The Australian Boomers' preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics are about to ramp up in a significant way.
With less than two weeks before the Opening Ceremony, the Boomers are in Abu Dhabi for exhibition games against a pair of teams in contention to compete for a gold medal in Paris: Team USA and Serbia.
It'll be an opportunity to see how the 12-man group Brian Goorjian selected competes against one of the most talented USA teams ever assembled, as well as a Serbian squad that's led by one of the best players in the world right now in Nikola Jokic.
Pre-Olympic exhibition game schedule (AEST):
Tuesday, 2am: Australian Boomers vs. Team USA
Wednesday, 2am: Australian Boomers vs. Serbia
Thursday, 2am: Team USA vs. Serbia
*All games will take place at Etihad Arena, and will be broadcast in Australia on ESPN.
Team USA is being led by the likes of Stephen Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant -- though the latter will miss the matchup against Australia due to a calf injury -- with the NBA All-Star laden squad the overwhelming favourite to win it all at the Olympics. Serbia is coming off a silver medal finish at last year's FIBA World Cup, and have since added Jokic -- a three-time NBA MVP -- back into the fold.
The Boomers have a talented team, but are the obvious underdogs going into both games. In saying that, the results of these warmup contests will be secondary to the indicators on show for all teams involved, and there's a lot to keep an eye on as the Olympics draws nearer.
Rotation hints to look out for
Every team will continue to do their best not to reveal too much ahead of arriving in Paris.
The Boomers' offence against China, for example, was sub-par, but we barely saw any of the actions they're actually going to run at the Olympics. It was also a mishmash of lineups and rotations, purely to get a gauge of who should or shouldn't be selected for the final team. The same goes for Team USA's game against Canada last week, where we saw maybe a quarter and a half of meaningful basketball before it turned into a glorified pickup game.
Now that the final Boomers team has been chosen, and as we get closer to the Olympics -- the opening ceremony is on July 26 in Paris -- we can start to pick up clues when it comes to where some players sit within the rotation.
There remains a question of who starts for the Boomers. As it stands, there are two locks: Josh Giddey and Jock Landale. The overwhelming likelihood - one that was amplified after the selections effectively dictated this to be the case - is that the starting four-spot will go to Nick Kay. There seems to be a good chance the two wing spots will go to Josh Green and Dyson Daniels, but, while that's probably the best bet for the Boomers opening game of the Olympics, we may still see some tweaks in the lead-up.
Patty Mills had an extremely poor showing during those two warmup games against China, but is a proven FIBA scorer, so there may still be some consideration into including him in a starting lineup that, if it were the players listed above, is lacking some of that. Exum will play the point when Giddey isn't on the floor - but, also, don't be surprised if we see some lineups with Exum at the one and Giddey at the four - and he can also play on the wing and is a much-improved shooter, so inserting him with the starting group could also make a lot of sense.
READ: Rose-gold tinted glasses? Has Goorjian selected the right Boomers squad?
The big-man rotation will also be one worth watching. Landale's ability as a roller and a second shot creator locks him in as a starter, but there may be a fight as to who backs him up. Duop Reath is an extremely effective offensive player - and a reliable shooter for a team that lacks it - but there's a reason why Will Magnay basically made this team halfway through the first day of the selection camp. Goorjian has made no secret in wanting to increase the toughness and defensive capacity of these Boomers and, for what Magnay gives up in size, he makes up for in his motor, athleticism, and timing at the rim. All of that is saying: don't be surprised if, at this moment, Magnay is currently penciled in as the back-up five-man.
What role does Joe Ingles play on this team, considering it was a last minute consideration that even had him selected for it? Matthew Dellavedova has demonstrated his ability in the FIBA game and is going to Paris ahead of someone like Matisse Thybulle, so where are the spots the coaching staff feels comfortable inserting him? How often will this team go small and throw Giddey, or Exum, or Daniels, or Green at the four-spot, instead of a traditional bigger guy? This coaching staff won't reveal everything, but the Olympics is less than two weeks away so getting meaningful reps against legitimate competition would be extremely valuable.
Team USA and Serbia: the ideal preparation
Up until this point, the Boomers' only warmup games have been against a low-level China team.
Now, those were largely in place as a way for Goorjian and his coaching staff to look inwards and cut down the 17-man squad to a final 12-man team, but the standard of competition was so low that there was no real way to get any meaningful indicators from those two matchups.
The two games in Abu Dhabi are vastly different. Team USA has brought one of the greatest international teams, on paper, ever assembled, while Serbia is the cream of the crop when it comes to the European nations who could legitimately fight for a gold medal. The goal isn't necessarily to win these games, but being able to compete at the level with both of these teams, and find the points of difference against them, would be ideal for Goorjian to take away from the week in the Middle East.
"For us, it's putting ourselves up against the best competition possible, as early as possible," Landale said on Saturday.
"It kind of helps us bleed our group and figure out what works and what doesn't work, especially against the teams that are gonna be in the competition at the end. I feel as though this is a great task for us in just figuring out what our identity is and what we're trying to accomplish. I think, going forward, these games will kind of define our tournament."
It's especially important because of what the Boomers are about to face in the group stages at the Olympics. There's a good argument that this USA side is an elevated version of the Canada team the Boomers will face in their group; a team with elite NBA-level guards, who have big and athletic wings on the perimeter. There's no better way for Australia to prepare for Canada, than to go up against a USA team that's similar stylistically and more talented.
The same can be said for Serbia, who have some similarities to the Greek team Australia will face in the group phase. Serbia has an elite post target in Jokic -- he, of course, does more than that, but that's where he's most effective in the halfcourt -- as well as a high-level FIBA point guard in Vasilije Micic, surrounded by effective shooters, on a team that's played together for a meaningful period of team. It's ideal preparation for when the Boomers have to face Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nick Calathes, and the rest of the Greece team that excels in a similar way.
"We're playing two really great teams," Danté Exum said. "Obviously the US and the star power they're bringing. But, also Serbia. They've been a team that's competed at a high level on world basketball for a while now, and some of the players they have. I think it's good just to have two different styles of basketball that we have to go up against. One night's gonna be a different game plan going into the next night."
The same can be said for the Australia matchup for both USA and Serbia. The Boomers made some surprising cuts ahead of the Olympics, with the goal to lean into more toughness than what they exhibited at the World Cup, and that's a sentiment that's almost exclusive to the Australians. That unique style of play is one that's good for both of those powerhouses to get a taste of before heading to Paris, and it'll be interesting to see how effective it is against two of the world's high-level teams.
That's hopeful identity of these Boomers: toughness and grit
Finding a point of difference was key for the Boomers' coaching staff.
It was always broadcast by the group that they weren't attempting to beat the Europeans at their own game. Of course, there's no point trying to compete with the North American teams in a track meet, either.
The first practice after the squad was whittled down to the final 12 was the best and most competitive of all, Goorjian told ESPN ahead of leaving for Abu Dhabi, and that came after an impassioned speech to the group from the veteran head coach.
The selection decisions were deliberate, with that toughness element at the front of mind. The return of Landale is also extremely important, in that regard. It's not a material thing, and going away from some other attributes may end up biting this team, but it was the direction Goorjian and his staff wanted to go in and they leant completely into it.
"I think the intensity's gone up a notch," Landale said.
"That says a lot, given how intense the selection camp was. That's something we need to maintain, and we've touched on it a lot. it's not: make the team and then relax. It's: make the team and then let's go another step. I think we've done a good job in maintaining that and putting that in place.
"We're in a good spot. Defensively, I think we're an elite team who can really play against the best. Offensively, it's just about finding the structure that really fits our group best, and that's always the challenge with any team.
"We tick a big box, which is just playing with effort and grit. That's something that sometimes you can't teach. For us, that's 90 percent of the battle, and now it's just the Xs and Os we've got to nut down."