Shane Heal: What’s really wrong with Boomers at Paris Olympics

The Boomers may have lost to Canada but it may just prove to be a match that makes the future of Australian basketball.

Canada have shown the Boomers just where they want to be. Photo: Getty Images

COMMENT

The Australian Boomers have now shown that they can mix it with the big boys, despite losing 93-83 to Canada overnight.

This Canadian team can be a contender for years to come with young, legitimate NBA stars that are only going to get better.

They have gapped the European powerhouse countries that rely too heavily on one or two superstars.

Serbia, who have one of the greatest players in the world in Nikola Jokic, are the perfect example.

Greece is another country that rely too heavily on Giannis Antetokounmpo. Their loss to Spain clearly exposed their lack of quality depth on the world stage.

I still think Australia are a legitimate chance to medal at this tournament. I’m confident we can beat Greece in the next matchup.

No game is easy, but we have more quality depth.

But our chances to get back on the podium could depend on their matchup in the crossovers and hopefully avoiding the USA, but I have no doubt that we can beat Serbia, Germany and France on our night.

Josh Giddey and the Boomers showed plenty. Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP

It also gives me confidence that the Boomers have done a good job of blooding young stars for the future while still retaining some veteran experience, something that the Opals have neglected to do.

Players like Giddey, Daniels and Josh Green are at the start of their international careers and are only going to keep getting better, while having others like Jock Landale and Exum in their prime.

The Boomers will be looking for shooters and scorers in the next wave of Aussie talent about to hit the NBA.

We need players that can hit shots, coming in to replace some of our stars like Patty Mills, Joe Ingles and Matthew Dellavedova, who have been stalwarts for the Boomers over the last 12-16 years.

Our future is bright and I see the Boomers continuing to grow and competing for medals for years to come.

The game proved a tight tussle, with the Boomers leading at the half against the most talented NBA-laden Canadian team ever assembled.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the best players in the world today, a contender for NBA MVP, and in some luck for the Boomers he got two early fouls in the first quarter and was forced to sit out for the remainder of the first quarter.

SGA wasn’t an NBA MVP finalist for nothing. Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP

This enabled the Boomers to build some momentum on the back of a dominant first half from Aussie star Josh Giddey.

Giddey, who has struggled to prove he is a consistent three-point shooter, was driving his way to the hoop and hitting some tough shots from deep.

Dyson Daniels is proving to be one of the greatest Australian defenders of all time and was also contributing at the offensive end.

In another positive for Australia, Dante Exum returned from a finger injury that threatened his Olympic campaign and made his presence felt immediately.

Exum adds an extra positive element for the Boomers with his size and ability to carry the ball and contribute in scoring. Things were looking good going into the break with a 49-45 lead at the half.

The second half showed that we are still a step behind Canada and the USA at this tournament.

When the pressure was really applied, we struggled to score and turned the ball over too many times to have a legitimate chance of beating this quality and stacked Canadian team.

RJ Barrett, who stars for the Toronto Raptors in the NBA, showed his talents scoring 24 points and seven rebounds while Gilgeous-Alexander showed class scoring tough baskets he created on his own.

The Boomers actually gave Canada a run for their money. Photo by Sameer Al-Doumy / AFP

They have players that make plays out of nothing and hit tough shots in the clutch, something we were lacking when the game was on the line.

Patty Mills struggled all night and finished only 2/10 of his attempts while coughing up four turnovers.

If Patty isn’t scoring he becomes tough for Goorjian to play for long stretches against the top teams who create matchup problems for him at the defensive end.

In all we had 18 turnovers to our 17 assists, a fatal combination in the end.

At full strength I don’t see anyone beating the USA and Canada. They have too much depth and too many options to score, especially with the ability to create baskets against tough defence.

– Shane Heal is a four-time Olympic basketball star for the Boomers, including captaining the 2004 Athens Olympic team. He is writing exclusively for news.com.au during the Paris Olympics.

Originally published as Shane Heal: What’s really wrong with Boomers at Paris Olympics