Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker lead Team USA in scrimmage

In a Blue vs. White scrimmage against Team USA’s senior and select teams, it was the color green that stood out in Las Vegas. Jayson Tatum finished the night with 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including three three-pointers and several aggressive drives to the basket.

Tatum seems to be a lock for the national team and more importantly for Celtics fans, he’s shown signs of being more aggressive with his shot on catch-and-shoot attempts and attacking the rim in the half court and in transition. As his skills coach Drew Hanlen noted earlier this season, Tatum is working on making quicker decisions with the ball and not settling for mid-range jumpers. We saw that last night with two and-1 attempts and confident shots on the perimeter.

Kemba Walker was second in scoring with fourteen points and tied for the assist lead with 4. He seems to be another lock as Team USA’s best scoring point guard on the roster. He was quick and shifty off the dribble and could get his own shot off whenever he wanted.

Jaylen Brown finished with only two points and two steals, but he did start the game alongside Walker.

In other Team USA news, Thaddeus Young and Bam Adebayo were cut from the senior team and replaced with Derrick White and Marvin Bagley III. That still means that the injured Marcus Smart still has a chance to make the final World Cup roster. USA Basketball now moves to Los Angeles to continue camp with a friendly scheduled next Friday against Spain.