Opinion
Gold will always be the goal but earning what would be a historic silver medal is a definite reality and should be the expectation for the Boomers at the World Cup.
The stars are aligning for Australia to improve on their breakthrough bronze medal at the 2021 Olympics with their mix of veteran stalwarts and young prospects arguably the most talented squad outside of the United States.
With nine of the 12 Boomers in the NBA, they have the second-biggest contingent from the world’s premier competition lining up at the Cup, which will be held in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Their main rivals to challenge the US are Canada, who have suffered a major setback on the eve of the tournament with Denver star guard Jamal Murray pulling out to manage his knee after a lengthy comeback season which went all the way to NBA finals success.
The Cup tips off on Friday, with Australia facing Finland on day one, with 32 teams lining up in the race to make the final on September 10.
Patty Mills and Josh Giddey. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
The window is now for Australia.
Before pretty much every major tournament since they finished fourth at the 1988 Olympics, the prediction is always that the upcoming event will be their best chance yet.
Now they’ve finally got the medal monkey off their back, this is by far their best chance to make a final.
“Rose gold” was nice in Tokyo two years ago but the real kind or a silver memento are attainable this time around.
Veteran coach Brian Goorjian is overseeing a side that’s only real weakness appears to be a lack of serious size.
The ankle injury to Jock Landale from the warm-up win over South Sudan is a body blow for sure, but the Boomers can cover for his absence.
They will likely rely on a mix of Duop Reath – no shrinking violet at a muscular 211cm – to stand up to and over opposing centres while also spreading the floor with Nick Kay or even Xavier Cooks operating in the five spot.
In the international game it is not essential to have a dominant presence in the paint and although it is a more physical contest where the big bodies are allowed to bang old-school style more than in the NBA, teams can thrive on outside shooting and slashing to the hoop.
And that’s where Australia have a distinct advantage.
Patty Mills, Joe Ingles and Chris Goulding are proven shooters while Josh Giddey, Dyson Daniels and Josh Green will drive and kick or take it to the rack if perimeter defenders are not on their toes.
The Aussie defence should also be a force with Matisse Thybulle set upon whichever opponent is the main attacking threat with the likes of Cooks, Dante Exum and Jack White also strong all-round options for getting stops.
Giddey is still only 20 so it may be asking too much for him to shoulder the playmaking load but the OKC Thunder rising star is mature beyond his years.
Andrew Gaze was describing him as “Magic Johnson like” during the recent Cup warm-up outings in Melbourne and the lanky guard is a supremely gifted passer.
He will no doubt be targeted by each opposition’s best perimeter defender but if he can shake off the extra attention to put his teammates in the best position to score, it will go a long way to Australia going a long way in the World Cup.
Duop Reath dunks. (Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
Giddey’s rapid rise at the Thunder, coupled with Daniels also being taken as a lottery pick and Green improving from bench player to integral member of Dallas’ rotation, further highlights the sad state of affairs that Australia don’t particularly miss much by Ben Simmons being unavailable yet again.
If the Boomers could transplant the Simmons from a few years ago at Philadelphia who was an All-Star and All-NBA selection, he’d be very handy but the version that we’ve seen in limited patches over the past two seasons would struggle to get game time even if he was available.
After beating France 78-74 on the weekend, the Boomers completed their warm-up preparations with an 86-81 triumph over Georgia on Tuesday night.
It’s a new-look squad this time around for Team USA with an investment in players on the verge of superstardom rather than ones who are already established as the best of the best.
Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards and New Orleans forward Brandon Ingram will provide the scoring punch, Mikal Bridges will look to continue his rapid ascendancy since his mid-season trade from Phoenix role player to Brooklyn’s go-to guy and Knicks playmaker Jalen Brunson will run the point.
Jaren Jackson jnr will be their defensive presence at centre while the likes of Tyrese Haliburton, Paolo Banchero, Austin Reaves, Cam Johnson and Josh Hart are high basketball IQ kind of players that won’t necessarily torch teams but outplay them nonetheless.
With Steve Kerr taking over the coaching reins from Gregg Popovich, the team will put an emphasis on passing to turn a good shot into a great one, as has been his mantra during Golden State’s dynasty.
But this team is far from invincible. The US did not even make the semis at the last World Cup in China when they were brought undone by France in the quarter-finals. After then losing to Serbia in the 5th-8th classification round, they faced the ignominy of having to beat Poland just to salvage seventh spot.
That squad only really had Donovan Mitchell as an All Star calibre player at the time but it was still a gross underachievement.
In reality, there are probably eight nations who have a realistic chance of making the gold medal game with France, Serbia, Spain, Slovenia and Germany also in the mix.
Helping the Boomers’ cause is the absence of No.1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama from the French team although he is likely to be on deck next year when Paris hosts the Olympic Games.
France and Cup holders Spain are in a rebuilding phase after their respective golden generation of stars have faded into retirement while Slovenia are reliant on Luka Doncic, who was able to drag his side all the way to the bronze medal playoff at the last Olympics before the Boomers’ teamwork swamped them.
Serbia have a solid squad but do not have the services of two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic while the Germans are the dark horses with Orlando brothers Franz and Mo Wagner combining with journeyman guard Denis Schroder.
Luka Doncic. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
For the Aussies, the good news is they lucked out in the complicated draw process although a lot of their fortune was due to being one of the highest teams in the world rankings.
The upshot is they have avoided facing the US until a potential gold medal showdown.
They need to shut down Utah’s breakout star from last season, Lauri Markkanen, to get past Finland in their tournament opener.
All going to plan there, the Boomers then face another tricky opponent in Germany before they should wipe the floor with Japan in their final group game with each of the three fixtures in Okinawa.
Their record carries forward into the second phase, which will also be played entirely in Japan for them, where they will play two more matches, likely to be a grudge rematch with Doncic’s Slovenian squad and Venezuela.
The quarters and semis opponents for Australia will probably be who survives between Canada, Spain and France.
By every measure it’s an extremely difficult assignment awaiting the Boomers but with Boomers stalwarts like Mills, Ingles and Goulding entering the final phase of their international careers, the time is right for the veterans and the new breed to take the team further than they’ve ever been.
If people can lose their job, and clubs can face massive payouts, due to the behaviour of coaches, it will drastically change the way sporting teams in Australia will be run.
A Serbian, a Canadian, a Slovenian and a Greek fellow walked into a bar … Well, they’ve actually walked into the NBA and now…
Nikola Jokic has scored 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead defending NBA champions Denver past LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers…
There will undoubtedly be upset results here and there in the NBA playoffs but there’s an overwhelming sense of fait accompli that Boston will…
LeBron James is going back to the Olympics for the first time in 12 years. Steph Curry is headed to the games for the…
The only realistic threat to Boston’s chances of strolling through the Eastern Conference is a team that could still end up in the play-in…
