For the second straight game, the U.S. men's basketball team put on an offensive clinic en route to an easy win. But for the second straight game, the story is as much about which players weren't on the court as the ones that were: While Jayson Tatum started the 103-86 victory over South Sudan, Joel Embiid didn't see a single minute of action — the only U.S. player not to see the court.

There had been some controversy around Embiid's status as the U.S. starting center, especially given his up-and-down tuneup performances. But head coach Steve Kerr had stuck with the big man throughout, and sitting him entirely is a pretty drastic turn of events.

So, what gives? Even given the embarrassment of riches at Kerr's disposal, why would a player of Embiid's caliber not play at all? Let's dig in.

As was the case with Tatum against Serbia, the answer simply comes down to matchups — Kerr has the luxury of being able to mix and match All-Star talent to fit each opponent on the schedule, and he told reporters after the game that South Sudan's speed and lack of size led him to go with smaller lineups. 

“[South Sudan] made 14 threes against us [during the two teams' exhibition game] in London, so the whole game today was going to be about switching, staying in front of people, not letting them break us down," Kerr said. “The reason we started the way we did was matching up with their speed. That's why Joel was not in the lineup. We wanted to make sure we matched up against the smaller, quicker team with all the three-point shooting."

Kerr then vowed that this had no bearing on Embiid's status within the team's hierarchy moving forward, and that the big man would be back out there in Team USA's next game against Puerto Rico on Saturday.

"I'm going to go back to the lineup from the other night against Puerto Rico, so Joel will be back out there, Jrue will be back out there, but it gave us a couple of looks at some different combinations," Kerr said. "Our strength is that we can lean on all those great players depending on match-ups, depending on how we want to play, who we're playing, that every single guy is capable of coming out there and taking over a game.”

South Sudan doesn't offer anything like a traditional big man in the mold of Jokic, instead opting to play a bevy of athletic guards and wings. It's a matchup that calls for a small-ball approach, and the U.S. are uniquely suited to play that game with the ultra-switchable Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis also on the roster. 

Still, that won't stop NBA Twitter from speculating, a fact of which Kerr seems painfully aware.

“The NBA is so popular worldwide," Kerr said. "The [NBA] regular season is kind of a soap opera, and we understand that. Social media takes over, and everything becomes so dramatic."

"I think we need to give these guys more credit. They’re here to win a gold medal. They're pros. They're committed to each other. Every game is going to be a little different. We'll figure out what we need to do to win."

This is a long tournament, with the deepest and most dangerous field in Olympic history. At some point, the U.S. is going to need a player with the sort of rim protection and post threat that Embiid brings, and like with Tatum, Kerr's decision to keep Embiid on the bench will all be a distant memory. Given the strengths of this particular roster though, and the pace they want to play at, don't be surprised if the other U.S. bigs start playing a bigger role.