Bogut calls for ex-teammate Mills to be benched as Boomers give stacked Team USA a fright

Boomers great Andrew Bogut has backed the call for former teammate Patty Mills to be dropped from the Boomers’ starting five after the veteran guard struggled in Australia’s six-point loss to Team USA in their Olympic warm-up game in Abu Dhabi.

The Boomers nearly pulled off a shock comeback win against a stacked US team, losing 98-92, having trailed by 24 points midway through the third quarter.

Australia cut the deficit to six with 5:05 left after a 39-21 run, before Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton landed a brace of three-pointers, pushing the USA’s lead back to 92-80. The Boomers kept battling and twice trimmed the gap back to four, but the US held on.

Jock Landale led Australia’s scoring with 20 points, with strong contributions from Josh Giddey (17 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) and Dyson Daniels (14), but the form of Mills, preparing for his fifth Olympics, was an issue. Mills had only five points on two-of-eight shooting, and five turnovers, in 22 minutes – extending his shooting woes from the home series against China.

At 35, there are concerns about whether Mills can again have the kind of sustained impact the Boomers need from him if they to reach the medal rounds in Paris.

Bogut, speaking on NBL Media’s The Gold Standard podcast with fellow former Boomer Brad Newley, saying it was time for Mills to be an impact player off the bench.

“Patty wasn’t great … Patty started very similarly the last couple of tournaments in the lead-ups and friendlies,” said Bogut of the 2014 NBA champion who’s now a member of the Miami Heat.

“There are concerns, obviously, looking at the way he’s playing, but this has been kind of a story for him in lead-up games for tournaments, and then he has a great tournament … but they’re gonna need more from him.”

Boomers icon Patty Mills tries to defend US star Jayson Tatum on a drive to the basket.Credit: AP

Newley, a dual-Olympian, said Dante Exum, who enjoyed a strong World Cup last year, was the better option to start – a point Bogut agreed with.

“I’m [of] a similar mind. I’d love to see Patty come off the bench and just play that kind of role,” Bogut said, noting coach Brian Goorjian was trying to split minutes between Mills and Giddey, the team’s primary playmaker.

Australia’s starting five were Giddey, Mills, Daniels, Nick Kay and Landale, all of them but the Japan-based Kay being NBA players. The US began with the elite quintet of Steph Curry, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, LeBron James and Anthony Edwards – with seven NBA MVP awards and nine championships between them.

Jock Landale (contesting the tip-off with US star Joel Embiid) led the scoring for Australia in Abu Dhabi.Credit: Getty Images

The Australians scored a stunning 68 points in the paint, highlighting their interior strength, but perimeter shooting was again an issue, going 4-18 from three. Back-up guard Matthew Dellavedova – in a four-minute cameo – and reserve big man Will Magnay also impressed, while Jack McVeigh, celebrating a two-way NBA contract with the Houston Rockets, had nine points.

“This [preparation] is great for us; [it’s] my fourth Olympics and I don’t think we’ve played a better basketball team than we’ve played tonight, man-for-man,” Boomers coach Goorjian said.

The USA’s depth was on show, highlighted by Haliburton, Jrue Holiday, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Davis and Devin Booker. That was the group on the floor when the Americans took a game that was tied at 19-19 with 3:15 left in the first and turned it into a 39-23 lead — a 20-4 run in a span of just over five minutes.

By half-time, it was 53-37.

“The strength of our team is our depth and we have to utilise our depth,” US coach Steve Kerr said.

That extra quality showed in the willingness to shoot, and ability to land, threes. The US made 12 threes from 29 attempts (a 41.3 per cent mark).

The Boomers fought back by forcing turnovers, scoring 25 points off them in the second half alone.

“[In the] third quarter, we started turning the ball over,” Kerr added.

“We gave up a ton of points at the basket. The game shifted. It’s a good lesson for us.”

For the US, Davis scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Booker had 16 points, Edwards 14 and James, Adebayo and Embiid 10 each.

The Boomers are due to meet Serbia in an exhibition game overnight (2am Wednesday AEST) in the UAE.

With AAP, AP

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