Here are some points from Bill Simmons’ podcast regarding whether Jayson Tatum or LeBron James will start for the USA team:
– Bill Simmons proposed the starting lineup for the USA team for the 2024 Olympics, which includes Edwards and Curry as the back-court, Embiid as the center, Durant starting due to his long Olympics experience, and LeBron starting over Tatum.
– Simmons’ guest, Ryen Russillo, agreed that LeBron would start, prompting Simmons to elaborate on why he thinks Tatum won’t start despite his recent success, including winning an NBA championship with the Celtics.
– Simmons justified his stance by pointing out that while Tatum had an impressive performance in the recent NBA season, LeBron remains a highly effective player, making the All-NBA Third Team after the 2023-24 season.
– Simmons also mentioned the health status of Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard, who will be playing for Team USA in the Olympics despite recently suffering an injury that caused him to miss most of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
– Fans have expressed frustration that Leonard is available to play for the Olympic team but not for the Clippers in the playoffs, where he has been affected by injury for four consecutive postseasons.