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Why was Joel Embiid Snubbed Against South Sudan by Steve Kerr? NBA Insider Reveals
Joel Embiid wasn't called into action against South Sudan in the Olympic group game and an NBA insider has revealed the reason behind it.
During Team USA's opening two Olympic games in Paris, Steve Kerr made some difficult choices that have drawn criticism to him. He started the first game against Serbia by benching the most recent NBA Champion, Jayson Tatum, for the contest.
Subsequently, Kerr took the same action against South Sudan, dropping Joel Embiid from his starting position to receive zero minutes of action. The NBA World still doubts Kerr's approach, but veteran insider Brian Windhorst explained why the head coach had to bench the former MVP.
Windhorst revealed, “The matchup for this game required quickness and speed. That is not Joel Embiid. They went with a faster, longer starting lineup with Jayson Tatum and Anthony Davis in it.”
Despite being a beast in the NBA, Embiid's game has not yet translated well to the international arena. He was only able to score 4 points in the first game against Serbia after having a difficult time during the exhibition games, even getting fouled out against Canada. And after just eleven minutes of play, Kerr had to take him out of the match.
Furthermore, Kerr was unable to take a chance by starting a comparatively slower Embiid against South Sudan's fast-paced offense. Furthermore, even though superstars like Embiid and Tatum are not used to sitting on the bench, Kerr's strategy may not change in the future.
Windhorst added, “It’s gonna continue to be this way because Steve Kerr is gonna change his lineups depending on the matchups.” Kerr is solely focused on winning a gold medal, so don't be shocked if you see your favorite superstar warming the bench during the next games in Paris. However, it appears that Embiid will not be the one suffering from it the following game, as Kerr has already declared that he will start against Puerto Rico again.
There will inevitably be a superstar whose playing time is limited in every game because Team USA is stacked from one through twelve. Winning the tournament is Steve Kerr's top priority, even though he is aware that he must maintain each player's interest. More importantly, the roster's versatility allows players to be mixed and matched in different ways depending on what the team needs.
Therefore, for the next few weeks, all of the superstars may need to set aside their egos and fulfill their obligations under Kerr's plan. Team USA is a firm favorite for the Gold and apart from their meltdown, no team seems to be in the form to stop them.
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