The Boomers kicked off their Olympic campaign with a critical win, defeating Spain for the first time since the 2000 Games.
Josh Giddey and Jock Landale continued their strong form from the warm-up games to have starring roles while the development of guard Dyson Daniels is also one of the biggest stories to emerge from the Boomers’ results so far.
Here, foxsports.com.au looks at a few key talking points from the game and looks ahead to the challenge against Canada tonight.
GIDDEY-LANDALE COMBINATION FIRES
When the Boomers were knocked out of the FIBA World Cup by Slovenia last year, Brian Goorjian was emphatic.
He made it clear: this was not the end of an era but the start of a new one.
“The youth of this thing is for real,” Goorjian said.
“We’re changing styles of play. We’ve made some moves coming into this — the Delly, the Baynes — and I really like Daniels. That’s another piece to add to that.
“You’ve got Jock Landale to add to this.”
And already, considering what we have seen in the warm-up games and now in the win over Spain, you can’t underestimate just how important Jock Landale is to this Boomers team.
“Jock, by far, in my opinion, just changed the game,” Boomers legend Andrew Bogut said on NBL Media’s The Gold Standard podcast.
“Even when we had some stalls offensively, he got a couple of huge offensive rebound tip-ins and I think he was pretty solid on the defensive end.
“Got the ball on the block a couple of times when he needed a score and did a fantastic job that way. I think he just calms us down a lot, settles us down, gets us easy baskets and plays the right way.”
Australia’s first-choice big man missed last year’s World Cup through injury and his absence was felt on both ends. Similarly, his inclusion was very much felt on Saturday.
That was especially true when it came to the combination he is continuing to build with Josh Giddey as the team’s rolling big, feasting in the paint while playing off the 21-year-old.
Of course, only making the connection even more effective is the fact Giddey himself was consistently getting into the paint and finishing some of the looks himself.
Giddey and Landale combined for 37 of Australia’s points on Saturday and given the concerns over the Boomers’ outside shooting options, they will need those two to continue firing as a consistent source of offence Goorjian can go back to even if the other shots aren’t falling.
“I loved Jock down on the offensive end,” former Boomer and NBL veteran Brad Newley said on The Gold Standard podcast.
“He’s rolling to the basket just creates so many issues. I remember during camp I mentioned to Bogues and Gibbo (Adam Gibson) just watching him in the five on five the way he just rolls and creates so many shots for others.
“It’s awesome. And then he can finish himself. So, whenever we need a basket, we’re not just jacking from outside. We can get some nice interior touches.”
LOTS OF GUYS COME UP CLUTCH WITH THE SHOOTING
On Saturday, however, the shots were falling and from multiple Boomers.
Australia shot 12-for-24 from deep and those are the kinds of numbers Goorjian will take all tournament.
Of course, it is hard to sustain that sort of shooting but it was promising to see given Jack McVeigh was viewed as the only real volume shooting option, especially if Patty Mills went through a cold stretch or two in that regard.
On Saturday, McVeigh was one of three Boomers players to make at least three triples against Spain, with Mills and Dyson Daniels also hitting that mark in the win.
Giddey also made a pair of 3-pointers while even Landale splashed a deep shot early in the game.
MATURATION OF DYSON DANIELS IS SOMETHING TO SEE
While Giddey is the headline act for the Boomers, the development of Dyson Daniels has also significantly lifted Australia’s potential outcomes at this year’s Olympics.
Touching on the FIBA World Cup earlier, Daniels barely saw any playing time — 10 minutes throughout the entire tournament to be exact — as Goorjian instead opted for the likes of Dante Exum, Josh Green and Matisse Thybulle.
All four bring similar sort of skills to the table and while Daniels’ defence was obviously a point of difference, his lack of upside on the offensive end meant the other three were given the vote of confidence by coach Goorjian.
To be honest, entering the Olympics it would have been very easy for Goorjian to lean towards a similar conclusion again given Daniels still looked hesitant as a scorer in his latest NBA season with the New Orleans Pelicans.
But he put his trust in Daniels as a starter and the Bendigo product gave him little reason to doubt that decision ahead of the Olympics, emerging as the team’s most-improved player in the warm-up games.
The 21-year-old carried that into Saturday’s game against Spain, making a big impact on both ends to finish with 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and a steal.
While Daniels was only credited with the one steal, that number downplays just how disruptive he was on the defensive end, expertly using his length and athleticism to make Spain work hard for its shots in halfcourt offence.
“The job Dyson Daniels did in that game, Josh Green as well, but Dyson Daniels, just picking up full court, just an absolute nuisance for the Spanish,” Bogut said.
“They’re point guards, you could see it when they were getting the ball inbounded to them, they did not want to bring the ball up. They were asking for screens at three quarter court, they were trying to get off the ball.
“I think our defence, once again, as we said leading into this, is probably going to be our staple.”
MAKING SENSE OF NO MINUTES FOR DUOP REATH
Speaking of Bogut, he has a theory as to why Duop Reath was the only healthy Boomer to not see any playing time in the win over Spain.
Dante Exum (dislocated finger) was unavailable but Reath, who also saw limited minutes in the warm-up games, was overlooked with Goorjian instead relying on Landale and Will Magnay in the big man rotation.
For Bogut, it was not a reflection of Reath being a lesser talent but his specific skills not suiting what the Boomers needed in this specific game.
“People questioning why he’s not playing, he’s more of a pick-and-pop five man. Rolling is not his strength,” Bogut said.
“His strength is pick-and-pop and shooting really well from the three-point line.
“Jock and Magnay are really good rollers. With the way we run our offence, we don’t really need a pop guy right now. I think that hurts him (Reath) a little bit.”
Bogut also said that Magnay is “probably defensively ahead” of Reath at the moment, with the Boomers coaching staff seemingly more confident in the 26-year-old’s as a rim protector.
Goorjian did go back to Reath in the final warm-up game against France and it isn’t as if the Portland Trail Blazers big man is a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option.
If the Boomers need a floor-spacing big man, Reath will get his minutes.
Given the results in the warm-up games and against Spain, you would have to think Goorjian and the Australian coaching staff have earned trust in the rotations they make.
THE NEXT CHALLENGE
As impressive as Saturday’s win was, the Boomers face a completely different challenge when they play a Canada team led by OKC Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
He is the head of the snake but there is plenty of talent on this Canada roster, with Gilgeous-Alexander headlining a backcourt that also features championship-winning Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, although he came off the bench in the win against Greece.
As if that is not enough already, then add in a host of 3-and-D players in Lu Dort, Dillon Brooks, RJ Barrett, Nikeil Alexander-Walker and Andrew Nembhard and Canada has the kind of team that is stylistically built to match the Boomers and with superior on-paper talent.
This is the kind of game where Matisse Thybulle would have been very handy but it is an opportunity for Daniels and his on-ball defence to prove the difference when he gets the assignment of trying to stop Gilgeous-Alexander.
“The most important player is going to be Dyson Daniels because he’s going to get SGA,” Bogut said.
“I think if he slows down SGA, they do like to have SGA bring the ball up, so just wearing him down, turning him in the back court, trying to get his legs for later on in the game. I hope Dyson Daniels starts on him.”
Beyond that, Goorjian could also opt to make a change to his starting line-up should Canada play small, with Josh Green potentially coming in for Nick Kay.
Dante Exum is also an option if fit, although he may come off the bench instead either way even if available.
This will easily be Australia’s biggest test in the group stage but at least the Boomers started off the tournament with a victory, easing the pressure on them given this would be a must-win game otherwise.
Instead, while a win is obviously the goal, the Boomers need to at minimum make sure they keep it close to make the most of the handy points differential boost they got from the Spain result.
Bogut said he believes Canada is “beatable”.
“I think they play in ebbs and flows,” he added.
“I think they can front run a little bit and they can get in their own head a little bit. I think our physicality is what can probably win this game.”
Source Agencies
