The warm-up games are done. Now attention turns towards the group stage and Australia’s tournament opener against Spain as the Boomers look to open their Paris Olympics campaign on a winning note.

While the controversial non-selection of Matisse Thybulle seemed to only cast further doubt over Australia’s chances of going deep into this year’s Games, a successful stretch of lead-up games have Boomers fans dreaming of another potential podium finish.

Brian Goorjian’s team showed fight to push Team USA before scoring three-straight wins over Serbia, Puerto Rico and France.

Ahead of Saturday night’s match-up against Spain, foxsports.com.au looks at some of the key talking points to come out of the warm-up games as the Boomers prepare for what has been described as a “pool of death”.

GETTING OUT OF THE GROUP STAGES IN ITSELF IS AN ACHIEVEMENT

Why don’t we start there because if the Boomers aren’t able to get a medal this time around, it won’t necessarily be fair to brand Paris a failure in comparison to Tokyo.

After all, just getting out of the group stage at this year’s Games will be an achievement for Australia, who play Spain, Canada and Greece in Lille.

Boomers great Andrew Bogut said on NBL Media’s ‘The Gold Standard’ podcast before the warm-up games that a podium finish would be “very hard” to achieve given not only the strength of Australia’s opponents but the do-or-die nature of Spain and Greece’s preparation.

“I hate having two qualifiers because they’re playing basketball right now. They’re playing games that matter,” Bogut said of the two nations, who will come into the Games out of qualifying tournaments where they had to earn their way into the group stage.

“They’re not playing China. They’re not playing USA in a friendly and Serbia in a friendly where there’s going to be antics and hiding sets and all that kind of stuff. These qualifiers they’re playing, they mean everything.

“So they’re running everything, they’re getting in tune and they flow into the Olympics with great form. On top of that, we have Canada.”

That, of course, is not to say that the Boomers’ warm-up games since leaving Melbourne weren’t meaningful.

For starters, they helped Josh Giddey and Jock Landale build a pick-and-roll combination that could be one of Australia’s greatest assets while Patty Mills is certainly better for the run after starting to find his shooting rhythm.

The fact the Boomers rallied late against the USA too, even if the Americans were without Kevin Durant and took the foot of the pedal a bit, has to also build confidence.

Either way, Australia’s warm-up results are definitely a reason to be optimistic, especially when you consider what the general mood seemed to be after Thybulle was left out of the squad.

But this is definitely a tricky group and if the Boomers make it out alive that in itself will be something worth celebrating.

WILL BULLS FANS GET A GLIMPSE INTO THEIR FUTURE?

Twenty points, six rebounds and eight assists.

Those were Josh Giddey’s numbers in Monday morning’s win against France and it is the kind of statline Bulls fans should come to expect from the Australian in his first season with the franchise next season.

Giddey said in his exit interview before being traded by the Thunder that he was going to have the ball in his hands “a lot more” with the Boomers, “initiating the offence and setting guys up”.

“That’s who I am as a player and to do that is exciting,” he added.

The expectation is Giddey will be able to lean into his strengths more in Chicago too and, as a result, this year’s Olympics could serve as a reminder of just how effective the 21-year-old can be in that more ball-dominant role.

Already in the warm-up games Giddey has not only flashed his obvious potential as a high-level playmaker but also his ability to get downhill and use his 6-foot-8 frame more to finish through contact in the paint.