Well, much like this piece, it’s the game no one really wanted. Not until there was a Gold Medal on the line, anyway. Having said that, you know the Boomers have been ready for this one for 12+ years. As nice as it would have been to get some revenge on Spain, it will be equally as nice to end Team USA’s quest for Gold. Just quietly on Spain, Ricky Rubio seems to get better the longer his hair gets, no? He gave it his all with a cheeky 38-piece nugget and multiple ponytail fixes. But let’s breakdown some key things about the semi final against Team USA, which will be an almighty test for the Boomers.
Firstly,
They’re Beatable
This is something we don’t often say when talking about Team USA on the hardwood. However they’re not the same team that played Australia in the exhibition games or even France in the first game of the tournament. They didn’t have three main guys in that warm up game, and then those three were likely still hungover when they played France. Heck, Jrue Holiday may very well have been fresh out of the club at the championship parade and struggling to recite the alphabet backwards whilst standing on one leg. But make no mistake, Holiday and Devin Booker provide a new dynamic for Team USA.
They’re deep, they play nearly everyone solid minutes, and keep the game fresh and fast. So it will be interesting to see how the Boomers attack this. Whether they try to slow the game down or just beat the USA at their own game and bank on the FIBA style of play to help them. The Boomers will have to weather every storm, as we saw Spain try to multiple times. Team USA’s offensive firepower is like lockdowns right now, they just keep coming! We saw Spain’s head coach call back to back timeouts in under three minutes, to try and halt USA’s momentum. Gorj will be trying to do the same, as well as trust the veteran group to come together and slow those runs down, when they inevitably occur. On Gorj, we couldn’t get him some Aussie Kobe’s to rock? We saw him wear red Kobe’s during NBL21, as he loves to get up and down that sideline, so I’m a little flat that this wasn’t sorted.
The Big Men Battle
Spain’s bigs caused all sorts of issues to USA in the first 17 minutes of their Quarter Final. Which will always happen with the way the FIBA game is called. However, that is why not having Aron Baynes, will really hurt in this game. When Baynesy hedges ball screens, his little fingernail is strong enough to force the offense to take a back step. Not to mention his last line of defense and his overall presence underneath the rim. Without him, it’s going to be an interesting battle down low between Bam Adebayo, Draymond Green, Jock Landale and Nick Kay.
People love to treat Draymond Green like he’s the chips that are put under a parmi (don’t even), but Draymond clearly belongs! He is a huge piece to the USA puzzle. He’s the second best defender on the team, behind Jrue Holiday, and he does so many positive things that help USA. He’s essentially the American version of Nick Kay, except doesn’t always tick the scoreboard over. Does that mean Kay is better than Green?
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| @NBA… surely? |
Well no, hold your Daryl Braithwaite’s, Green is a 3x NBA Champion… and he was pivotal in every single one of those rings? But side note: Nick Kay is the absolute Don of Dons! He is as invaluable to the Boomers as any other guy on the team, and I love that those Twitter accounts who questioned his addition on this team, have either retracted their comments or become a LeBron hating account. Kay is every Aussies second favourite player, and it’s been incredible to see his rise over the last few years. Funny tidbit, Kay and myself were the last two players cut from our U19 Aus team… Now one is tearing it up on the world stage and one is writing bad previews for banter… classic. #KayforPM
Nick Kay is invaluable on this team! Defence, screens, rebounding. Does all those little things that make him the perfect fit on any team tbh.
— Peter Hooley (@PeterHooley12) July 25, 2021
This matchup will be massive. If the Boomer’s bigs can do what they’ve been doing all tournament, cleaning the glass, taking charges, walling up, knocking down outside shots, it should take a lot of pressure off the likes of Patty and Joe, and Australia should be looking good!
HoW mAnY NbA pLaYeRs Do wE hAvE?
For those tuning into basketball for the first time this Olympics, and judging each countries chances based on how many NBA players they have, let’s break it down.
Team USA – All of them. Players. Coaches. Support staff. COVID test guys. Security. All leaguers.
Boomers – We have plenty. Joe, Patty, Baynes (lace them up big fella?), Dante, Thybulle, Delly and Josh Green.
We know what we will get from FIBA Patty and Joe. They’re different beasts in the Green & Gold, and don’t we love it! I’m convinced FIBA Patty could open for us in Ashes series. He just loves playing for Australia. But they’ll need the support cast to help get the job done.
All these NBA blokes have been there, done that, and still doing that. But now there’s more. Landale has signed a deal with the Spurs! Extremely well deserved. He has been balling out for a few years now, and letting his Olympics show that he is more than ready of an NBA gig. And what better way to say thank you to the team that signed you, than to beat up on your head coach in the Olympic Semi Finals!
Goulding has shown he can do his thing on the world stage numerous times, and not to forget that he had 19 in the first half on the 76ers three years ago, before Embiid killed him. So technically speaking, he’s a leaguer.
Nick Kay would help any team win games and rings, as he’s shown. Does that mean he has an NBA future? Unsure. But he made some NBA talent already look average in the first four games of this tournament. So we’ll claim him. He’s a leaguer.
And whilst Delly doesn’t haven’t a deal yet, we all know what he brings and what he can do. So does Team USA. Mr. Aussie Spirit himself, does all the little things that don’t necessarily show up on a stat sheet, and I’m expecting him to cause some nightmares for USA guards. Let’s not forget he was a vital piece on LeBron’s championship winning team! On that, we all want the Boomers to win gold, just to see Hawaiian shirt Delly celebrating with a beer again.
Speaking of beers…
Matisse Thybulle
Doesn’t he just seem like an elite guy to have a beer with (If you haven’t seen them. Check out his Vlogs on YouTube). From all reports, Thybulle has embraced the Boomers culture quickly, both on and off the floor. He actually seems like the type of bloke to get everyone at the office a present for Secret Santa, even though he only had to get one for Phillip from accounting. But his on court presence has been super impressive. Defensively, both on and off the ball, he’s a nightmare for oppositions. He does absolutely everything on the defensive end, and does them at a world class level. I honestly believe if he played Jrue Holiday 1 on 1, that they’d both just lock each other up every possession. They’re two of the best defenders in the world.
His ability to also knock down the three consistently, means Thybulle is the X-Factor for this game. He will get a lot of opportunity to guard Kevin Durant. And while we are on the topic of Durant. He is arguably the best scorer the world has ever seen! And I say ‘arguably’ to keep the LeBron stans out of my mentions telling KD to win a real ring. So let’s cut the silly business, KD is the best scorer we have ever seen. He took over the game against Spain, and when he taps into that mindset, not even Steven Seagal could stop him. The Boomers will have their hands full if KD starts rolling.I’m just imagining a Jrue Holiday vs Matisse Thybulle 1v1 game. It might stay 0-0 forever. #Tokyo2020
— Peter Hooley (@PeterHooley12) August 3, 2021
Aussie Spirit
I could nearly call this the Jess Fox, because let’s be honest, that was incredible what she did! But, this is the one area that the Boomers will always have the edge over their opposition. It’s something that’s been built from years in the past, from the likes of Bogut, Gaze, Bradtke, Heal, Anderson etc, and something that every guy who has put on the Green & Gold (s/o ASICS for the highlighter yellow) jersey embraces. The never give up attitude, the fight, the do it for one another, is something that will give the Boomers every chance to win this game and make history! It might be 12 guys out there, but you cant help but think there’s 20+ million Aussies standing side by side thes guys in this one. Call it redemption, a reward for their hard work, call it whatever you want — but this is the game that Australia has been building towards for years. So strap yourselves in, this will be fun!
