourth quarter and they failed to hit a single shot from beyond the arc in the final 10 minutes.
Regardless, Barkley and Windhorst agree that Team USA will have to play better against Team France. Whether it’s with better rotation or a more proactive approach, they cannot let the hosts get a foothold in the game like Serbia did in the semifinal.
