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Rio de Janeiro
Jazz guard Joe Ingles of Australia plays regularly against the NBA stars representing the USA in the Olympics, so he recognizes what he's up against in Rio.
He also knows who's on his side.
"We've obviously got a hell of a roster ourselves," Ingles said, and the scoreboard supported his assertion: USA 98, Australia 88. And that's deceiving, because this was a 10-point game only at the very end Wednesday night.
The Australian expression for stuff like this is "good fun." That's exactly what the Boomers provided to an audience that wondered if the Americans would experience any stress in this tournament.
So it turns out that everything Ingles has been saying about Australia's basketball team is true. The Boomers are bonded, they work together well and they have NBA players who are not overwhelmed by the opponents they're facing in the Olympics.
"We're not intimidated, we're not scared of anyone," Ingles said, and the Aussies played that way all night. They were confident, assertive and competitive for 40 minutes, but they just couldn't quite finish the job.
The Aussies succeeded in creating some anticipation of a rematch for the gold medal, a prospect that seemed likely only to themselves coming into these Games. Observers "laughed at us" for having big ambitions, coach Andrej Lemanis said, but the Boomers are making believers through three games in Rio.
Australia clearly is the second-best team in Group A of the Olympic draw. The Boomers might be the second-best team in the whole tournament.
Spain and Serbia were supposed to provide the biggest challenge to the Americans. Spain already has lost to Croatia and Brazil in Group B and Australia has beaten Serbia, although that win required a strong finish Monday. All the Aussies have to do now is beat China and Venezuela, the teams the USA routed by a total of 101 points, and they'll be the group's No. 2 qualifier and position themselves to go a long way in the knockout stage next week.
The Aussies looked good Wednesday, that's for sure. Asked who impressed him, USA assistant coach Tom Thibodeau said, "Just about everybody."
San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills scored 30 points, shooting fearlessly. Former University of Utah center Andrew Bogut added 15 points and played aggressively, knocking down Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant with clean, tough fouls. Cleveland Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova contributed 11 assists.
The USA cast has changed, but there's certainly some merit in a comparison to 2012 in London, where the Americans beat Australia by 33 points in the quarterfinals. What's different? Bogut is a big part of the answer. He missed those Games following ankle surgery, and he's vital to the Boomers in Rio. His presence has multiple effects, with his impact on the court and the example of what he went through to recover from a knee injury in the NBA Finals two months ago to play for his country.
"Unbelievable, what's he's done," Lemanis said.
Ingles was complimenting the Jazz when he said they're the closest team he's ever played for, other than the Boomers. And while spending a February weekend in San Diego is not exactly punishment, it was impressive that Australia's seven NBA players got together during the All-Star break, when they could have gone their own ways.
They were determined to keep bonding, giving themselves the best chance of coming together and delivering their best stuff in Rio. They're missing Jazz guard Dante Exum in the wake of his knee injury last summer, and No. 1 overall draft pick Ben Simmons chose to skip the Olympics. The Aussies would be better with those guys, but they're awfully good as it is.
Questions will be raised about the Americans' performance Wednesday, after they had to do a lot of work to win this game. There's a reasonable explanation, though. Blame the Boomers.
Twitter: @tribkurt