The controversy about who needs to start for Team USA continues to be a prevalent issue for basketball fans. With as many stars as Team USA has, the lineups will constantly change. For example, one moment, you may have the Celtics' Jayson Tatum not play as he did against Serbia, and the next, he may start against South Sudan like he did yesterday.
The same thing happened to former MVP Joel Embiid against South Sudan. The one player who has been affected the most by this is Tyrese Haliburton.
Yesterday, the young Indiana Pacers star made his anticipated Olympics debut. Haliburton, who fell out of USA's rotation over the past couple of games, is now back in action. It did not take long for him to assert himself as a presence. Knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers in his first couple of minutes of play, he showed that despite falling out of the rotation, Haliburton appeared to show no signs of rust in his game.
The two-time All-Star deserves a chance at getting more minutes and potentially replacing former MVP Stephen Curry in the starting lineup. Curry has struggled lately, with him only scoring three points while shooting 1/9 from the field yesterday against South Sudan.
Starting Haliburton could give the U.S. a better chance to have better ball movement and help create more space, making everyone more dangerous. It could also take pressure off Lebron James, the primary ball handler for the USA, and give Curry the chance to be fresh while coming off the bench.
Many fans forget how dangerous the two-year standout at Iowa State really was for Indiana last season. Haliburton led the league in assists while being a dangerous scorer who averaged 20 points per game last season and led the Pacers to their first conference finals in a decade. Whether it's scoring, passing, defending, or doing the dirty work, Haliburton will give you an MVP effort.
Team USA still has a long way to go to win gold at the Paris Olympics. The main goal is to find a lineup that gives them the best chance to win. Whether Haliburton starts or comes off the bench will not impact his type of player. True basketball fans know that his main objective is to win regardless of what his stat line looks like. Winning gold will only satisfy the Wisconsin native.