Question Of The Day

"Goorj, we found our games, they are that way."

Text messages, e-mails and general conversation centred around one thing today, "What is wrong with the Boomers, JR?"

There is no doubting the Australian Boomers (0-2) are struggling to find any type of team cohesion right now, but their Olympic campaign is not over yet. Lets allow the next three games to play out before we pass judgement on their performance at Beijing.

Cast your mind back to the Sydney Games of 2000 . The Boomers got out of the blocks very slow during that tournament but managed to win the games that were necessary to win to advance to the medal rounds. They ended up playing in the bronze medal game.

Fast forward to 2008 and the same situation has been presented. The Boomers have looked down right dreadful during their first two games (Croatia and Argentina) but they will see there next game against Iran as a momentum builder. Iran are considered to be the easy beats of this pool so if the Boomers are to get on track, they need to win this one.

Confidence is a wonderful thing and it is only one game away. If they get past Iran, Russia is the next hurdle. Russia is 1-1 at the time of this blog so the game against Australia will be key to advancing for both teams.

That game right there might be the grand final for both teams as far as advancing to the next round.

Australia finishes pool play with Lithuania (2-0). Not exactly a team you want to be playing in a must win situation. Depending on the results of the other games played, it might just come down to that.

How will the Boomers be able to turn their fortunes around?

Start to get some production out of our big men. The quartet of Andrew Bogut, Matt Nielsen, David Andersen and Chris Anstey were suppose to be one of the team's strengths. None of these guys have been heavily involved in anything. Sure they have themselves to blame to some degree, but has anyone created and easy dunk or layup to get something happening for these guys? No!

Self pride will have to kick in you would think. The body language of many of the players is not positive. When times are tough you just need to go out there and let it "fly". What you have been doing previously has not been working so change your approach to the game.

Ball moment has been non existent and this had made all players look bad and the offense anemic. Besides Pat Mills, no player has found an offensive groove so it is imperative that the five on the court work together to create some easy opportunities for each other so team confidence can be found.

Last night against Argentina it looked like each player was trying to take it upon themselves to make it happen. It is a team sport so you need to have faith and use your teammates.

I will harp on it again, 9 assists last night. That is showing you how much team work is happening at the offensive end.

Although the Boomers have been disappointing to date, the final chapter in this story is still to come. Lets hold out judgement until the Olympic Games are over and the Boomers final result is known.

Side Note: Speaking from my own Olympic experience, I hope the players are taking in some of the other Olympic events. It is an amazing feeling when you watch a fellow countryman do something special and it takes your mind off of your own performance.

What Everyone Is Saying About The Boomers

Just In: Australain Opals continue to roll towards Olympic gold with defeat of Korea. boxscore

Boomers bounced by Argentina - Sydney Morning Herald

Boomers Stick with Losing Formula - livenews.com.au

Boomers Go Bust - sportal.com.au

Mills provides a spark for Australia - insidebayarea.com

Odds and Ends with Pat Mills - Slam Online

Fans left unhappy by Seven's coverage - Herald Sun

Bogut's Boomers a Bust - The Salt Lake Tribune

Mills plans three-flag party - smh.com.au

"He's going to be great" - Manu Ginobili on Pat Mills - insidebayarea.com

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