The Celtics officially had three players on the U.S. Men’s national team in uniform on Monday as the Americans beat Australia 98-92 in an exhibition tuneup in Abu Dahib. It was the second straight win for USA Basketball in exhibition play after a win over Canada last week in Las Vegas.
USA led by as many as 24 points in the second half against a talented Australia squad. However, the Aussies fought back in the fourth quarter trimming the deficit to just six points before a pair of 3s from Tyrese Haliburton in the closing minutes sealed the victory.
Anthony Davis starred for the Americans off the bench with team-highs in both points (17) and rebounds (14) including seven offensive boards. Devin Booker also added 16 points in his first game coming off the bench. Jock Landale had a game-high 20 points for Australia in the loss.
Here are some Celtics-themed takeaways from the victory:
Jayson Tatum enters starting five: The All-Star forward was USA’s 6th man during the 2021 Olympics but Steve Kerr opened the door to a rotation shift in this one with Tatum getting the starting nod alongside LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Joel Embiid and Anthony Edwards. It was a solid all-around effort for Tatum who finished with seven points, four rebounds and a team-high five assists in 21 minutes. The Celtics forward was efficient but had the fewest shot attempts of any USA starter. The inclusion of Tatum and Edwards in the starting five adds plenty of size for Team USA around James and Embiid so it will be intriguing to see if Kerr remains with that look during upcoming exhibitions.
Derrick White doesn’t make an appearance yet: The late add to the Olympic squad joined his teammates over the weekend and was on the bench for the game. However, he was the only healthy player that failed to make an appearance for Team USA in the matchup, a very understandable occurrence given his lack of on-court time with the team so far. Team USA has two more exhibitions coming up during the next week so odds are we see White make his debut with this group in one of those contests.
Kevin Durant remains sidelined: The Suns All-Star has been dealing with a calf injury throughout training camp and missed his second straight exhibition contest on Monday with the injury. Steve Kerr has downplayed the seriousness of the injury with the media so it’s likely the team is still just being cautious with him at this point. However, with the Olympic opener less than two weeks away, it’s worth wondering whether he will be able to ramp up his fitness level in time to log heavy minutes during Olympic play after suffering the injury. Tatum could be in line for a bigger role if Durant remains sidelined or limited.
Jrue Holiday returns to the bench: After getting a surprise start in the exhibition opener, he and Devin Booker played off the bench against Australia. Holiday posted five points and four assists in 18 minutes, joining Tatum as the two best distributors on Team USA’s roster on Monday night. It’s hard to envision Holiday moving back to a starting role unless Team USA needs a defensive stopper against an explosive guard. Otherwise, Kerr probably is better off going with more offensive upside in the starting five.
Team USA returns to action on Wednesday with an exhibition friendly against Serbia at 12 p.m. ET.
