Olympics 2020: Boomers beat Team USA in pre-Olympics warm-up
Nobody expected the Boomers to beat Team USA – except the Boomers themselves – and victory has the Aussies primed to achieve an Olympic first.
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Ok, Boomers, you officially have the attention of the basketball world.
Australia emphatically laid down a marker ahead of Tokyo and cemented themselves as genuine Olympic threats on Tuesday with a stunning takedown of world No. 1 USA – before star forward Joe Ingles declared he and his team aren’t afraid of anyone anymore.
For just the second time in their 55-year history, the Boomers toppled the giants of international basketball, Team USA, with a 91-83 victory in Las Vegas that backed up a gritty win over Argentina on Sunday and raises hopes that an elusive Olympic medal is not a far-fetched dream for a group that has gone so close for so long.
But while the collective basketball world was picking their jaws up off the floor having watched the USA lose consecutive games, Ingles wasn’t ready to call it an upset.
“We walked into this game tonight expecting to win,” said Ingles, who added 17 points.
“We’re right there. We’ve proved it in the past that we can compete and match it with anybody.
“No disrespect to (Team USA), they’re a hell of a team with the guys they’ve got on their roster and (coach Gregg Popovich). But we came in here expecting to win the game and that’s what we did.”
Highlighting just how dramatically things have changed for Australia over the past 12 years of this team’s development, Ingles spoke about the time he first played Team USA – getting junktime minutes in a blowout loss in the 2008 Olympic quarter-finals.
“It was less like an intimidating and more of a nervous feeling,” he said.
“Whereas we walk into these games the last few years and it’s not just Team USA, (but) you can put any team in front of us and we expect to win the game.”
Another inspirational performance from 22-point hero Patty Mills led the way in a Boomers outfit that bullied their more fancied rivals with tough, physical defence.
Goorjian’s men didn’t let the likes of Damian Lillard (22 points), Kevin Durant (17 points) and Bradley Beal (12) have any space to work the magic that has earned them NBA championships, All-Star appearances and max contracts.
And the emergence of Philadelphia 76ers guard Matisse Thybulle has given Australia a dynamic two-way player they’ve perhaps never had the luxury of picking before, and he again excelled against the USA – finishing with 12 points, three steals, three assists and two blocks.
Losing centre Aron Baynes after just four minutes, to a knee injury that is not expected to keep him out long-term, was an unexpected hurdle for coach Brian Goorjian to overcome.
But in Baynes’ place, up stepped Nick Kay, Duop Reath and Jock Landale, while Chris Goulding (11 points) shot the lights out in a game-changing 19-6 run to finish the third quarter.
In a tense final stanza, Australia briefly gave up the lead before ‘international Patty’ took over and closed out the game – with 10 of his points coming in the final 10 minutes.
But how much would snaring an Olympic medal mean to the Boomers? Well, Ingles will put it alongside marrying his wife Renae, and the birth of their three kids.
“I’ve got a wonderful wife and kids that I love dearly, but it would be right up there with having my children and my wife,” Ingles said.
“Knowing Australia has never done it, is something that’s driven us, obviously. Being so close the last couple of years puts that burning desire even deeper inside. It’s something that means so much to use.
“It would mean the world. It would mean absolutely everything to me.
“Knowing Australia has never done it, is something that’s driven us, obviously. Being so close the last couple of years puts that burning desire even deeper inside.”
Australia plays Nigeria on Wednesday (11.00am AEST) in another fantastic test of their Olympic credentials.
FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED – Matt Logue
1- THE BOOMERS NEED A FIT ARON BAYNES TO WIN A MAIDEN OLYMPIC MEDAL, although fellow big man Duop Reath has emerged as a realthreat off the bench for Australia.
Baynes limped off the court in the first quarter with a right knee injury after banging knees with USA guard Bradley Beal.
The veteran big man went straight to the locker room before returning the bench, although he sat out the remainder of thematch with ice on his knee.
Australia is already lacking big man depth, so if Baynes is ruled out, it will make it even harder for the Boomers to competewith the world’s best teams.
That said, Reath proved he will be a force for the Boomers with a strong performance against the USA while the hardworkingNick Kay also impressed off the bench.
The Boomers did a remarkable job to beat the USA with Baynes on the sidelines.
Fingers crossed Baynes’ knee injury isn’t serious, and he’ll be fit for Tokyo.
2- AGGRESSIVE JOE INGLES IS THE BEST JOE INGLES.
The Utah Jazz star set the tone for the Boomers with three threes to open the game while he was up in Kevin Durant’s facein defence.
The Boomers need Ingles to consistently produce his highest energy to go deep in the Olympics and win a medal.
3- AUSTRALIA STILL NEED TO IMPROVE ITS HALFCOURT OFFENCE TO BEAT NIGERIA, who have started their Olympic preparations in stylewith big wins over Team USA and Argentina.
The Nigerians are the talk of the basketball world with their athleticism and potent shooting getting results.
The Boomers struggled to contain USA’s fast pace and passing at stages, and Nigeria will pose a similar threat for the Australiansin Wednesday’s third exhibition game.
We will receive another realistic insight into Australia’s medal chances when they take on Nigeria – their opening Olympicgroup stage opponent.
4- COULD DANTE EXUM FORCE HIS WAY INTO THE BOOMERS’ STARTING LINE-UP? If Exum can continue to perform, he could become a moreathletic option to start with Matthew Dellavedova going back to the bench.
One thing for certain is that Matisse Thybulle will be the difference-maker off the bench for the Boomers in Tokyo with hisimpact at both ends of the floor.
5- BOOMERS PATTY MILLS IS BASKETBALL BEAUTY, especially when he runs the floor with a high tempo few players on the worldstage can match, but he needs extra help.
The likes of Matthew Dellavedova, Joe Ingles, Dante Exum and Chris Goulding must produce more to help tick over the scoreboardand to avoid player fatigue like we witnessed at the 2019 World Cup in China.
In fairness, Goulding showcased his shooting class in the third quarter for Australia, and the Boomers need the MelbourneUnited skipper to consistently maintain the rage to assist Mills in the scoring stakes.
NO ONE FEARS THE USA
Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze believes Team USA is no longer feared by rivals with the Boomers determined to pile more pre-Olympic pain.
With talent spread around the world now, Gaze believes the aura around Team USA is no longer there; evidenced by Nigeria, filled with NBA experience, causing an international boilover on Sunday.
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“No, I don’t think anyone fears them (Team USA),” Gaze said, despite labelling the United States favourites to win gold and highlighting their “phenomenal” roster.
“That (aura) has kind of worn off.”
The D’Tigers dominated Gregg Popovich’s team on the boards and drained 20 three-pointers on the way to the massive upset as their length and pace proved a problem for Team USA, who never really got going.
On the same day the sharpshooting Nigerian team upset Team USA, Matisse Thybulle made his spectacular Boomers debut.
Thybulle did a little bit of everything for the Boomers in an introduction that left players, coaches and fans alike salivating at the prospect of the American-born stopper taking it to the United States.
In Rio, Australia was forced to settle for fourth. It was the same heartbreak at the 2019 World Cup. In Tokyo, the Boomers will have something they didn’t at those tournaments.
Ben Simmons was always meant to be that guy who would come into the Boomers set-up and instantly provide something we didn’t have: the sort of athleticism and defence that didn’t just belong at the highest level but was rare even there.
It won’t be the sort of playmaking Simmons may have provided, but it will involve an elite defensive piece in Thybulle, who can stretch the floor in a way his absent Sixers teammate was never going to.
“He’s as advertised,” Gaze said.
But his defence — on its own — won’t be enough if the Boomers want to get past Team USA.
“It’s great (to have Thybulle),” Gaze said. “But when you look at the athleticism of Team USA, you need 12 of them, because they’re all freakish athletes.”
While Thybulle’s performance was a reason to get excited, the rest of the Boomers played with the sort of rust you’d expect from an opening exhibition game just days into camp.
Australia’s half-court offence looked disjointed. Thybulle, Mills and Joe Ingles were the only Boomers who found their range from deep. And, of course, allowing a 41-year-old Luis Scola — set to appear at his fifth Games — to drop 25 points isn’t a great sign for Brian Goorjian’s team.
Those problems in the half-court were a result of an aggressive Argentina defence and may actually be less of an issue against Team USA, according to Gaze, if they defend with the same energy, or lack thereof, as they did against Nigeria.
If the Boomers can get out a run and knock down their shots, like Nigeria did, there’s no reason why they can’t beat an inexperienced Team USA outfit that is still finding its feet.
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