The Celtics officially outfitted three U.S. men’s national team players on Monday and defeated Australia 98-92 in a friendly in Abu Dhahib. It was USA Basketball’s second straight friendly win, following last week’s win over Canada in Las Vegas.
The USA led by as many as 24 points in the second half against a talented Australian team, but Australia fought back in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to just six points, with Tyrese Haliburton hitting two three-pointers in the final seconds of the game to seal the victory.
Anthony Davis came off the bench but was the star for the USA with team-highs in points (17) and rebounds (14), including seven offensive rebounds. Devin Booker added 16 points in his first game off the bench. Jock Landale scored a game-high 20 points in Australia’s loss.
Here are some key points from the Celtics’ win:
Jayson Tatum will be in the starting five. The All-Star forward was the sixth man on the U.S. roster for the 2021 Olympics, but head coach Steve Kerr was allowed to make rotation changes for this game, selecting Tatum to start alongside LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and Anthony Edwards. Tatum had an all-around performance, recording seven points, four rebounds and a team-high five assists in 21 minutes. The Celtics forward was efficient but took the fewest shots among the U.S. starters. With Tatum and Edwards in the starting five, the U.S. team will have plenty of size around James and Embiid, so it will be interesting to see if Kerr sticks with that look in the upcoming exhibition matches.
Derrick White has yet to appear. The late addition to the Olympic team joined his teammates over the weekend and was on the bench for the game, but he was the only healthy player who missed out on playing for Team USA in the match, which is not surprising given how little time he has had on the court with the team thus far. Team USA has two more exhibition matches next week, so White’s debut with the team will likely be in one of them.
Kevin Durant remains absent. The Suns All-Star has been bothered by a calf injury throughout training camp, which caused him to miss his second consecutive exhibition game on Monday. Coach Steve Kerr has downplayed the severity of the injury to the media, so the team is likely still being cautious with him at this point. However, with the Olympics less than two weeks away, it will be interesting to see if he can regain his fitness level to play long minutes in Olympic games. If Durant remains sidelined or limited, Tatum may have a bigger role to play.
Jrue Holiday returns to the bench: Holiday, a surprise starter in the exhibition game, was benched alongside Devin Booker against Australia. Holiday had five points and four assists in 18 minutes, making him, along with Tatum, the two best defensive end on Team USA’s roster on Monday night. It’s unlikely Holiday will return to the starting lineup unless Team USA needs a defensive stopper to counter an explosive guard. If not, Kerr would be better off using one of his offensively capable players in the starting five.
The U.S. team will be in action again on Wednesday at 12:00 PM ET in a friendly against Serbia.
