What the Boomers need to fix for the medal rounds

IT MAY be too late to draft Ben Simmons into the squad, but Australia can pull off a miracle if it fixes these things.

Matthew Dellavedova was good. Not perfect.

IN the aftermath of Australia’s Olympic basketball defeat against the USA, much of the focus has been on an encouraging but ultimately fruitless effort — and Paul George’s claims the Boomers are “dirty”.

But what actually cost them the game — and what do they need to do better to pull off the unthinkable if they meet the tournament favourites in the medal rounds? These are the key issues that need to be addressed.

Forget all that stuff about “dirty” play. There are more important things to think about.

CLEAN UP THE BOARDS

It’s not sexy, but Australia’s game started and ended on the defensive glass. Both of Carmelo Anthony’s opening two three-pointers came after his teammates’ misses and by the end of the game the offensive rebounding differential was the decisive statistic.

There were an inordinate number of US shots that bounced long off the rim — but you can’t put a 21-8 discrepancy down to bad luck. The Boomers were simply caught ball-watching too often.

DeMarcus Cousins is a handful down there but it was a team effort by the US, as all but one of their 12 players found the offensive glass. For an Australian team that has taken care of detail better than any in the tournament, this area was surprising and soul-destroying for coach Andrej Lemanis.

Andrew Bogut (one defensive rebound in 26 minutes) and Aron Baynes (one in 17) have to be better, but if they’re in a wrestle the guards need to help too.

Bogut needs to pick up more rebounds.

BENCH BAYNES FOR ANDERSEN

Putting Baynes back in the game for crunch time instead of riding the hot hand of David Andersen was a bit of a headscratcher. Neither showed any ability to hang with game MVP Carmelo Anthony, but at least Andersen — with his silky smooth jump shot — went some way to squaring things up offensively.

With his overgrown red beard and tight top knot, Baynes has adopted the look of a WWE star for the Olympics. But right now he’s a wrestler without a finishing move. The big man was 0/5 from the field — almost every shot from within a couple of feet of the rim.

If he’s not contributing in attack there’s no reason to have him out there, because Australia is at a disadvantage attempting to guard mobile power forwards with Andrew Bogut also on the floor. “They had a big guy guarding him,” Team USA star Kevin Durant said of Australia’s strategy for Anthony. “Nobody can guard him, especially the big guys.”

Andersen — who finished with 13 points on 5/6 shooting — may be the better option next time.

Aron Baynes — a wrestler without a finishing move.

IMPROVE WING PLAY

Joe Ingles would have been feeling good after nailing his first three-pointer of the game but three off-the-ball fouls quickly ruined his night. He spent most of the first half rooted to the bench and when he came back in the second half was unable to hit big shots when the Boomers needed them.

Ryan Broekhoff was just as ineffectual. He’s in this team to knock down shots and didn’t make one field goal. The sequence in the second quarter where he missed a wide open corner three before being knocked to the ground in a tangle of bodies in the paint made him look like a boy among men.

The lack of punch from these two wasn’t noticed as much because Kevin Durant and Paul George went a combined 6/22 at the other end, but Australia can’t bank on that happening twice.

Joe Ingles (left) had to watch much of the game from the bench.

STARS NEED TO STEP UP MORE

You can’t ask for anything more from Patty Mills. He was sensational, hitting five threes on his way to 30 points. Matthew Dellavedova and Andrew Bogut were also very good, but if Australia is going to pull off an Olympic miracle they have to be great.

Let’s start with Delly. He’s the best true point guard in the tournament (let’s not gloss over how amazing that is) and finished with double digit assists for the third consecutive game. But he didn’t look for his shot often enough at the right time. He was 5/7 from the field if you don’t count that forced end-of-the-shotclock three-pointer in the final term and needs to keep attacking the basket when the defence is expecting a pass.

Bogut very well could have added a couple of million to his next NBA deal with his play on DeMarcus Cousins and DeAndre Jordan in the first half. He barely missed and was clearly the best big man on the floor despite going up against two of the NBA’s best centres. Unfortunately he seemed more focused on delivering fouls than field goals after the main break and it showed as Australia only managed 34 second-half points.

Matthew Dellavedova was excellent, but could have been better.

CALL BEN SIMMONS

Like the US — which is missing LeBron James and Steph Curry — Australia is in Rio without its most talented basketballer. Ben Simmons would not have been the star of this team if he chose to come to the Olympics instead of preparing for his first season in the NBA as Philadelphia’s No. 1 draft pick. But how handy would it be to have a confident ball-handler like the 20-year-old from Melbourne coming off the bench when Dellavedova sits?

The Boomers had an eight-point lead when Delly exited the game for the first time in the first quarter. Their offensive sets were disorganised for the next two minutes and within that span the US regained the lead.

Simmons may not be the most perfect fit in a group whose success has come in large part through their commitment to each other. But he’d run the offence better than undersized scrappers Kevin Lisch and Damian Martin — neither whom played well enough to allow Lemanis to keep them on the floor.

Sometimes talent is all that matters. “If they had Simmons in this game,” one NBA general manager told ESPN.com after the game. “Australia wins.”

Gee, it’d be nice to have Ben Simmons in Rio.