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

Who's Hot - Spanish 17 yo PG Ricky Rubio vs Russia

Day 2 From Olympic Men's Basketball - Aussies Slip To 0-2

This is the "Redeem Team" and not the Dream Team. There are spare seats everywhere. Are we at the Kingdome?

Men's basketball from the Olympic Games has been happening all day and the picture is getting a little clearer as to who will advance to the medal rounds. Sure it is early days, but teams that have secured 2-0 records can book their ticket to the next round, while the hole is getting a little too deep if you have fallen to 0-2.

Here is a look back at what happened.

Argentina 85 defeated Australia 68

The Boomers never troubled the South Americans and Luis Scola (17pts) continued to dine out on the Green and Gold defense and Manu Ginobili (21pts, 7ass) toyed with the Aussie defense as he penetrated and dished to his wide open teammates as well as knocking down key baskets.

As for the Aussies, they look lost and not assertive at all on offense. Patrick Mills (22pts) is being aggressive but when your point guard is dominating the shot total, this is not a good sign for team play.

The team had a total of nine assists on 29 made field goals for the game. This does not reflect to well on team basketball.

Meanwhile the oppositions in their two games against the Boomers have averaged 18.5 assists and have nailed a total of 23 three's. Most of these shots are wide open and have been created through good ball movement and the extra pass.

Brad Newley (although stat efficient) who is one of the few guys that can create his own shot is running around without any purpose to his movement. He needs to somehow find a way to become more involved at the offensive end. After all, he is there to score.

The big man rotations are not working out. This area is suppose to be the team's strength but there is no cohesion here. Andrew Bogut, Matt Nielsen, David Andersen and Chris Anstey have had not found any rhythm as a combination. They need to find it quickly and I hope this is achieved in the next game against Iran.

Is it time to panic for the Aussies. No, but we need to beat Iran in the next game or the players might as well get an Olympic schedule and start preparing what events they would like to see while in Beijing. (I highly recommend athletics, hockey, tennis.....)

If the team gets off to a slow start Coach Brian Goorjian is going to have to roll the dice on his rotations. Time is ticking and there are no "W's" in the most important column.

boxscore

Lithuania 99 defeated Iran 67

Lithuania (2-0) had to rise and shine (9am tipoff) to play Iran (0-2) today after having an emotional four point win over Argentina less than 48 hours ago.

They were up to the task and thanks to the stellar play from Euro great, Sarunas Jasikevicius, the Lithunanians cruised in the second half to an easy win.

Jasikevicius finished the game with 20 points but it was his 15 first half points that set the Eastern Euros up nicely.

I must say I thought this Lithuanian team was not as strong as their past few Olympic teams but I have been proved wrong so far.

I should not have underestimated the great PG play at this level by Jasikevicius. There is no doubting he could not find his feet in the NBA but I can tell you first hand, this guy can control and win games at the international level.

I first came across Sarunas in 1995 when I was a member of the Gonzaga Bulldogs first NCAA appearance. We played the Maryland Terrapins and Jasikevicius was a member of this team. He has not looked back from those days.

Since that day I have competed against this guy too many times for my liking at the international level. He is one of those players that has the ability to control and win a game by himself. He is that good. He is truly a European great.

Back to the game. Denver Nugget Linas Kleiza lead the Baltic team with 22, while Hamed Ehadadi once again led the Iran team with 21.

A side note on Ehahadi: I'm going to go out on a limb and say that we will see Hamed and his soft touch in some NBA camp come October.

boxscore

Croatia 85 defeated Russia 78

This game was about too much Zoran Planinic and the continued red hot three point shooting from the Croatians (2-0).

Planinic a NBA cast off played an efficient game today. Shooting 7/9 on his way to 20 points helped his team control the game from start to finish.

Croatia killed the Australian team the other night from deep (12-16 3's) and that story continued against the Russians. 8-15 was the damage today.

Marco Popovic led Croatia with 22.

Russia (1-1) was led by Utah Jazz star Andrei Kirilenko who had team highs in points (18) and rebounds (6).

It doesn't get an easier for these teams as Russia plays Lithuania next and Croatia gets the defending gold medallists, Argentina.

boxscore

Greece 87 defeated Germany 64

This game was about a team of champions playing a champion team.

Germany's NBA pair of Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman could not match the team play of Greece.

Nowitzki and Kaman combined for 17 points on 4/11 shooting and 8 rebounds. I'm sure Greece would have taken that before the game.

On the other hand, Greece had 9 players trouble the scoreboard with one time NBAer Vassilis Spanoulis leading the scoring with 23.

It was the Greeks team defense that allowed them to get the easy win. They crowded and made it hard for Kaman to operate down low and double team Dirk at every opportunity.

In the end they restricted the German's to 36% from the field.

Side note: German great Detlef Schrempf has added pressure by saying a medal is needed now.

Germany plays Spain next, while Greece will play the USA.

boxscore

Spain 85 defeated China 75 (OT)

The game of the day. Spain had to fight back from being 14 points down in the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime.

Spain's electric backup backcourt of Rudy Fernandez and Ricky Rubio (17yo) ignited the Spanish fight back.

Fernandez who will play for the Portland Trailblazers this NBA season ended the game with a near triple double, 21pts, 8 ass, 9 rebs.

Rubio scored 1 point but it was his defense that sparked Spain into action. His game high 5 steals and 4 assists is what allowed them back into the game.

Knotted at 72's after regulation, Spain outscored the host nation 13-3 in the extra period.

LA Laker Pau Gasol lead Spain with 29pts and 8 rebs, while Houston Rocket Yao Ming had 11 pts and 9 rebs before fouling out.

Yi Jianlian still struggles through the Olympics. Playing 38 minutes the New Jersey Net produced 4 pts (2/4) and 9 rebs. i'm confident in saying they would be looking for a little more offensive punch from him.

Liu Wei led China with 19 points.

boxscore

USA 97 defeated Angola 76

The USA (2-0) "redeem team" played another solid and well rounded game against Angola (2-0).

Dwayne Wade continued his hot shooting (6/8) on the way to leading the Americans with 19 points. wade is leading the team in scoring @ 19 a game but the remarkable stat is he is shooting 87% from the field.

Meanwhile the Angolians played without their best player, Olimpio Cipriano, who will miss the rest of the Olympics due to a shoulder injury.

25 turnovers was the killer for the African champions and the USA converted many of these into easy fastbreak points.

The USA is now done with the easy part of their schedule. They now finish the remainder of pool play with Greece, Germany and Spain.

Angola takes on the host nation, China, next.

boxscore

GAME TIME: The Australian Opals play tomorrow night against Korea. Tipoff is 10pm Down Under time.

Blog of Note

Check out A Stern Warning. This Aussie blogger covers everything that I don't, so there is a lot to check out.

NBL News

Adelaide 36ers sign their second import, Temple grad Mark Tyndale.
Sydney Spirit hold onto nickname.
Taipans rookie Kerry Williams shines in first appearance.
Sydney Spirit down Purdue Boilermakers again. boxscore
Aaron Grabau continues to fight off injury.
Wade Helliwell to remain in Italy.

Andrew Bogut talking Olympic Hoops

Opening Ceremony and Opals Win Opener

If you were like me and fell asleep before the Aussies made an appearance, click on the link below to see highlights from the Opening Ceremony.
http://au.sports.yahoo.com/olympics/video/-/highlights/ceremonies/?autoplay_id=9187926

Earlier today the Australian Opals defeated Belarus 83-64. boxscore

David Barlow and a Great You Tube Clip

Boomers need David Barlow's shooting, not his so called versatility.

David Barlow is the next player I will breakdown as we are only days away from the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.

I believe this tournament will be a defining moment in David Barlow's international basketball career.

Dave has shown that he has become a player at the NBL level, but can he take his game to the international stage and be consistent? I think he has been unfairly tagged as Australia's next great versatile player but his outside shooting will be greatly needed in Beijing.

Sorry, but Dave is not in the same league as a Sam MacKinnon when it comes to versatility in his game.

Barlow's strength is his perimeter shooting and there is no doubt he is the best long range sniper on the team. He is near perfect with his feet set so get this guy the ball when he is open.

Barlow can handle the ball well but I would still question what happens once pressure is applied. I know we all remember the World Championships in 2006 against Greece.

He is a good athlete with length, but I can never recall him climbing above the pack and claiming that key rebound for his team. Something that MacKinnon has made a living from.

It may seem like I'm hating on Barlow but I do like his game and his attitude. I saw this first hand in Sydney but I feel their is too much expected of him.

When you have a perfect shooting game (Barlow had one during the past NBL season.) people get caught up in the hype and start seeing things that aren't really there.

Barlow needs to concentrate on being the best shooter on this squad as it will be paramount to the team's success.

He could take a leaf out of Jason Smith's book. Smith mastered a few skills that stood by him well throughout his career.

At the international level, being a master of something serves you better than being ok at everything.

The Beijing Games will be David Barlow's moment of truth on the international stage.

NEWS

Boomers getting ready to face "Redeem Team". ESPN Live 10pm est - Tuesday

Matt McQuade of nbl.com.au gives us his Olympic thoughts.

Should we read into J-Kidd getting benched against Russia?

Carlos Arroyo leaves NBA for Europe.

Opals crush Mali 112-43. (boxscore) Boxscore from day before against China.

Mavs Josh Howard caught drag racing.

Nellie defeats Cuban for $6.3 million.

Luol Deng to stay with the Chicago Bulls.

Ex Croc Vanderjagt signs with Blaze.

36ers preseason schedule.

Cairns release preseason schedule.

Bendigo Braves defeat NW Tassie in SEABL.

New Perth assistant coach Mark "Rat" Radford has parting shot.

Cairns Marlins too much for Power.

Thanks to NBLBBALL, here is a NBL classic. ENJOY!

Boomers Win While China's Yi Jianlian Is Unhappy, Jackson Injuried

Yi is not giving his coach the thumbs up.

The Australian Boomers started the FIBA Diamond Ball for Men with a solid 67-55 win over hosts China.

The Boomers displayed trademark Brian Goorjian defense which disrupted the soft Chinese all too easily. China's 24 turnovers did not allow them to get into any offensive rhythm all game.

The Boomers on the other hand had a very balanced team effort. Chris Anstey was the leading scorer with 11, while David Andersen was the only other Aussie player to reach double figures with ten.

Freshly cashed up Andrew Bogut was very solid for the Boomers. His 9 points and team leading 8 rebounds do not tell the whole story. He battled Houston Rocket centre Yao Ming on all possessions and made it a long night for Yao.

Yao lead China in scoring with 14 but Bogut's constant pressure created a team high 5 turnovers from the Chinese centre.

After watching this game (http://www.justin.tv/) I feel Yao needs to get in the weightroom and shoulder press his night away. The Chinese team is expecting their NBA All Star to create a miracle on every possession. Sure it is great to have every play ran for you (ask Andrew Gaze) but you need help to ease the pressure a little. He cannot carry this team on his shoulders alone.

Yao had no help out there tonight.

That leads me to newly acquired New Jersey Net power forward, Yi Jianlian. Yi had zero points tonight on 0/3 shooting. There is no other way to sugarcoat this, he was plain miserable.

Word is, he and head coach Jonas Kazlauskas are not seeing eye to eye. This little tiff apparently started the night before in their game against Angola (maybe due to Yi being abused in the post by Angola's Olimpio Cipriano) and obviously carried over into tonight's game.

Could this be a case of a NBA player coming home and thinking he is better than what he is? I'm betting on this being the case.

He is too good a talent to have zero effect on a game and Yao needs someone to ride shotgun with him. Point guard Liu Wei is no Robin to Yao's Batman.

Enough of the Chinese. This is a solid win for the Boomers but lets not get carried away as I don't think China will advance on their side of the draw in Beijing.

Tomorrow (Thursday) at 6pm EST will see the Aussies take on Angola. This game will be a good test as the team from Africa is a very free flowing style of team. They have the ability to put a lot of points on the board in a hurry.

This game will test our perimeter defense as the Angolans are happy to penetrate and pitch for the three.

Check out www.justin.tv/antileech for a live feed of the game.

On the women's side of things, the Australian Opals defeated the Brazilian national team for the second straight game.

The Opals ran out winners by the score of 85-62, even without the world's best women's player Lauren Jackson. Jackson sat out due to and ankle injury but should be ready in time for the FIBA Diamond Ball for Women.

Suzy Batkovic led the scoring for the Opals with 17, while series MVP Belinda Snell added 13 for the home side.

All players contributed to the end total besides defensive juggernaut Tully Bevilaqua.

Boxscore

The Opals will begin action in the Diamond Ball later this week.

In other Pre Olympic action, you can catch Team USA play Turkey on Thursday night on ESPN from 10pm. This will be live coverage.

NBL News

Gold Coast Blaze get a major sponsor.

Brian Goorjian and his most talented team, EVER!

Spirit debate still going on. Check out the Sydney Spirit website. If I'm Bendigo this is my argument. How serious are they about their name chance? Not to serious if it is still the "The Official Website Of The West Sydney Razorbacks". I will give them some credit. Punch in http://www.sydneyspirit.com.au/ and you get re-directed back to the Pigs website.

NBA News

Ron Artest has been traded to the Houston Rockets. Bobby Jackson back to the Kings.

Ex-ref gets 15 months jail.

$71 million will see Deng stay in Chicago.

NBA teams to play Euro power clubs in preseason.

Emeka Okafor will stay with Bobcats.

Something a Little Different - Former PM John Howard Rolling His Arm Over

Slingers Gone and Some Pre Olympic News

These guys will no longer be part of the NBL.

Although some whispers had started to circulate it is now official. The Singapore Slingers are no longer part of the NBL.

I can tell you that it is true that all player contracts will be honoured and the talk about the Slingers joining an Asian league is true to some degree.

Where the hitch in this master plan is, what league do they play in? Great question because I'm not sure if any league that is currently operating in Asia would open their arms and welcome in the Singapore Slingers. What do the Slingers offer as far as improving the current status of any league? I'm not sure, but I don't think much considering their roster is full of Aussies.

If any of you readers have read any of the newspaper articles, they have made comment about Bob Turner trying to start up a league over there. This is true but where will he get teams from to fill a league?

A factor that may hinder this process is time. How quickly can a league starting from scratch be up and running and also become viable? Once again I have never setup a professional league, but I'm guessing this will not happen over night. I will guess a timeline of about 12-18 months would be needed to set up something viable and long lasting.

Once again, I will keep you posted on this topic as it will be interesting to see what becomes of the Singapore Slingers. There is a small chance that Ben Knight could become a household name in Asian basketball. A status level he never reached in his own country.


Continuing with my individual breakdown of the Boomers roster, lets take a look at point guard CJ Bruton.

strengths: Bruton is entering his second Olympic campaign and is the veteran floor general this time round. Leading a rather inexperienced backcourt Bruton needs to perform at a high level for the whole two weeks of the Olympics if the Boomers are to advance to the medal round.

This is something he is capable of doing, the question is, does he want it!

CJ's offensive repertoire allows him to win games on his own. When he starts "feeling it" just sit back and enjoy the show.

Over the years Bruton has become a good quarterback in knowing when to pick his spots in a game. I just hope his radar is switched on in Beijing because how CJ goes, so do the Boomers.

weaknesses: Sometimes it seems CJ is just cruising through a game. Happy to keep everyone involved he can sometimes become too pass happy. This type of attitude from Bruton is going to be detrimental to the Boomers success.

If Bruton is happy to take a backseat and watch the youth of Australian basketball gain experience, there will be no medal chance for the Aussies.

overall: Easy said. How CJ goes, so do the Boomers.

Articles from pre Olympic games

"FIBA: It’s interesting to hear you say that you’ve got the most talented team that you have ever had. In saying this, aren’t you raising expectations?

Brian Goorjian: I’m just stating the truth. We’re underprepared and a bit disorganized, but the country hasn’t had David Andersen, Matt Nielsen and Andrew Bogut (all together) before. And we’ve added a lot of length on the perimeter since I’ve been here in Dave Barlow, (Brad) Newley, Joe Ingles. You’ve got 6ft 7in, 6ft 8in in those perimeter spots. We’ve been 6ft 2in, 6ft 3in and most of the guys in those spots were one dimensional where these guys can shoot it and put it on the floor. I know this - it’s a brighter future ahead than four years ago when we brought a lot of guys who were 29, 30 years old that had never played in Olympic Games, never played in the World Games, never played in the Commonwealth Games, due to the fact that that group to seven to eight guys had represented Australia in Three straight Olympics." - FIBA.COM

For the rest of this Q & A with Goorjian click here.

Good to see Goorj supporting his current players. I will argue his statement though. I will take an experienced Brett Maher, Jason Smith and myself over a young and inexperienced Pat Mills, Brad Newley and David Barlow.

In fact, when Smith is healthy again we would take them in a three on three contest.

In a few years time that might be a great statement by Goorj.

Australian Opals defeat Brazil ,easily. boxscore

Good news for Boomers, Russian centre struggling to be fit in time for Olympics.

Argentina slide by Iran by 10 in the FIBA Diamond Ball for Men. (boxscore)

China get win over Angola by 9 at Diamond Ball. (boxscore) Both China's NBA stars Yi Jianlian (11&6) and Yao Ming (21&5) played.

NBA News

Ref to get jail time?

What is going on with free agency and who is the best that is still left?

Kwame Brown joins the Detroit Pistons on two year deal.

Ricky Davis joins the Los Angles Clippers.

Nenad Krstic bolts for Russia.

More Vintage NBL - 1999 Highlights - Thanks NBLBBALL

Singapore Gone From NBL But Looking to Play In Asia

The Slingers had a two year roar in the NBL.

I'm not sure when this story grew legs but it is happening. The Singapore Slingers will not play in the NBL in season 2008/09.

What I'm hearing though is all player contracts will be honoured and the club is trying to play 15 exhibition games in Singapore in the upcoming months.

I'm not sure what playing exhibition games will do for a franchise without a league but I do not know the Singapore market at all.

This concept is interesting but knowing Bob Turner he must have something in the pipeline. Maybe the Slingers will join an Asian league? Would the Chinese CBA look at a team from Singapore?

I'm sure there is more to this story to come out over the next few days. I will do my best to keep you guys in the loop as it happens.

From now and until the Olympics roll around I'm going to give my scouting report on each member of the Boomers.

David Andersen

Performing in his second Olympics Andersen will be looking to have a massive Games. He has proved himself in Europe and the NBA would not shell out enough to get his services, so Andersen will be looking to prove that he is worth every penny he is paid.

strengths: May have the most well rounded offensive game of any of our interior players. Andersen will go close to leading the team in scoring. He can score his points by banging down low and going to his turn around "J" or stepping out to about fifteen feet.

He is also quite comfortable trailing the play or stepping out to three and knocking it down. Hopefully this option does not become a steady diet but his ability to stretch the defense should help create space down low for Andrew Bogut to operate.

Maybe Andersen's biggest strength is his offensive rebounding ability. He truly has a nose for the ball and gets himself easy second chance points or extra possessions for his team. This stat can really help get a team over the line in a tight game.

weakness: If he has to chase a perimeter orientated four around, this is not his game. Andersen can play some solid low post defense and helps and talks it up great on on-ball screens. He and Bogut need to "eat glass" for the Boomers to reach the medal rounds, so Andersen needs to hit the D glass with the venom he does at the offensive end.

overall: Andersen needs to have a monster Olympics for the Aussies to do well. He has an offensive game to match the best in the world at his position. How he and Bogut work together will be key.

If Andersen has a huge Games, the Boomers could play themselves into a medal game while the NBA will be begging for him to come and play.

Articles:

Mills a boon for Boomers.

"It's a good feeling, it's cool, it's a new step for me," Low said yesterday afternoon, just hours after landing in Honolulu on a flight from Salt Lake City. "I made a good decision. I'm excited to go." Words from Derrick Low, the Sydney Spirits new import. Courtesy of the Honolulu Advertiser.

Geelong Supercats need to create history to win title.

The Spirit show the kids of Armidale some skills but forget to tell the newspaper they are not the Razorbacks anymore.

Spain get by Argentina, again.

Latvian and Warriors centre Andris Biedrins set to sign a six year extension.

Australian Opals belt Brazil, 99-62 (boxscore coming), in Wollongong tonight.

Check out this latest Corey "Homicide" Williams video.

Hoop Articles From Over The Weekend

Don't forget to catch the Opals in action at home against Brazil.

Andrew Gaze thinks A-League style is not for the NBL.

Wollongong Hawks have new slogan.

Tassie is producing some good hoopers all thanks to David Munns.

Mills happy to play conductor.

Spain beat Lithuania in friendly.

A full schedule of the upcoming Diamond Ball Tournament from the 29th. The Boomers play China in their first game on the 30th.

Click here for all details about the Diamond Ball.

Matt Nielsen dips into his own pockets to get to Beijing.

Check out fellow blogger A Stern Warning's preview of the Boomers. Worth a read.

Team USA take care of Canada, easily, 120-65.

Warriors undrafted Anthony Morrow is MVP of Rocky Mountain Revue.

Scoop Jackson' Q & A with Carmelo Anthony.

Sasha Vujacic gets $15 million from Lakers.

Monta Ellis inks deal with Warriors worth $67 million.

Josh Childress leaves Hawks for Greece.

Bill Bradley's ride from Euro to USA.

Early look at what might happen this year in the NBA.

Bogut's Bucks might show signs of life, soon.

LeBron James predicts gold for Team USA. (video)

Jason Kidd to look at Europe?

The Rookie - Mike Beasley, Episode 6