What will China's team be like? Any prominent players at the moment?

Wasn't Brian Goorjian their coach for a while? Probably knows a bit about them?

It's quite strange we are gonna have 17 players suiting up apparently. No idea how playing time will be distributed.

Maybe Exum/Green/Giddey don't play due to recent NBA commitments?

We have tickets for Tuesday night, i hope its not in Bendigo!

Ha sorry thought these two were in Bendigo.

John Cain Arena

China's roster anywhere?

Landale, Green and Exum being rested tonight for the Boomers

Dam this is exactly like the WC.

Yep, no Jock Landale tonight

Nice exclamation point on the end of the 1st quarter dominance by China

Inspiring basketball from the boomers so far...

poor defense

Apart from Reath, the guys not in the nba actually look like they give a shit.

We need McVeigh at the Olympics as a shot maker.

McVeigh can pack his bag for Paris.

Yep I've seen enough too!

Mcveigh will have his problems against size but he gives us something that no other Australian does offensively, and his defensive effort is always there.

Mills
Goulding or Vasljevic
Exum
Green
Thybulle
Daniels
Giddey
Mcveigh
Cooks
Magnay
Reath
Landale

Out?
Dellevedova
Ingles
White
Kay

McVeigh cementing himself a roster spot in 10 minutes of play. Credit to him.

Looks like McVeigh can play some wing as well rather than a pure 4.

We will lack height at Olympics, need a 7 plus footer. Cooks looks a bit lost, Reath fine, Mills is still our best point guard.

Mills hasn't been the pg for sometime.
The only 7 fter we had, thon maker now plays for South Sudan.

I didn't feel that Patty was the best point guard.

Hansen Yang the 7'1 19y.o has more than held his own.

China didn't come with any of their best players, they're a completely young U21. We lost 48 points in the first half.

Maker isn't good enough, I’d be taking Rocco, yes, very young but has height. Thybulle clearly our best defender, if Mills ain’t the point Delly got be given a chance, no where near convince on Daniel’s, or Giddey. Inglis been good, McVeigh obviously, Reath ok, rest early days.

Totally off subject but a little bit to do with world basketball, the highest paid sportsman in Germany is a basketballer, not footballer and I believe he isn't in their Olympic team.

Maker is underrated. Currently, Maker is a better player than Rocco.

Patty
8:19 / 0 PTS (FG 0-2) / 2 REB / 1 AST / 1 BLK / -3

Giddey
7:57 / 2 PTS (FG 1-4) / 3 REB / 3 AST / 1 STL / -1

Maker is very much underated and will likely show that in paris.

Well we seem to be going with the same old thing, no structured offence and no responsibility. If this team is all over to Gidey, no hope. This just looks like the world cup mark 2.

McVeigh's assertiveness is huge, probably offers more than anyone not called Patty Mills in this department. Surely gets on the plane accordingly. Trouble for CG43

Love Rocco, but he'd get torn to shreds if he found the court during any game this Olympics.

Nbl guys plus Inglis doing better than nba guys and yes delly ex nba. Goulding should be there as well, McVeigh is a certainty.

Yeah, Rocco is the future but I don't think he's the now

Zikarsky was well off the mark vs japan just a 2 weeks ago.

JJ's might want to look at backup plans if McVeigh carries this form to Paris....

Delly been fantastic at the point, much better team play.

Kay all at sea again, players from all nations just go right by him.

Unfortunately, Kay's prime time is over. He can't play defense anymore.

Thybule
Daniels
Ingles
Kay

All not super tonight, will the whole team be picked on Form?

Would probably be ingles time tooif we had another wing that could shoot. Furphy needs a year or two. Mcveigh the only other.

Idiotic head-butt followed by a Mick Pennisi-caliber dive

Not needed from Reath but that flop from the Chinese player puts CG43 to shame.

Reath usually keeps his cool, stupid from him. Cant have that.

Even if you perform well against China's U21 team, you may not be able to do the same against the Euro or the USA. That's why you shouldn't choose a player simply by looking at this game.

Reath looking like a different player than the passive high screen dude we saw at the World Cup, NBA has done him good. I hope he stays this aggressive, as between that and McVeigh we are far less one dimensional on offense with these two playing like this.

Unpopular opinion, but is Giddey an automatic selection? Don't think he fits.

Lock

Giddey
Exum
Green
Reath
Landale
Mills
Thybule

Thybulle

Yeah Giddey is the elephant in the room. IMO he should go because his ceiling is still very high and he could the face of Aussie b-ball once the vets go for good, but right now I'm not convinced he's a starter or even 10+ mins guy if for no other reason than he can't seem to shed the casual NBA-style attempted highlight play passes that become turnovers half the time.

The Dellavedovassaince is on. We move the ball much more vigour when he's on the court.

Not sure if Giddey and Daniels play Boomers basketball, which makes for some awkward times ahead

Exum may be a better option as starting pg.

Pity Simmons did not live up to the hype, much needed at pf or pg.

The Select team that played against the Japanese team can easily beat the China U21 team by 20 points. That's why the China this time is a very weak team.

Delly has confidence and good judgement, Giddey has confidence, Daniels has neither.

Hi everyone I'm new to this but I'm more worried about Joe Biden being our national coach

Anyone got the boxscores?

Why can't Australia play tougher opponents in the warm up games. Really bugs me our team won’t be prepared by the Olympics.

McVeigh was great but second unit did a great job to close out the game. China has talent, they definitely need an NBL team.

I agree with your comments about Giddey, Angus.

https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/NWBL/2448188/bs.html

The team looks a lot better when Delly runs it. Giddey takes the air out of the ball too much. You cant play fast paced "Boomers basketball" when one guy seems to be winding the clock down only for some clumsy chuck to come of it. He may come good when the team has some half court sets sorted out but for now, I have a hard time looking past Delly for a spot.

Jack McVeigh is in the team. Unless the guy absolutely implodes in the next game I dont know how theyll be able to look the Australian public in the face and say Jack McVeigh didnt make it.

The following guys didnt help their chances - Dyson Daniels, Jack White, DJ Vaselivic (he wasnt going to make it anyway), Nick Kay and I dont think Will Magnay stamped himself there either .

Goulding was Goulding but everything he brings is provided for in McVeigh.

I could easily see 5 of those 6 miss out.

Ingles will be selected but I'm not totally enamoured with his last few tournaments either.

What we saw tonight wasn't really "boomers basketball" seeing that Patty and Giddey had limited minutes, and that Dante and Green didn't play. I think that would change the complextion of play quite dramatically.

Goorjian is right, this team is best when they're going downhill. But can Giddey run a team that way or does he have a certain dribble count he has to reach to ensure he's imposed his will enough on the situation?

If it had been Vickerman instead of Goorjian, he would have won by 50 points today.

I said it in a previous thread RE: Giddey, I'm loving the rational, realistic discourse about his game happening in this forum. The way people in Australian basketball media talk about him online is akin to Filipinos and Kai Sotto - utter delusion.

He unfortunately doesn’t play winning basketball. Ball stopper, can’t shoot and can’t defend. He makes a cool pass now and then but he’s turnover prone and he’s not someone that can command an offense/break down the defense consistently.

Based on this one game, albeit against 'just' a u21 team, I’d drop Daniels and Vasiljevic immediately, and most likely Goulding, White and Kay.

Thank goodness McVeigh and Reath looked so good out there, and I will be very happy if they can take that form to Paris.

A lot of the Boomers seemed to struggle on d tonight, getting blown past easily. That scares me, because the opposition will be miles tougher in Paris.

Keepin Goulding for sure.

"He unfortunately doesn't play winning basketball. Ball stopper, can’t shoot and can’t defend. He makes a cool pass now and then but he’s turnover prone and he’s not someone that can command an offense/break down the defense consistently."

What scares me is Goorjian says everyone is on the chopping block but I dont think he can see past the idea of Giddey running this team. I dont think anyone would debate whether Giddey deserves to be on the team but Im not convinced he's our starting point guard, or even that he deserves more than 10-15 minutes. If anything his skills may be better used attacking from the wing than running the point. I thought Delly was leaps and bounds better at running the team.

"Based on this one game, albeit against 'just' a u21 team, I’d drop Daniels and Vasiljevic immediately, and most likely Goulding, White and Kay."

Absolutely agree. I know Daniels has 'potential' but I dont think hiring for potential is any better than carrying someone who is over just because of their name (cough Ingles). If theyre not ready today, they shouldnt be there. We have enough youth on this team to achieve our succession plans.

"A lot of the Boomers seemed to struggle on d tonight, getting blown past easily. That scares me, because the opposition will be miles tougher in Paris."

A lot to do with our team defensive structures I suspect.

I don't trust Delly and Goulding at all. They performed very poorly against top teams in the most important matches at the 2019 World Cup and 2021 Olympics. Their offense only works against weak teams. They have also been problematic defensively due to their small size. At the Olympics, we don't face an Asian team.

Patty's prime time is over.
Giddey and Daniels are talented, but they have too many shortcomings in offense to be core.
I think it will be difficult for us to win even one game in the group stage at the Olympics.

I disagree wbout Delly at the world cup, he was unfit and fresh from injury in 2021. His being undersized didnt hurt him in 2019 or 2016 though and he hasnt got shorter. If size is your main concern I think you're overlooking a lot.

Goulding doesnt provide enough outside of shooting to be taken, not with Jack McVeigh doing what he's doing.

I didn't say 2023 World Cup. I said 2019 World Cup.

Delly vs Spain
6 PTS (FG 2/9, 2P 0/4, 3P 2/5) / 4 REB / 9 AST / 1 STL / 6 TOV / 3 PF

Delly vs France
4 PTS (FG 2/9, 2P 2/4, 3P 0/5) / 4 REB / 5 AST / 1 TOV / 3 PF

I will never bag Kay. He probably shouldn't go to Paris but the guy has always shown up for the green and gold. And while not his best tonight, I thought he showed more energy than some of the younger NBA heroes.
He won't go HoF like Mills or Ingles but should get a massive standing ovation when his time is up.

WMW is a better fit than Giddey, didn't even make the selection. Kay has been solid but defensively now should not make it.

Just watched the China game, and here are some thoughts:

That second-quarter lineup of Duop Reath, Will Magnay, Joe Ingles, Matisse Thybulle, and Dyson Daniels really turned the game around. The double-big setup with Magnay and Reath worked wonders, so if they can click, then Jock Landale and Reath can too. After just one game, I'm thinking we might take three bigs. I thought Magnay was solid.

Jack McVeigh just about locked in his ticket (stole Gouldings?) , and I'm ready to say he takes CG designated sniper spot. McVeigh can do everything Goulding can but with more size, which is crucial for handling the big wings that Goulding struggles with. It’s just one game, but McVeigh seems more suited for those bigger wing defenders.

Cooks was very solid today, but he does seem to perform well against smaller (Asian?) teams and kind of disappears against the bigger teams.

I agree with the 7 locks listed above, we are really picking 5 players from the remaining, I’m gonna say, Magnay, Cooks, Ingles and then McVeigh and Delly?

Yep, right now WMW is without question our best PG for international play. Our team would work so much smoother with him starting at point.

Are we certain Goorjian even has the option of dropping the 'face of Australian basketball'? BA has too much invested in Giddey as the poster boy, the new Messiah after Mills, so maybe Goorjian’s hands are tied in that regard.

I’m glad to see others being as dubious about Giddey - I’ve been saying the same for 2-3 years now.

Fwiw I loved the way the team played in the last quarter - teamwork, unselfishness, movement and confident finishing. And guess who was off at the time ???

Agree with all Yup said, except, for me, I'm going with White over Cooks (he can do everything Cokks can, and also shoot)

I'm not sold in Ingles. Yes, he's been outstanding in the green & gold, but international ball is past him now.

I'd be happy with Delly over Giddey. Most likely wont happen, but you loose nothing and gain some beeter offensive flow and effort on D.
Agree with Screeningnick, WMW would be ideal on this team.

I feel there's a place for Magnay over Kay, especially against a string frontcourt of olympic opposition. (Just don't switch up high like we did against Germany.)

Agree Hoopie, the flow was so much better without Giddey on the court.

Giddey - Mills - Thybulle - Cooks - Reath

A lot of people are blaming Giddey.
But I'm going to blame the Boomers coaching staff for thinking of this lineup and actually executing it.
This lineup can't play to Giddey's strengths at all.

This discourse around Giddey is pure insanity.

You can argue if he's not a perfect fit with some guys, but he's clearly in our best 6-7 players.

On paper he's our best player.

Last WC best (and almost only) performer. Lead the team in points and assists, 11th best scorer for the tourney with 19.6 PPG on 54% shooting....
(PS- that's just a year ago)

And you're arguing Delly passing the ball to McVeigh tonight makes him a better fit that Giddey's 5 mins.....

I think some people are reading too much into the NBA meme pages. He's a borderline NBA All star calibre player in a team of NBA role players.

Let's take a deep breath. Let's give him more than 5 minutes before we drop him from our squad (lol).

Totally off subject but a little bit to do with world basketball, the highest paid sportsman in Germany is a basketballer, not footballer and I believe he isn't in their Olympic team.

I said it in a previous thread RE: Giddey, I'm loving the rational, realistic discourse about his game happening in this forum. The way people in Australian basketball media talk about him online is akin to Filipinos and Kai Sotto - utter delusion.

He unfortunately doesn't play winning basketball. Ball stopper, can’t shoot and can’t defend. He makes a cool pass now and then but he’s turnover prone and he’s not someone that can command an offense/break down the defense consistently.

I will say it again. Goorj should not have been entrusted with this team. Without any structure it doesn't matter how good this team is and they are the best Boomers team ever.

Still we have to take strong decisions and cut:

Ingles
Mills
Kay
Daniels

I was all for leaving out Dellavedova at previous world events but he has somehow got better again and will benefit this outfit.

Mills no chance in hell he gets cut.
I think it's clear Vasljevic and White are not making it, which leaves 15.
3 cuts to make.


Mills
Dellevedova
Goulding
Exum
Green
Thybulle
Daniels
Giddey
Ingles
Mcveigh
Cooks
Kay
Magnay
Reath
Landale


After last nights performance - Daniels would be gone, the other 2 open spots would come down to -1 big Kay or Magnay and -1 vet Ingles or Delly.
Lucky they can redeem themselves.

For me, Weedy, I'd cut Ingles and Kay, even though they’ve been fantastic contributors for the Boomers.

Goorjian being a bit 'traditional’ and loyal would suggest that Ingles will go, although he’s past it at the GOOD international level.

I think Goulding's time has come to an end...

You would be crazy not to take Magnay, need the injury coverage, and there will definitely be time when we need two true bugs on the floor at the same time. Cooks, white and Kay are not true bigs.

Projected roster (not my preferred roster)

Giddey (26) - Exum (20) - Daniels (2)
Green (25) - Mills (20)
Thybulle (15) - McVeigh (12) - Ingles (6)
Reath (20) - Kay (14)
Landale (26) - Cooks (14)

Cut - Delly, CG, DJV, White, Magnay

Goorjian used a nine-man rotation at the 2021 Olympics and 2023 World Cup. The remaining two players played in garbage time and one player played five to seven minutes.
Taking this into consideration, I created a projected roster for Goorjian to select.

I thought the ball movement was far too stagnant for the majority of the first half. Didn't like Daniels running the point, the ball stops with him, his handle, like Giddey's is bad, he picks up his dribble too often, and it usually led to inefficient offense. To be fair it didn't help that at one point he was sharing the floor with 3 non shooters.

Giddey was what he usually is, a flawed player but our best option at the point.

2nd half was much better, loved what I saw from McVeigh, he's in no question. CG was CG, a sniper, that is much needed in a team that struggles from the perimeter. I'd pick him.

Personally I'd only take one of Thybulle/Daniels as both are offensively challenged, Thybulle gets the nod for me.

I'd cut Delly/Daniels/White/DJV and one of Kay/Magnay

@ PW, report that Hartenstein is now highest paid player after receiving an 3year deal of 87 million US contract for three years.

It's maddening but unsurprising that Goorj still hasn’t implemented a shred of fluent offence among this group despite having the helm for three tournaments. He has leaned into the 'modern’ style of basketball that the likes of Giddey and Daniels have been brought up in, and want to play, when really that is just leaning into an exit from the group stage. A big misfire. That’s sport, I guess.

I think McVeigh pretty much stamped his passport last night and what I saw from Delly was good enough to take him too we look much better with him running the point than Giddey.

The five players from the 17 man squad I would leave out would be Vasiljevic, White, Daniels, Kay and unfortunately Goulding. McVeigh can give us much of what Goulding can plus his energy and at 6'8" will be more effective getting his shots off than the 6'4" Goulding who understandably doesn't have the lift he had 4-5 years ago.

I don't expect much from Mills and Ingles but Goorj isn't going to leave them out but I wouldn't be surprised if he picks Kay over Magnay due to not liking traditional bigs. Yes, Magnay is limited and Kay is technically a better player but as we saw last year at the WC you need five man insurance and due to Landale being out injured and Goorj only picking Reath, stupidly leaving out Thon, it meant Cooks had to play a lot of small ball 5.

Landale, Reath and Magnay should cover us at the five and guard against foul trouble and injuries.

Goorj wants to push downhill and generate offense from defence, justification is lack of prep time to install sophisticated offense...

When has BG ever had a sophisticated offense. His calling card has always been better cattle and aggressive D pushing refs to the limit.

@Luuuc - appreciate the Mick Pennisi reference! What a throwback.

Yup - I am fully aware and understand the rationale - I just think it is unnecessarily defeatist and inadequate

We aren't going to be the leading exponents of this style - USA and Canada - on talent, and those teams couldn’t beat the European teams with the best systems/organisation

I felt like last night we saw two sides of the coin - 'young NBA ball' (especially in the first half), and ‘traditional Boomers ball’ (especially in the second half). We all saw which one did better.

Goorjian would be smart to pick a squad which had the flexibility to do either, rather than put all his eggs in the NBA basket which, as JT pointed out, isn’t likely to succeed against the good Euro teams. For that reason, I see Delly and Magnay as players who MUST go to Paris.

I’m not convinced Ingles is up to it anymore, but he WAS a big contributor in that second half.

Cut: Ingles, DJ, White, Daniels, Kay in my opinion.

I've never been a Dyson Daniels fan, he's been advertised as a PG but has never been able to play that position effectively in any sort of high level basketball. I think we need Delly as an insurance ball handler to back up Giddey/Exum.

Like the 3 centres, I'd been starting Duop/Landale together personally.

Bring both Goulding and McVeigh IMO, we have enough athletes for them to play together.

Goulding great shooter but nothing else . Horrible defender couldn't guard a statue

Also just on the offensive issues some are concerned about with Giddey... at the last world cup we averaged 93.8 points/game, which was the highest ever at a tournament in our history.

Add in Landale/McVeigh to that team and I think we will be okay, even if it does look clunky with some overdribbling.

Just gotta get the D sorted. So maybe Daniels over Goulding then?

Daniels is a really solid on-ball defender, 2nd best we have behind Thybulle, but in a shortened rotation someone like CG43 might be a better option as he can be inserted into the game when scoring dries up. We didn't really see it last tourney, but I still feel like he has something to offer (on one end of the court, at least).

For me I would take Ingles in a lesser leadership role, and he's versatile enough to cover multiple positions if needed. Mills in a reserve role. I wasn't expecting to advocate for Delly but he might be the one PG option we have who can un-NBAify our offense when mixed with all the NBA guys we have.

Magnay gets the nod for me as backup 5 and better injury insurance for Landale/Reath over White and Kay, especially after the bigman injury problems we've had in the past couple of tourneys. Cooks is a stronger rebounder & more versatile defender than White, and in my mind McVeigh is the guy competing with White for that roster spot and I think McVeigh gets the nod:

Squad:
Mills
Ingles
Landale
Reath
Thybulle
Green
Giddey
Cooks
McVeigh
Daniels
Exum
Delly

PG:
Delly / Giddey / Exum

SG:
Green / Mills / Exum

SF:
Thybulle / McVeigh / Ingles

PF:
Reath / Cooks / McVeigh

C:
Landale / Magnay / Cooks

Offensively we have to play inside-out, with Reath and Landale being our focus. Delly gets the starting spot for me because of his ability to keep the team on-track and executing like he did last night. All the backcourt reserves can provide a scoring punch that the starters can't (with the possible exception of Green, TBD). Cooks/Magnay limited offensively but ideally one of Reath and Landale are on the court at all times.

whoops, switch CG43/Daniels on my squad. :p

The final team for mine:

Giddey / Delly / Exum
Green / Mills
Ingles / Thybulle
Cooks / McVeigh
Landale / Reath / Magnay

I like your team Zodiac but not sure why Exum is tucked away as the 3rd string PG, likely to be starting

It would never, ever, ever happen, but I would love to see how the following group would go:

Exum/Delly
Green/Mills/Goulding
McVeigh/Thybulle/Ingles
Landale/Cooks
Reath/Magnay

Everyone could sleep well at night knowing that this team would play Boomers basketball. The 2016/2019 outfits had the recipe (with 2021 delayed but just reward/epilogue). It would be sad to lose that in a generational handover.

The Giddey era so far seems like the universe ironically compensating us for missing out on Simmons

Can't ever Exum starting on a full-strength Boomers team, IMO.

If anything I would rather Delly starting over Giddey but I know that's not going to happen.

JT McVeigh starting lololololol

There is no way Giddey misses out, the old mates act will make sure of it. Just because the team averaged its highest points means jack shit, it's wins that count and defence wins big games.
I like Angus team but it’s not happening.

Don't rush to judgment. There's another game tomorrow.

On paper we really should have a better team this year than we did in Tokyo.

Tokyo team:

Aron Baynes, Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Christopher Goulding, Joshua Green, Joe Ingles, Nick Kay, Jock Landale, Patrick Mills, Duop Reath, Nathan Sobey, Matisse Thybulle

---
We only had Aron Baynes for 2 games
Matthew Dellavedova is better now than he was then, otherwise we're replacing him for Giddey - arguably an upgrade
Exum is in better form
Green is more ready
Joe Ingles probably about the same
Nick Kay likely to be replaced by Cooks, White or Magnay - an upgrade Id argue
Patty Mills has declined but it remains to be seen how much
Duop Reath has improved massively
Landale has improved
Sobey will be upgraded by Daniels, McVeigh or a range of other players
Mattisse is Mattisse
Id be surprised if Goulding made the team

The only factors that should make us any more concerned about this team than that one is a) playstyle/how the team is run and b) the competition.

There's no secret that USA, France and Canada look, on paper, a cut above everyone. But in basketball anything can happen. Then there's a logjam of teams from about 3-8th that can all beat eachother on their day and that's kind of where we look to fall.

Of course last year France completely capitulated and having all stars across your team doesn't guarantee anyone success.

But for me, Josh Giddey running the team is a question mark. If we want to medal or be in that conversation this year we need him to play a secondary role or even take on more of a scorers role. He can't run a team.

We also need to be concerned with our interiror defense. Size is still a question mark and I think we're going to need twin towers at times to combat not only tall teams, but teams with superstars who can get in the paint and draw fouls. Magnay probably should be selected and we probably should go three bigs.

Either way the mood around the Boomers has changed a lot since 2021. I think we're all a lot more grounded in our projections for them than we had been for a decade before then. I don't see us as being completely out of medal contention but I think we may have more of a shot leaning back into Patty than trying to rebuild the wheel with Giddey

So good to see so much passion and discussion about the Boomers. Especially considering it's after just ONE warm up game where several didn't even hit the court. Does anyone know if there will be coverage of the warm up games being played outside of Australia?

I preferred the offence when Lemanis coached the team.

The offense was absolutely humming under Lemanis...

All those back cuts for guard lay ups and Bogut oops

Bogut, now there is a player that's sorely missed.

Ive always been a huge Bogut fan. Put a prime or even late-career Bogut on this team and suddenly youve got a medal favourite. That's how good he was. I think the Boomers played their best basketball ever in the 2016/19 campaigns under Lemanis. It just happened that they got a favourable draw and had enough continuation to get rewarded for it in 2021.

I rewatched some of last night's game today and Im glad to see that some of that enthusiasm and tenacity that was missing from the world cup is back. They may not have been running anything in particular and tactically it was a bit all over the shop but it wasn't due to a lack of effort or application. A lot of that apparent entitlement appears to be gone.

Anyone want to predict boomers 2028?

Mills
Delly
Exum
Green
Thybulle
McVeigh
White
Kay
Cooks
Reath
Landale
Magnay

Giddey up ... and out, Ozehooper? Love the team, but they will NOT leave Giddey out, and probably not Ingles either.

@ME They didn't just have enthusiasm and tenacity under Lemanis. They had a structure that allowed them to play the best basketball ever by a Boomers team. The Lemanis structure got us the medal at the Olympics as it carried over but unfortunately now we have probably our best team ever that will struggle to beat most international teams because we have no direction with our offense and are basically playing street ball.

New Zealand just came from behind to beat Croatia. If I was Croatia might have considered a small loss.

Outcome is that Slovenia now has to beat NZ to stay alive for Olympic Qualifications. NZ can afford to lose by 9.

"now we have probably our best team ever that will struggle to beat most international teams because we have no direction with our offense and are basically playing street ball."

This could be true but I might hold off until game 1 of the Olympics to really say that. I would have hoped they have some sort of concept this time around. To be fair though we scored our most points ever at the last world cup, we just struggled to stop anyone else from scoring more.

Our defence is much more of a problem than our offence

How is that possible, MaxM? We have so many NBA players in the squad (which is the world's best competition), and the rest are from the NBL (which is the second-best league in the world). LOL

No need to answer - I’m in total agreement with you.

The first half Tuesday night had some woeful defensive moments.
Yup at the moment it's all about the defence.

Can Magnay be a presence in the paint against the bigs?
Can McVeigh Giddy defend the point of attack ?
What rebalancing of combinations is required defensively without detracting too much from the offence.

It will be interesting tonight who rests.
But expecting a more focused team defence.
It just has to be.

Hooping do you know what place NZ need to reach to make the Olympics? Pretty sure only the winner makes it but not certain

Goorj has said tonight will have some more normal looking rotations, maybe only 8-10 guys getting meaningful minutes. Exum/Green/Landale all back.

This should all but confirm to us who's going to make the team or not.

"Hooping do you know what place NZ need to reach to make the Olympics? Pretty sure only the winner makes it but not certain"

Its the winner of the competition, so they have to get through Greece/Slovenia for that spot, but great start taking out Croatia (who beat Slovenia)

But next game vs Slovenia: if they win or loss by 9 points or less, Slovenia will be eliminated.

Meaning the Boomers wouldn't have to play them in their group games. Would be very handy.

I am not sure what match up we want out of Greece/Slovenia or Croatia honestly. Id be very happy with a game against NZ. Id tip us to win but they wouldn't let us do it easy that's for sure. Talent and credentials has nothing to do with New zealand basketball. They just will themselves into games and stay there. They fought USA within 10 points at the world cup. No one would have expected that before the game.

anyone happen to have any advance stats of the platying time Giddey/Mills have had on court together across the world cup and Tuesday night. The optics are always that Giddey overdribbles it and Patty barely touches the ball. I was wondering if there are any +/- metrics of that?

Goorj is kidding himself if he started Giddey/Mills.

Needs to be Giddey + Exum + Green

@Luuuc - appreciate the Mick Pennisi reference! What a throwback.

Refs blowing the pee out of it.

ME - I can't see NZ making it all the way but I agree they'd be the pick for everyone to have in their pool. Great effort but geesh the talent pool isn't great. Te Rangi still making the side says enough!

FIBA Reuben