Steve Kerr on why he doesn’t regret benching Jayson Tatum at the Olympics

The Warriors and Celtics will go head-to-head for the first time since Steve Kerr kept Jayson Tatum on the bench throughout the Paris Olympics campaign.

It will no doubt be a tough task for the Warriors to beat the Celtics at TD Garden, and Kerr will receive a very healthy reception full of boos.

Speaking before the match, Kerr said he “didn’t like” using Tatum the way he did, but that’s not something that stayed with him.

“We can’t control history” – Kerr said. “This is the job. I tell our players all the time that the NBA is incredibly popular and the reason it’s so profitable and part of the deal is because you’re going to be in the story. So it can be hard. But from the very beginning (Olympic training camp) in Vegas, it was like this: we are together. We have 12 Hall of Famers and we just want to win, and we won the gold medal.

“So, I don’t think much of it, other than I didn’t like not playing with Jason against Serbia, not playing with Joel (Embiid) against South Sudan. These are not fun decisions. But our guys were all amazing. They are devoted to each other. They promised to win the gold medal. They brought gold home for their country. They all carried themselves with incredible dignity and class. This is a true story. But we live in a time where we have to talk about things that don’t really matter.”

Stephen A. Smith criticized Kerr for his treatment of the Celtics star in “First Take.”

“To do what he did to Jayson Tatum, I hope Jayson Tatum embarrasses him, I hope they destroy, I’m not rooting for the Warriors, I’m just saying Jayson Tatum is going to go out there and make show,” he said. Smith. “Because remember the last point: Steph Curry was terrible until the Olympic semifinals, he couldn’t buy the shot, but you stuck with him. Why? Because hell, this is Steph Curry, we know what he’s going to do eventually, we know how phenomenal and great he is, and you know that because you coach him all the time. So eventually he will find his groove, and you stuck it out. Jayson Tatum can play four positions, were you unable to find minutes for him in the game?”

Will Tatum get his revenge tonight?