With the highly anticipated Rio Olympics only days away, many eyes will be on the basketball, where Australia’s Boomers have established themselves as a potential medal threat.
The luck of the draw abandoned them in London, facing the eventual gold medal winners Team USA in the quarter finals, making for consecutive seventh-place finishes in the last two Olympic games.
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Still, this has increased the footprint Australian basketball has on international competitions.
With a record amount of Australian natives playing in the NBA, the Boomers have a great chance to flourish and win their first international medal this year.
The roster features the likes of NBA champions Andrew Bogut, Aron Baynes, Patrick Mills and Matthew Dellavadova, as well as past and present NBA players Joe Ingles, Cameron Bairstow and David Andersen.
The roster is rounded out by 3andD wing Ryan Brokehoff, scoring threat Chris Goulding, stretch-four Brock Motum, and NBL sensations Kevin Lisch and Damian Martin. The balance of the squad is imposing, even after Dante Exum, Ben Simmons and Thon Maker opted not to be considered for selection or withdrew their name from selection consideration.
Coach Andrej Lemanis has gained a reputation for playing a grind-it-out style, bucking the current trend of basketball where shooting and small-ball line-ups feature heavily in leagues around the world.
Australia feature multiple post-players, with poor or non-existent shooting. Bairstow, Baynes and Bogut will struggle to share the court together due to their lack of speed and agility, as well as their poor shooting capabilities. Teams such as USA, Serbia and France will present match-up issues for the Boomers, with all three nations playing a lot of small ball.
Australia was drawn in group A with team USA, France, Venezuela, Serbia and China. The quality of opposition outweighs the quality in group B, alluding to the fact that if Australia qualify they may be able to advance through the rounds. China and Venezuela will present Australia with the greatest chance for victory, with China’s imposing size presenting no fear for the Australians.
The Venezuelans, participating in their first games, were somewhat of a shock, defeating Canada on path to qualifying. Their lack of star talent will be a defining issue as they’ve struggled against elite talent.
On paper, both France and Serbia pose a bounty of talent, however on the opposite ends of the spectrum. France has a range of savvy veterans with NBA experience stretching eight-plus years. Serbia, on the other hand, features young and up-and-coming studs who will present more of challenge in 2020 than 2016.
Lemanis will rely on multiple factors to defeat both nations, none more important than the play of guards Patrick Mills and Matthew Dellavadova. Tenacious defence and elite three-point shooting will be the key, and Mills has been sensational in the green and gold, leading the competition in scoring at London (21.2 ppg) while being named to the all-second team.
Dellavadova, although not noted as a premier scorer, has shown flashes of his ability to take over games and come up with clutch baskets. Recently he hit a go-ahead pull-up jump shot to give the Boomers a huge win against powerhouse nation Argentina. Performances like that will be essential for Australia to have a realistic medal shot.
Overall, the Boomers have an uphill battle to end up on the podium, however is not wild to believe Australia could be fighting for the bronze medal in a few weeks.
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