Australian basketball great Andrew Bogut stressed concerns over the Boomers lack of consistency in their starting lineup as the side is dealt the “group of death.”
While the controversial omission of Matisse Thybulle cast doubt over Australia’s chances of going far in Paris, a successful warm-up run has instilled a new sense of hope into fans.
All four teams drawn in Group A, Canada, Greece and Spain, are widely considered to have the talent to secure a quarterfinal spot.
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But Bogut fears the yet-to-be set formation will prove to be a costly factor when the Boomers face well-oiled European teams.
“One thing I’d probably say is a negative, the line-ups still aren’t clear,” he said on The Gold Standard podcast.
Matthew Dellavedova of the Australian Boomers speaks to team mates. Getty
“We still don’t have a really direct line to this is our five, these are the three or four main guys off the bench, these five guys are finishing games.
“(Brian) Goorjian has really tinkered with it right up to the last minute. We saw Joey (Ingles) not playing early in the friendlies and then all of a sudden playing 10 minutes in some games. (Matthew Dellavedova) been in and out.
“That’s the only concern I have is who’s our go to line-up when the chips fall down. I think Goorj probably still is scratching his head and figuring that out and it’s going to be a play it by ear.
“That is a bit of a concern because as (Brad) Newley said, these teams that come through the qualification phase, they’ve got their stuff down pat. They know who their five are. They know who their three or four bench guys they can lean on, and they’ve got two or three guys that aren’t going to play much.
“It’s all churning like a motor, right? We’re not at that stage yet. I think that’s a little bit of a concern for me.”
Dante Exum of Australia drives to the basket past Devin Booker of the United States. Getty
The Boomers are at risk to lose Dante Exum in their early matches as the star continues to recover from a compound dislocation to his finger.
“Missing Dante early is a huge out and will have a huge impact,” Newley said.
“How they replace him, I think they will just have to play more minutes.”
“(They’re) rolling the dice though, keeping him (Dante),” Bogut added.
“I mean, finger through the skin – I’m not great with laceration timelines, but I think you’re at least a week, if not more. They need Dante there later in the tournament, but it might not be until game four or game five.
“If anyone has played ball sports, it’s not even contact from another player…. if you get hit with the ball nice and hard on a hard pass it could open up that wound again. So, a dice roll there by the Boomers coaching staff.”
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Boomers captain Patty Mills NBAE via Getty Images
The Boomers will face Spain for the first time on Saturday since their 2016 bronze medal match in Rio, where the Aussies were beaten in the final seconds.
The Spaniards come into the tournament as the number two ranked team, recording the second most men’s Olympic basketball medals (three silver and one bronze) behind the USA.
Despite defending their bronze medal efforts from Tokyo, Bogut believes the Boomers can produce a confident start to their Olympic campaign.
“They’ve just been our bogey team,” he said of Spain.
“The lucky bounce, the phantom referee call, a guy who hits a tough shot, we miss a wide-open shot. It just always happens against Spain for us.
“Australia are heavy favourites going into this game…I don’t know if we should be that heavy. I think these games are much closer than most people realise.”
The match will tip off at 7 pm AEST on Saturday, July 27.