What's with the boomer coaches?

Not including Mills in the NZ series is maddest.

Mills was left out because there is still concerns with his shoulder. I understand it was a mutual agreement not AUS refusing to pick him.

Mills has played every year for the AUS team. I think he deserves the rest before Olympics

I think its as good a team as possible. Definitely concerns over the wings. Having both Martin and Gibbo in there behind Delly and Dante is interesting. I guess the thought is that New Zealand will probably play small with an attack from the three point line so getting in small quick defenders in there is preferable. I think I still would have gone with Blanchfield over one of them though.

Just a couple of changes from the 2014 World Cup team.

Defensively we should be strong, per usual, but without Mills, Baynes AND Ingles I'm worried about our ability to score...

I'm sure that Lemanis is expecting very balanced scoring from the team, but guys like Goulding, Motum, Broekhoff, Newley and/or Dellavedova may have to step up and take a few more shots than their accustomed to (internationally).

Bogut, Bairstow, Jawai and Anderson, this will be interesting to see...

"Bogut, Bairstow, Jawai and Anderson, this will be interesting to see..."

I think it will work ok. I'd assume Bogut and Jawai will play at C with Bairstow and Motum at the 4, with Andersen going between the two spots.

The Euro teams will be warming up for the Euro Cup, which is their Olympic qualifier, so they should field strong teams.

I'd expect a rotation of something along the lines of:

C Bogut (35)/Jawai (5)
PF Andersen (15)/ Motum (15)/Bairstow (10)
SF Broekhoff (20)/Newley (20)
SG Exum (20)/Goulding (10)/Gibson (5)/Broekhoff (5)
PG Dellavedova (30)/Martin (5)/Exum (5)

I don't mind the selections, I think Blanchfield for Gibson/Martin would be a bit so, so. Probably wouldn't make much difference.

I think your rotations are solid, though I'd probably cut them a bit. I'd probably be starting Motum or Bairstow with those two largley splitting time and Andersen getting the bulk of the backup minutes at C.

I'd also be tempted to start Goulding at SG to make sure we get some scoring out there.

Whoever bought those tickets must be pissed. Mills was one of our biggest drawcards. And yes, what is withh all of these small guards? I font think lemanis has a clue. Blanchfirld deserves a spot

Really shocks me that Gibson made the cut again, thought Blanchfield would of been a better option for this team

Whoever bought those tickets must be pissed. Mills was one of our biggest drawcards. And yes, what is withh all of these small guards? I font think lemanis has a clue. Blanchfirld deserves a spot

This should still be a good team, and favourites to beat New Zealand, but they are going to take their lumps against some of the Euro teams.

I am looking at this roster wondering where points will come from. It is very lucky new Zealand don't have too many athletic wings, it will be defence by committee on Abercrombie.

Some guys are going to have to step up and takethe scoring load. We are going to see whether Dante can maintain his summer league aggression which could make him a genuine threat.

I am still reeling over the loss of mills. I would rather be without bogut than Mills. This is two years in a row where he has had phantom shoulder problems. I am wondering whether San Antonio is just preventing him in general .

This series has lost a bit of its shine for me. It's gone from being a star studded Australian dream team- to being the basic boomers featuring Andrew bogut. Without mills, I don't think it justifies the hype.

On lemanis selection of 4 points and 2 sf, is this really the guy we want entrusted to lead our team at the Olympics?

"I am still reeling over the loss of mills. I would rather be without bogut than Mills. This is two years in a row where he has had phantom shoulder problems. I am wondering whether San Antonio is just preventing him in general ."

He had shoulder surgery last off season that kept him out for the first few months of the NBA season. Hardly "phantom shoulder problems". He's now trying to rehab it to get it back to 100%. Its a big loss him not being there, but don't doubt for a second he would be if he thought he could.

"Can we not move on from Andersen....

Its like someone in a bad relationship that just won't move on.

He has performed at below replacement level in the green and gold for over 10 years now."

For some reason Andersen has been the whipping boy of a lot of Boomers fans for 10 years. He's the one genuinely talented big that has made himself available every year. While he's never starred, thats never been his game. He'll hit some shots, work hard and do whatever the coach asks. Yes he'll drop a couple of passes and not get as many rebounds as you would like, but thats what ya get. He's possibly Australia's most consistent player in the time he's been around. He's certainly been good enough to be in every team he's made.

36ers fan and can't see how Gibson is even considered for national selections.

I think Gibbo plays well when he wears the Green and Gold.

Always felt Gibbo's biggest hurdle is mental. He has a huge amount of talent, but doesnt seem ever be sure of his role. Example of this is when Wilson was out last season he decided to play aggressive and looked like a world beater. Once Wilson was back though, he went back to being passive and looking for other people to move the action. He doesn't seem to be able to switch between roles well when playing big minutes.

For the Boomers though, his role is well defined. Come on, hussle hard, find the open man and hit the open shot. I think he does it well.

Star appeal here is a B- and you know they stayed mum on a few of these omissions because they wanted ticket sales. It makes sense, but people won't be happy with the prices!! Don't be surprised if people want their tickets refunded

Agree Gibbo does well for Aus when he comes off the bench , but we really only need one of Gibbo or Martin in the team for depth hustle. Remember we have delly and exum playing who were both rated as very good to excellent defenders against quality opposition, so it's not like we would be short of good defenders in the back court if we only took one of Martin or Gibbo .

Also , what is going on with Anatoly Bose? I know he is playing overseas somewhere with a different last name ... I expected him to come on as a legitimate player for the boomers after a cpl of seasons. Seems to have disappeared?

gibbo geez hopefully he has lost some weight ..this is the worst selection in recent memory for a boomers team

Glad i didn't buy a ticket now with all the outs, and also see its being shown live on channel 9 as well, makes it a even better decision.

I don't think lemanis is the right guy to coach this team. I fthis series doesn't go well, I will be calling for his head. I don't think I will be the only one. The selections here are puzzling

"I don't think lemanis is the right guy to coach this team. I fthis series doesn't go well, I will be calling for his head. I don't think I will be the only one. The selections here are puzzling"

Which ones? I think most people think Blanchfield for either Marto or Gibbo would have been nice, but that's about it.

Who else should be in there?

I'd say this team has AT LEAST 11 of the best players available

We have four point guards and two small forwards on the team. We have no scoring punch. We should ha ave picked up blanchfield to start with, and we should have let mills come in late. I don't ser how bringing in a scoring option a bit late would ruin team cohesion. This game has been demoted from a spectacle to a passing interest.

"We have four point guards and two small forwards on the team. We have no scoring punch. We should ha ave picked up blanchfield to start with, and we should have let mills come in late. I don't ser how bringing in a scoring option a bit late would ruin team cohesion. This game has been demoted from a spectacle to a passing interest."

So the coach of our Olympic men's team is responsible for spectacle?

You stated that Lejmanis' "selections are puzzling" because "We have four point guards" yet you've suggested just 2 changes to the 12 man team, one of which is to bring in another PG (albeit a shoot first one).

Clearly the selections arent THAT bad

Anatoly Bose (Kalesnikov) plays for the Kazakhstan national team.

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet but I just saw a John Casey tweet that the games are being broadcast live on Channel 9

(I'm referring just to the Melbourne Opals & Boomers games btw!)

Yeah stoked they're going to be broadcasting the matches. Hopefully they get a decent audience.

Yep - Bose switched allegiances.

This team is not bad.

Lol Anatoly. Why would you do that. Sure you get to play every game for them as they surely are not strong , but you won't ever be in a competition worth being in.

Cram, I obviously mean replace one of the point guards with Mills and drop the other for a small forward, namely Blanchfield.

"What concerns me is that Lemanis may have an inkling that Dante won't play (he has a rolled ankle at the moment) hence the selection of both Gibson and Martin?"

Well, apparently Dante is fine and he was only rested the next game as a precaution. I tend to think Dante will be fine for the series. If he isn't, then that would really turn this thing into a bit of a bore.

"Mills should have been in the final team. The event is as much about qualifying for the Olympics as it is about promoting the game.

Mills would have been a big draw card for the event, tv and media."

Absolutely he should have been. I am not sure if Cram realises or not, but the olympics are over a year away, and we are certainly a better chance of beating New Zealand with Mills rather than without. Even if Mills were playing limited minutes in the series, 20 minutes from Mills beats 20 from Gibson any day of the week from every perspective.

This was about promoting the game. We could have done without Ingles, and Baynes (albeit begrudgingly) but Mills, Bogut, Delly and Dante were the four guys we really needed to make this a 'thing', and as per usual, we fell short.

This absolutely IS the coaching staffs fault. I see no way in hell that we are less likely to win with Mills in. It is entirely unlikely, whether or not he is there for the lead up. This is just one of a mounting list of fuck ups from Lemanis. 10th at the World Uni Games, 12th at the World Cup, a ho hum Oceania series before the cup. He did get a silver with a stacked Uni games team, but in the paraphrased words of Eddie Murphy "what have you done for me lately?"

I don't think the guy is up to coaching this team to where it needs to go. Someone call Beveridge or Goorj please.

Yep I like this team , and it is pretty strong. I only have questions about selecting both Martin and Gibbo to come off the bench when we already have a strong defensive backcourt and Martin and Gibbo both offer us the same thing.

The Mills omission is a problem for me. arguably our most exciting player, and on friday was on triple J saying that he would be open to playing the game in melbourne. I doubt that he only found out on the weekend that he wasnt getting a gig. I think when one of your best scorer is available, you gotta pick him.

I have no issue with the non selection of mills. He only made himself available for the nz games , what are they gonna do? Take 11 guys into the previous games so they can take a guy in the last game or two?

Selecting a team that is available for the whole tournament makes sense as much as I like,e watching patty.

I would love to see Mills there too. But he's not available for the lead up tour which is very important in establishing good teamwork and chemistry. You cant just drop a player in who's out of match practice and hasnt been with the team and expect them to perform.

Again, it is NOT the coach's job to create a spectacle. His job is to go out and win with the best players AVAILABLE. Mills is not available for all of the team duties so isn't available period.

"I am not sure if Cram realises or not, but the olympics are over a year away"

Yep, that's what it says on my tickets.

Is it such a stretch to take a different 12 over to Europe, and then replace one of the guards with Patty once they're back here? Personally I would have thought that qualifying against NZ is the most important thing here, and that it's not a massive stretch to say that replacing Martin/Gibbo with Patty improves our chances in that series.

"is it such a stretch to take a different 12 over to Europe, and then replace one of the guards with Patty once they're back here? Personally I would have thought that qualifying against NZ is the most important thing here, and that it's not a massive stretch to say that replacing Martin/Gibbo with Patty improves our chances in that series."

I don't think its as easy as that when dropping a player in who hasnt played in a few months and hasnt played with the Boomers in a couple years.

As I said, I'd love to see him there, and if the coaches decided to go that direction I'd be ok with it too. I just don't think calling for the coach's head because they're requiring players to be available for lead up events is WAY over the top.

"Is it such a stretch to take a different 12 over to Europe, and then replace one of the guards with Patty once they're back here? Personally I would have thought that qualifying against NZ is the most important thing here, and that it's not a massive stretch to say that replacing Martin/Gibbo with Patty improves our chances in that series."

No, it is not a stretch at all. They are going to struggle to score without Mills, and I doubt Goulding will be able to fill that void - as basically one of few Aussies who can create their own shot.

Having one of our best players come in for a series is NEVER a detriment. Suggesting it is, is frankly stupid. Give him a couple of weeks in training and throw him out there. He will be fine. And as I said, 20 minutes of Mills (even rusty) is better than 20 minutes of Gibson every single day.

Who knows what might happen though? They might go to Europe with their tails up and find that they have a glaring deficit that only Mills can fill. Then maybe - just maybe - Lemanis might wise up and go "hey, teams need their best scorers?!?" what a brainwave that would be.

Boomers with Mills will always be better than Boomers without. The core of this team has experience together, it shouldn't upturn any apple carts. As for the poor bugger who loses a spot for Mills, "tough luck sunshine. this is professional basketball".

The way I would have liked it handled, would be for one of Gibson/Martins spots to got to Blanchfield, the other spot to a Greenwood or somebody who isn't ready just yet but can be easily replaced by Mills when the real games begin. That would be the right way to handle it. Give that euro tour spot to a kid that relishes every chance to wear a jersey and let him have a few games.

I'm not calling for the coach's head btw, Cram, or making a big deal out of this.
To me, Martin + Gibson in the same team seems a bit redundant. I would have thought that evaluating them both on the tour and then keeping just one once they're back here for the NZ series would actually be an ideal situation for Lemanis & co.

Normally I'm all for chemistry and cohesiveness too. It's important for sure. But it's a case by case basis, and in this case I think that the gain you get from adding Patty, far outweighs the potential loss of chemistry from such a move.
Finally, from the players' POV, would Damo or Gibbo feel robbed if they were replaced by Mills? I very much doubt it.

Yeah I wasnt referring to you wanting the coach's head DD. Other people.

Fact is none of us know exactly when Patty was likely to be available. There's just over a week from when the Boomers get home until the first game against NZ. Is that enough time? And thats assuming he'd be available for that whole period.

From the sounds of it he agreed his absence from the team until late would be an issue.

I agree that taking both Marto and Gibbo is a little odd, but I don't think its at all out of line.

There have been far more glaring selection issues by every Boomers coach going back forever. I think in the scheme of things, this is very minor.

Where is Andersen playing at the moment?

Should Patty be allowed to play the Oceania series? Vote here - http://www.smh.com.au/sport/basketball/andrej-lemanis-admits-tough-call-in-leaving-patty-mills-out-of-olympics-qualifiers-20150714-gibnlq.html

Fucking hell - shakes head. What is it with these people who want to pick teams on hype alone?

To start with, Ben Simmons made himself unavailable months ago. People need to actually read about the shit they talk about. Anyone who had been paying any attention would know that and would stop saying it.

Deng Adel? He's a blood minor? He hasn't done anything against adults? Nor has Thon Maker. Being 7ft isn't such an advantage against grown men the same size. We are still yet to see if either of these are more than hype.

Everyone wants to jump in super quick with the next generation, its almost as though they think if they don't, they are all going to disappear and not want to play in Olympics etc. Thon Maker is 50/50 for Australia, 50/50 for being good enough as well. The rest will have their time when it is actually their time!

You wont win games if all you ever do is pick for tomorrow. When they are ready, they will be ready, simple as that. This is what junior teams are for.

I am talking about justifying ticket prices. I would go see the Sino series Boomers play, but not for 100 bucks a pop.

Sure, die hard fans might be fine with this. But this was suppose to help boost the game to a new height here. We wont do that with a bare basic squad. I really think we need Patty Mills. No other player on the squad would inspire casual fans to give a shit.

We are probably going to win the series either way, but wouldnt it be great to make a bit of a splash while we do it?

Patty is technically available for the series, so he should be on the court.

I assume Mills will be named as a "surprise" inclusion when the NZ games roll around.

Gaze, Bradke, Longley, and Heal all played for the boomers at an early age. For me, leave the 12th spot for a junior ie Maker.

I think we are all overreacting to the input Mills has had the last few years. He has been forced to be that scorer because we have not had anyone else to do it.

Adding Bogut, a more experienced Exum and Bairstow to me is an upgrade then just patty. Lets not forget Bogut is NBA defensive team big which is someone we have not had in the middle ever. I remember it wasn't long ago when Alex Pledger was killing the boomers inside.

More scorers, more spacing and better defense is surely a better situation then what we had the last couple years.

Where is Blanchfield? Gibson and Martin can't play at that level. We already know that, and also they don't have any upside.

Too many small players who can't shoot is gonna keep that floor clogged like always.

Gotta love it how they still don't understand that NBL and international are two completely different ballgames.

Lemanis is a bit outmatched at this level in terms of both selection and Xs and Os.

Why not take a 14 man squad over to Europe like NZ are? Maybe take an extra SF (like Blanchfield) and another big. That way you have a bit of flexibility to figure out if you have the right squad balance, plus some insurance if (touch wood) someone is injured during the tour.

I think it is 99.999 percent likely that we will beat New Zealand in both games by double figures. However, I don't think it will be a spectacle. With the way Basketball Australia has been pasting his face everywhere, you would expect Patty Mills on the team. People bought their tickets with that in mind. While some things are unavoidable, Patty IS available for the series, we should win either way, I am sure 15 thousand people at Rod Laver would prefer him there... so lets give it to them?

Patty definitely wants to play the series. I have seen some facebook statuses from some of his family which suggest they are a bit miffed at the whole thing.