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

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

Aussie All Stars vs China Game 2 - video footage

Our team doctor getting Razorbacks Matt Knight ready to take on the Chinese.

Things you find when you are sitting around a airport. Here is some footage from Game 2 of our game in Ningbo on Sunday night. Enjoy the action and the commentating!

I still have not arrived home from China yet, but I have a lazy three hours to waste in the Brisbane Qantas Club so I will get you up to speed on what is happening in hoops today.

As reported months ago right here, Sam MacKinnon has signed with the Melbourne Tigers. MacKinnon signed a three year deal so if the Tigers can get 30 games out of him they should regard this signing as a success.

All jokes aside, with the departure of Dave Thomas (Cairns Taipans) this signing could not have worked out any better for the Melbourne club. MacKinnon will slot in nicely to this lineup and assume the role that Thomas provided for the Tigers. Only danger for oppositions here is, Mackinnon is a little more versatile.

Look for the Tigers to start favourites for the title in season 2008/09.

The Australian Boomers went down to Croatia in their opening game of the Acropolis Cup in Greece.

The Boomers went down 71-69. Going 2-28 from the land of plenty (3's) after quarter time did not help their cause.

Chris Anstey (12), CJ Bruton (11), Pat Mills (10) and Brad Newley (10) led the scoring for the green and gold.

Tomorrow we take on the host nation, Greece.

Aleks Maric (Pacers) kicked off his Summer League action with a solid first up outing. 6pts, 4 rebs, 3 assts, 3 blks and 2 stls was his stat line.

Julius Hodge (Nets) is also in action at the Orlando Summer League. (boxscores here)

Aaron Bruce is with Oklahoma City but he did not dress for their game.

Crocs new signing Brad Williamson has a little Q&A.

In 2010 the Australian Boomers will play in India as part of the first ever Commonwealth Basketball Championships.

Although basketball is one and done as far as being part of the Commonwealth Games, India will host this virgin tournament about a month before the 2010 Comm Games.

Just a little BLING I picked up in my recent travels.

China Takes Game 2 Against NBL All Stars

Yi had a lazy double double.

A Yaoless Team China had a narrow victory over the Aussie All Stars last night in Ningbo in front of 7000 screaming fans.

The final score was 66-61 but the way the game began everyone was thinking we would be lucky to get to fifty points combined.

First the first six and a half minutes the game saw six points scored, and all were by the Aussies. After that the Chinese team went on a scoring spree for the remainder of the quarter. The quarter time score ended at ten apiece.

The first quarter was marred by turnovers and scrappy play from both teams.

The second quarter seemed like a scoring bonanza with both teams managing nineteen points each in the quarter leaving the half time score locked at 29-29.

The Aussies were the better team in the first half and should have capitalized on their good defense the really limited the Chinese perimeter game. If you have not seen the Chinese team play, they rely on the three ball more than me.

Too many turnovers was the story for the Aussies. Fourteen first half TO's was the downfall for the team. The way we were playing we should have held a ten point lead by half time. Not to be though.

The third was played like the second period. Ugly basketball by two teams that were disrupting each other very well. The Chinese won the quarter by one, 20-19.

The fourth quarter become a free throw shooting game for the Chinese. The All Stars racked up four team fouls within minutes of the quarter starting. The home team knocked them down at a good rate and the Aussie offense could run as efficient.

The All Stars really tested the Chinese team tonight and were unlucky not to steal a win.

There is no doubting that Yao Ming will make a difference when or if he returns to the team but I cannot see this team getting out of the first round at the Olympics.

Their backcourt is not quite at international standard right now and that means less touches for Yao.

Yi needs to be able to dominate for this team at times. He should have against the talent he was playing against in the Aussie All Stars, but it seemed he would have preferred to be elsewhere.

When Yao is absent, Yi needs to be the man for this team. I'm not sold that he is there yet.

Trends of the Game

The first quarter was the ugliest basketball I have maybe ever seen. My memory is not giving me anything better than what I saw tonight. The Aussies played some great defense during this period, hence the 10 point period for the Chinese.

New Jersey Nets fans may note that Yi Jianlian did not seem to want to play in the first half. There is no doubting his talent but his team would like to see him play with a little more urgency I would imagine. To his credit he the big plays for his team down the stretch, both on offense and defense.

His final stat line will read pretty good but he was the recipient of some very good "home cooking". He will not see this at the Olympics or in the NBA.

17pts (4-7 fgs, 9-13 fts), 14 rebs (4off) and 4 blks.

Singapore Slinger fans will be happy to know that Darren Ng was in an groove tonight. Ng lead the Aussies with 16pts (7-14 fgs, 2-3 3pa) and 2 steals.

The game had quite a disparity in the foul department. 31-11 was the foul count against the Aussies which allowed the Chinese to make a trip to the foul line 42 times. The All Stars shot 9.

Aussie Stats

Oscar Forman - 5 points, 4 rebounds and 4 TO's

Rhys Carter - 2 pts, 4 TO's

Peter Crawford - 11 pts, 3 rebs and 7 TO's

Cam Tragardh - 6 pts and 6 rebs

Greg Vanderjagt - 6 pts

Matt Knight - 4 boards

Matt Burston - 4 pts and 8 rebs

Cam Tovey - 1 reb

Alex Loughton - 11 pts, 4 rebs and 6 assts

One way to get around the streets of China.

Please excuse my lack of blogging for the next day or two as I will be travelling home.

1.3 Billion Can Watch

Yi Jianlian fronts the media oncourt immediately after the game.

I am currently on the other side of the equator, more specifically China, and I can tell you that basketball here is alive and strong.

So strong, in fact, that basketball has become China’s number one sport. Its growth and development has risen as a result of the team’s emergence as a force on the international stage. Having an NBA superstar like Yao Ming promoting the game doesn’t hurt either. But the big guy is not the only famous face here. All the top players are stars in their home land.

Just to give you a taste of their popularity, they arrived at the hotel on Thursday night via police escort and they needed it. The hotel lobby was overflowing with fans trying to get a glimpse at these guys, so they needed assistance just to make their way to the hotel elevator. They did take some time to pose for photos and signatures along the way for a few members of the hotel staff.

Since Team China’s arrival into town, even the attention we draw from the locals in the city of Wuxi has changed dramatically. We had been able to roam around the city at our leisure, generating only the occasional tourist type glance.

Not anymore. We will now join the motorcade to and from the game, complete with our own police escort.

Game One will be telecast live throughout China so the likes of Peter Crawford and Greg Vanderjagt could potentially be watched by 1.3 billion people.

After this game, we will immediately depart for Ningbo, which requires another three hour bus ride. Here we will play the second and final game of the tour.

Again we will not be alone on the road. The two teams will also be joined by the marketing company hosting the event.

Anywhere from 60-100 media outlets will be covering our two games series and they will have their own bus.

And last but not least, the TV crew has their crew and equipment. All in all five buses will be escorted out of town headed for Ningbo.

It is truly an amazing thing to be a part of.

Basketball in Australia will find it difficult to operate at this level if for no other reason than the huge difference in population, but it does demonstrate how the success of your national team on an international stage really does go a long way toward boosting the profile of your sport on your home ground.

Peter Crawford being presented with the trophy.

My weekly column can be found in the Townsville Bulletin every Saturday.

NBL All Stars Go Down To China

Some of the boys taking a break from the action.


Last night at the Wuxi Indoor Sports Arena the NBL All Stars went down to Team China 89-73.

People back home can be proud of how this team played in their first of two games on tour.


After getting out of the blocks slow we clawed our way back into the game by half time. Keeping the Chinese team to 11 second quarter points helped us get some momentum happening going into halftime. When the buzzer sounded for half time the All Stars had a one point lead (37-36).

But as it always seems to happen in China the home team began to gain ascendancy in the game during the third term.


The Chinese team managed to knock down some threes during this quarter while our offense went through some lean times. It was former NBA player Wang Zhizhi that was the catalyst behind the revival of the Chinese offense.

During the fourth we could not manage a significant run to where we could really cut into their lead. They always maintained a seven to eight point buffer until they hit a few threes in the last minute to blow the score out to a 16 point deficit.

Notes from the game:

New Zealand Breakers Oscar Forman got out of the blocks fast for us with eight first quarter points. He finished with 12pts, 2rebs, 2assists

South Dragons Matt Burston played a typical Matt Burston game. He has a knack of finding the ball around the rim. He was our leading scorer with 14pts and added 4rebs to his stats.

Only other player to reach double figures for us was Greg Vanderjagt. The currently unemployed Vanderjagt had 11pts and 4rebs for the night.

Current NBA player Yi Jianlian was China's leading scorer with 22pts and 8rebs. His athletic ability along with his skill set really identifies him as the best talent on the court.

Yao Ming did not play due to injury.

Rhys Carter had 6pts, 4assists and 3 steals.
Peter Crawford had 2pts, 2assts and 2stls.
Darren Ng had 6pts.
Cam Tragardh had 6pts.
Matt Knight had 2pts and 5 boards.
Cam Tovey went for 7pts, 5rebs and 2assists.
Alex Loughton had 7pts and 6rebs.

Tomorrow we move out and head to Ningbo for the last game on Sunday.

With a feel for our opposition now, our performance on Sunday should be a lot more polished and could see a win coming our way.

My McDonalds Crocs discount card did not work in here.

Andrew Gaze in a Press Conference after the mornings shoot around.

Some of the boys during a timeout.