Delly may be forced to shoot Boomers to victory against Lithuania

HE’S known for his creative genius on the court but Boomer Matthew Dellavedova could be forced to shoot Australia to victory in tomorrow’s quarterfinal.

Australia's guard Matthew Dellavedova (L) holds off USA's guard Paul George during a Men's round Group A basketball match between Australia and USA at the Carioca Arena 1 in Rio de Janeiro on August 10, 2016 during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. / AFP PHOTO / Andrej ISAKOVIC

MATTHEW Dellavedova could be forced to shoot the Boomers to victory in tomorrow morning’s quarterfinal against Lithuania in Rio, according to two-time Olympian CJ Bruton.

The Milwaukee Bucks point guard leads the Olympics in assists with 8.6 per game and has orchestrated a free-flowing Australian offence, which averages 88.8 points in Brazil, the second best behind Team USA.

Matthew Dellavedova in action during the Rio Olympics Men's Basketball game between Australia and China at the Carioca Arena, Olympic Park. Pics Adam Head

But as the Boomers head into the knockout stages with the goal of winning their first ever Olympic medal, Bruton said he believed Lithuania would make Dellavedova beat them from the outside.

“Knowing Lithuania and their coach, I think they’ll sit off Delly and try and make him a shooter,” he said.

“I think rather than allowing Delly to get everyone else involved and have Australia’s offence rolling like it was in the group stages, they’ll force him to beat them himself.

“I just hope that if they do that, that Delly is confident and that he takes those shots and knocks them down. He can’t turn down wide open shots if they’re giving them to him. He can make those shots.”

Along with Dellavedova leading the Olympics in assists, San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills is second on points, with 20.8 points per game and shooting 48.3 per cent from the field.

But Bruton expects Lithuania to key in on Mills defensively and said this would be a game where others need to step up and share the load.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL — AUGUST 14: Matthew Dellavedova #8 and members of the Australian team stretch prior to the preliminary round game against Venezuela at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 14, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

“If this turns into a game where it’s hard for Patty to get some wide open shots then we need a real team effort on the offensive end of the floor,” he said.

“We’ve got the players to do it and they have shown they can do it so far in the group stages. I think they all have a system that suits the players we have and if we can do that tonight, we’ll be looking good moving forward.

“Our defence also needs to continue to be as tough as it has been so far. Delly and (Andrew) Bogut have done a great job anchoring our defence and everyone else is feeding off that.”

Despite only knowing who they will face in the quarterfinal a day ago, Bruton, who represented Australia at the 2004 and 2008 Games, said preparation would not be an issue.

Mick Downer has been named as an assistant coach of the Brisbane Bullets National Basketball League team. Picture: John Gass

“The coaching stuff and support stuff, guys like Mick Downer, would have scouted all these teams months and months ago — it’s not something you find out then do your scouting in a day,” he said.

“I think the Boomers have shown how good their preparation has been so far as far as the coaching staff’s scouts and the players actually going out and executing them.

“As a player, having those scouting reports prepared already and having the ability to go watch 25 edits of their offences and their tendencies, is huge.

“So then as a player, you know what their signals are, know what each player does if you get switched onto him on defence and those sorts of things. It does a lot for a player, especially in a final, being prepared as they can so they can go out and get the job done.”

The teams will play tomorrow at 12am (AEST).

In the women’s competition, the Opals will return from an Olympic Games without a medal for the first time since 1992 after losing 73-71 to Serbia this morning.

Australia is the first team to be undefeated during the group stages and lose in the quarterfinals.