Team USA is through to the Paris Olympics quarterfinals after winning all three of their group-stage games, and head coach Steve Kerr plans to maintain the status quo as they go deep into the tournament.
According to the concurrent Team USA and Golden State Warriors head coach, he will continue to have Kevin Durant come off the bench since it has been working well for them.
“I think if Kevin had been here from Day 1, chances are he would be starting,” Kerr told reporters in a video conference. “That was the plan coming in, but, given that he missed all of our friendlies and came in late, we had kind of established a lineup that we liked. And when we brought him back, he was only going to play a certain amount of minutes against Serbia, and he played so well and he fit so well with that group.”
“So there’s no plans on changing that. But, of course, as the Games get more difficult my guess is Kevin will be playing more and more minutes. He’ll keep coming off the bench for now, but we will lean on him more and more as we go,” he concluded.
Kevin Durant came off the bench in all three of Team USA’s group-stage games. Before the Paris Olympics started, the Phoenix Suns forward dealt with a calf injury and missed all their five exhibition games.
Why is Kevin Durant essential for Team USA?
Kevin Durant will remain an integral cog for Team USA because of his uncanny ability to get buckets.
Against Serbia, the Phoenix Suns forward recorded 23 points on a hot 8-for-9 shooting from the field, including 5-for-5 from three-point range in 17 minutes off the bench in the 110-84 blowout win. And against South Sudan and Puerto Rico, Kevin Durant poured in 14 and 11 points, respectively.
Durant is dubbed one of the GOATs in Team USA history because he is the nation’s all-time Olympic leading scorer looking to add a fourth gold medal to his decorated career.
