Game 2: Opals 55 - Spain 58

Cambage started but fouled out in only 6:43. Probably would have been handy if Tolo had been in the 12.
28 turnovers for the team

*Talbot 16, 3r, 3s, 4to
Hodges 10, 3r
*Jarry 8, 3a, 4to
Ebzery 8, 3to
George 7, 6r, 3to
*Cambage 3, 4to
*Mitchell 1, 4r, 6a
Batkovic 1, 3r
Madgen 1
*Burton 0, 5r, 3a
Allen 0, 3r
Lavey 0

I'm waiting for a Joyce quote about the great defence Burton and Lavey played in this game.

Opals 54 - Italy 46

Lavey & Ebzery got the start this time.

*Cambage 15, 9r, 3b, 4to
*Talbot 8, 4r
*Lavey 8, 3r, 3to
Jarry 6, 4r, 3to
*Burton 5, 6r
Madgen 4
Hodges 3, 3r
Allen 3
George 2, 4r
Mitchell 0, 3a
Batkovic 0, 3r, 4to
*Ebzery 0
Tolo DNP

What up with Bec Allen?

Is she not playing many minutes because she is out of favour, hurt or something else.

With Taylor coming back it looks like her spot is surprisingly at risk with Talbot, Ebzery and Jarry ahead of her (going by play in this current tour).

No, it sure isn't, considering the opposition.

Proper boxscore is here:
http://www.fibalivestats.com/u/FIP/295757/index_en_AU.html

"I still think Allen will get the nod over Ebzery due to her length."

They're totally different players so I don't see them as battling for the same spot. But Allen definitely does seem on the outer. 13 minutes in the blowout of Argentina, but then < 3 min vs Spain and now just 5:33 vs Italy. I know there are 12 players to give minutes to, but I would have thought everyone would be getting 10+ just so the coaches can assess them fairly.


"Why is burton getting close to 25 mins every game"

Because:
"It was a game we had to grind it out defensively with a tremendous defensive effort with Steph Talbot and Nat Burton leading the way."
;)

All is well. We beat an understrength Belgium team, proving that no changes are required.

Still haven't seen full stats for this one, but

Opals 81 - Belgium 59

Lavey 2 (1/2)
Mitchell 5 (1/4, 1/3)
Allen 6 (3/4, 0/1)
Talbot 8 (4/7, 0/1)
Batkovic 3 (1/5)
Burton 4 (1/2, 0/1)
Jarry 2 (1/4, 0/1)
Hodges 2 (0/3)
Madgen 10 (2/3, 2/3)
Ebzery 13 (3/5, 1/1)
Cambage 26 (8/9)
George 0 (0/1)

Most rebounds: Cambage (7)
Most assists: Mitchell (3)

Opals 82 - Cameroon 28

Lavey 11 (1/2, 3/4)
Mitchell 9 (1/4, 2/3)
Allen 7 (2/3, 1/2)
Talbot 11 (3/7, 1/3)
Batkovic 2 (0/3, 0/1)
Burton 1 (0/1)
Jarry 5 (2/5, 0/1)
Hodges 0 (0/3)
Madgen 2 (1/4, 0/2)
Ebzery 16 (2/4, 3/4)
Cambage 12 (4/7)
George 6 (2/4)

Most Rebounds: Talbot (10)
Most Assists: Mitchell (6)
Five Dicks: Cambage (??? Thank Google Translate for that useful stat)

Canada are a problem. They play a slow pace and don't let the Opals get out on the break and have really improved over the last few years.

Some pretty uninspiring results this week.
Once again Liz was very effective while she was on the court, but fouled out way too quickly. Too much reliance on her at the moment. We seem to struggle to put points on the board without her.
On the plus side, it's great that Tolo is back in action. 20 minutes is a nice hit-out for her.

Boxscores from France

Opals 90 - China 69
http://www.fibalivestats.com/u/FFBB/296826/index_en_AU.html

Opals 60 - Canada 72
http://www.fibalivestats.com/u/FFBB/296827/index.html

Opals 50 - France 58
http://www.fibalivestats.com/u/FFBB/296825/index_en_AU.html

It doesn't look like France played great with Yacoubou and Dumerc shooting 3-20 between them.

Yacoubou seems like a player that can draw a lot of fouls.

Joyce is going straight ride or die with Burton as a main rotation player.

Here's a combined boxscore for the tour - not including the blowout over Cameroon

Nice one Luuuc, if Mitchell can improve her shooting she has the highest percentage of assists, could be a gun if her shots were to drop more often?

Also, a shame Blicsavs was injured at the wrong time and couldn't have been with this team, she would be just what they need IMHO.

Great shooter, has height, strong rebounder and moves well over the floor plus can defend medium talls and smalls.

While Cambage 16 & 7 in only 16 minutes seems pretty good

Yeah, Cambage by far the standout player of the tour. Those numbers per minute are just dominant. I sure hope the foul trouble is something she can adjust to when it really matters though.

Looking at the minutes, and keeping in mind that a healthy Penny Taylor is an automatic inclusion into the 12, Talbot's spot seems pretty safe. Bec Allen on the other hand seems to be in Joyce's doghouse, which is a surprise to me.

I have been encouraged by Joyce's willingness to play Ebzery & Madgen, and I feel like they have both done pretty well with their opportunities. Katie-Rae in particular is a player I have wanted in the side, but I feared she wouldn't get a fair chance to prove herself. The chance came on this tour and she has staked her claim pretty well - even earning herself 4 starts. Tess has been solid too, but my guess is that she will ultimately be the one cut for Phillips, as they're both similar combo guards.

The front court is still a log jam, and other than this tour confirming Joyce's love of all things Burton, I'm not really sure what else to make of it. < 10 minutes per game for both Batkovic & George is especially odd when you consider how few minutes Cambage has played.

And yes, Bear, I agree with you about the Blicavs situation. There is a lot of sameness about our front court options.

Great work Luuuc! Thank you for all your updates.

I too don't understand Brandon's decisions re allocation of minutes in the game. Natalie's results for the minutes played are a clear indicator that she's not ready for this level of competition.

Playing Players <10 minutes? Not sure what that's about? These minutes would have been broken up through quarters. Couple of minutes here and there would not allow for any rhythm.

If trying to justify tye final decision by employing these tactics it's not in the interest of Basketball Australia.

To be able to determine which players are best they need to be given similar opportunities.

But on the other hand, Brandon might already know what some players bring to the table, due to their caliber and doesn't need to play them as many minutes.

He might be giving more minutes only to players he needs to asses and exposure to some younger players at this level of competition to help prepare them for future events.

Time will tell!

Joyce is just going through the motions, his teams been picked from the start....


His 4 yr contract is up after rio

i would hate to think that tha's the case.

Would he not want to finish on a good note and ensure Australian Women retain their high standing in the world? At least I hope that's the case. If not than he should be gone before the contract runs out!

I am sure Basketball Australia would be happy to sign another 4 year contract with a couch who inspires players and earns trust from public and players.

Luuuc

Would love to see the games matrix inclusive of the last game. Any chance of the updated version?

Titan 34, the one I posted above includes the last game (the loss to France).
The only game it doesn't include is the 82-28 rout of Cameroon, which I purposely omitted because I figured that a meaningless blowout like that would skew the numbers (eg. Bec Allen started that game and played nearly 20 minutes. She never got close to that amount of time in any other game).

But here are the numbers with all games included:





And just for fun, here are the same numbers adjusted to a "per 40 minutes" baseline.
(Shooting percentages stay the same so I haven't bothered to include them again)

Awesome! Thank you Luuuc

I see what you mean. Sorry I misunderstood the first matrix. Nice to have all though.

Like the comparison based on a 40 minute baseline. It's quite telling even if it doesn't include +/- effectiveness.

I am sure there was an impact on players performance when given 1 minute to 3 minute stints. Also, to assess properly the effectiveness of an individual they should be provided with similar opportunities, which was not the case during this tour of Europe.

OMG...... Burton !!!!!!!!
I know your 40min stats line was for "fun" but nothing funny about those stats at all, and she will still make that team

( walks away shaking his head and putting it down to one of life's great mysteries)

Top 5s from tour per 40 mins:

Scoring - Cambage, Ebzery, Batkovic, Tolo, Lavey

Rebounding - Cambage, Batkovic, George, Burton, Talbot

Assists - Mitchell, Talbot, Lavey, Burton, Hodges

TOs (fewest) - Madgen, Hodges, Burton, Allen, Mitchell

2pFG% - Cambage, Tolo, Lavey, George, Madgen

3pFG% - Ebzery, Lavey, Madgen, Talbot, Mitchell

^^agree totally, not buttons fault at all, and hopefully BA sees sense

https://twitter.com/Brendan_Joyce12/status/741542056473075713
@Brendan_Joyce12
When you score 1must then be part of another important part of the game.It's called defence its not measured by many but measured by us!+-s

This is perhaps the first national team head coach subtweet to the hoops.com.au community.

Its clear the guy is a basketball genius and nothing he does should be questioned. Hopefully BA sign him up to a new 12 year deal.

http://www.botinagy.com/blog/opals-must-select-best-12-for-rio/

Of course you must select the best 12, it's what criteria you use to judge the best 12 that makes it tricky. If you could just pick the 12 best scorers and they'd magically function as a team then you wouldn't need a coach, but sadly it doesn't work that way.

Great article Boti!

Boti comes through with the clutch article.

Great job!

Putting Burton aside, who is in your best 12 out of Cambage, Batkovic, Hodges, Tolo, George and Bishop and why? What criteria do you use?

Same for Taylor, Allen Talbot, Ebzery, Jarry, Blicavs and Madgen on the wings? Do you go on individual performances in the WNBL, individual performances for the Opals or who has played best with other combinations for the Opals?

The article should have been called Don't pick Natalie Burton, because it didn't touch on the concept of the 'best 12' at all.

If past performance is any guide BJ will become more stubborn as the criticism mounts.

To me the selection is puzzling in itself but the amount of minutes Burton gets is just mind boggling.

Joyce hates to be proven wrong, will never admit he's wrong , his ego outweighs any form of rational thinking. He has HIS ideas and is not interested in looking at anything else...... That is a total recipie for disaster as far as coaching goes, only have to look at his past track record, though anyone who's been around him while coaching will tell you he will tell you constantly how well he's done, how many Olympics he's been too..... He omits to say as assistant with no say, and his epic fails as head coach with men due to having eyes only for his son on the court

So you can put down any amount of suggested lists, only thing for certain is burton and Lavey WILL be on it, stats mean nothing

Just hope they do well, but then in some way I hope they tank so BA will get rid of Joyce and the women's program can get back on track.

when does the team get picked?

Abby Bishop leaves Storm to chase dream of playing for Australia in 2016 Rio Olympic Games

http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/storm/abby-bishop-leaves-storm-to-chase-dream-of-playing-for-australia-in-2016-rio-olympic-games/

#589541

I think Lavey has proven she belongs on the international stage.

Joyce was right on that occasion when he plucked her from obscurity a few years ago when she couldn't get off the wnbl bench.

Boti made a lot of good points about Burton. With her age and lack of development I find it hard to see how 20+ minutes a game is justified.

I'd like to see spot minutes for Allen at the 4. She is very light although her length makes it possible for her to hold up defensively as a small stretch 4. Although it looks like she is very much out of favour with Brendan "The Special One" Joyce.

Can Lavey guard at the Olympic level?? can she guard Penny Taylor or Erin Phillips as they are the closest Aus equivalent to the US guards

Lavey is fine as long as no one plays defence on her !!!!.

She did deserve more mins in WNBL than what she got at Bendigo, but to me she's still only at development level for the international stage and has a limited game.
And not really sure they need her on this team, but she is better than burton that's for sure

Think what annoys people is Joyce's blatant favouritism that he has for certain players regardless of their ability and also his blatant dislike of others again regardless of their ability, O'Hea is a prime example., a player of her size and ability and experience Joyce won't even consider.

What he likes about Burton isn't statable. So there is no point trying to decipher her stats and interpret what he sees. Her game fits his structure and that's why he likes her. It is obviously hard for people who prefer individual brilliance in terms of scoring/rebounding etc to understand. But it looks like everyone will have to get over it and accept it cause he seems to want to pick her.
As someone else asked, who would you put in ahead of her? And the article Boti wrote should definitely be titled "Don't Pick Burton."

Not a Trump supporter (at all), and never said she should be in it. I was simply saying he likes her for an obviously mysterious reason (for some), and it isn't for her stats. No amount of Burton bashing is going to change the outcome and quite frankly it's in poor taste.

No disrespect to penaluna , but she can't stay sound long enough to,play a game, she may be a better player than burton, but she's not reliable enough fior a national side.
But the rest definitely should be ahead of burton.
Not Burtons fault though if Joyce seeing something no other person on the planet does .

The reason I say penny Taylor is because some may not have seen Maya More, sue Bird, Dianna Tourassi, Lindsey Whalen or Angel McCoughtry play. And they are all at or above Penny's standard as Guards..

Umm they are in every team they play in except team USA

She is listed as a forward only because Whalen is on the team. Ben Simmons will play the point but he is listed as a foreword also. she is the Lebron of the WNBA. Can play multiple positions which includes playing the point when Whalen is out.

Lavey is a Joyce favourite as well as Burton. The WNBL finals was her best chance to impress but her main claim to fame was endless over dribbling and unreliable rushed shooting. Phillips, Mitchell at the point, Taylor, Ebzery covering the 2 spot

Bec Allen leaving for the USA and Abby Bishop heading back for camps in Australia at the same time is a little strange.

There is a lot of talk about the selections of Joyce and little to none with Lemanis.

There was Ben Simmons being left off the team in 2014 and AJ Ogilvy not being selected in this current squad.

It seems like Joyce loves to 'discover' players and feel like he has something to do with their development. Almost the power to make or break a player. A person with a very healthy ego would thrive in this position of power.

Lemanis seems happy to take ready made name brand players and fit the style of play to their strengths.

If Lemanis took say Lucas Walker and Kyle Adnam to Rio over say Brock Motum and Delly there would questions asked (not a great comparison to taking Burton and Lavey although not too far off).


I think its fine to back a coach to select his own team although perhaps some sort of committee could be looked at in the future, especially when the head coaches last head coaching role involved stuff like this... http://www.hoops.com.au/forum/14692-brendan-joyce-takes-it-to-another-level/