Court looks cool!

What's peoples thoughts on the 'blacked out' crowd. It makes it look really big time..like the 02 arena?

Mills playing off the bench - thought so.

Jawai used to have really tidy footwork and used to be techincally very sound.

Ive noticed recently in workouts that he has quite sloppy footwork and is a bit messy in what he does. Has he developed bad workout habits?

It makes sense. At the pro level in Europe he wouldn't have someone staying on him for all those little things.

Lemanis running Breaker plays...that hand off business ;) NZ sure know that well.

Whatever happens i'm hoping for a really good offensive game.

Last thing i want to see is a sub 120, horriblw fg % game.

First field goal attempt a 3pt field go from Bogut....wouldnt have guessed that!

The problem with this team and the Boomers mindset going forward:

Bairstow
Motum
Anderson
Bogut
Jawai

They are all 5s (too slow to guard elite 4s) and none of them can stretch the floor.

We keep putting these teams together with no versatility and then we wonder why we underachieve.

Mick,

It doesn't help when you've got Tait guarding Bogut and Mills decides to dribble down and jack J after J.

These players are tremendously skilled and talented (as a Kiwi my god I could only dream to have one of these guys) - but you got to find a way to get the most out of these guys

Not seeing a lot of real offense from the Boomers... as per usual.

Broekhoff is wearing 45. Thought you could only go up to 15 in international competition? Not a stunning start for the Boomers, I must say.

Watching Andrej Lemanis coach at this level makes me pull my hair out.

Lemanis what are you doing? Drawing a lineup out of a hat??? Lemanis can't be boomers coach if Australia get to rio

Poor shooting so far. Aussies need to pick and pop. We have height, speed and talent but NZ will fight it out

Jawai looked like he barely got that dunk through...

TBs offence is beautiful to watch.

The movement is exceptional..both ball and man.

It's so much more fluid and they make better reads than most Boomers. Aus players are all a second behind the play, and leave soooo many points on the table every game because of it.

Jawai and Bogut are our only elite passers and they're both immobile centers...

Lemons ha ha ha

Starting mills on the bench for Goulding ha ha ha ha, it's like starting Lebron on the bench and starting mike miller!

Why do these australian coaches have to sub players on every two minutes, I can understand in a 6 game tournament but this is two games

I think it also helps having a couple of guys that can really break down a defender. Mills and especially Delly aren't great at attacking the teeth of the defense, so that first level of collapse that enables all the subsequent plays to unfold from the imbalance never happens.

Jawai is a slug!

Entertaining if not slightly sloppy first half. We are just out -talenting them, as nz execution is top notch. A few highlights, great and reactive crowd - a good spectacle. Someone needs to get broekhoff a shot

It's a pretty disappointing start when you consider Australia were unbackable favourites, regardless of the end result.

Sportsbet had them at $1.01 to win.

This is how bad Lemanis / our execution is.

anon: Kiwis need shooting too. Worse than Aus...who also need more of it. Between these two teams they are some ugly ass bricks being hurled.

Where is Mills? Underdone or is Lemanis just oblivious?

Mills must be on minutes restrictions. There can be no other excuse.

Jawai gets called for an offensive foul for being bigger and stronger than his defender...

Question: with Damian Martin in and no Patty Mills do we lose this game?

Can we please get Barlett off!

I really hate that 'offensive foul because you are bigger than the defender' call. See it at all levels. A guy should not be penalised for being bigger than his defender.

Mick referees don't give advantage to the stronger player anymore unfortunately.

Vukona commits some horrendous fouls but is also sometimes a victim of his own strength..gets some tough calls against him.

Jawai in the same boat.

Yeah but even with the way the game has moved, that call was blatantly wrong.

Webster is a really good NBL player, but he's just at another level when in a NZ jersey. Surprised he hasn't got a look in EU.

Angus,

He averaged 15ppg in the NBL.

I think if Delly was in the NBL he would put up a similar PPG.

Breakers hasn't really brought out the best in him because of Ced

Doesn't matter what kind of team on paper. Lemon can't coach and even if we get to rio, my guess is we will be just adding up the numbers

Ah man Loe has to make at least 1 of those!

Unfair call on Vukona there. Bogut pushed off or travelled or no-call.

Lemanis' rotations are simply puzzling. Guy can not coach or get the best out of his players.

Horrible call. Wow

Those 2 pts from the Bogus Bogut call couls be crucial..

I like Webster a lot, can't understand how he couldn't be a look in at NBA level?

What % of possessions to the Boomers actually run a play? Like 30%?

I think it's time to admit that Bairstow is just terrible. All the tools are there but he does so many dumb things and can't finish at the rim at any level. Needs a brain transplant.

Sure Lemanis is woeful, but he has a horde of assistant coaches, what, in the name of all things good, are they doing? Not questioning this discordant offense that's for sure.

I dont understand why Bairstow is on the court in this situation. Literally any other tall guy on our roster, please.

Beastow

Abercrombie misses an open layup and then a couple of plays later gets Anderson in the air on a 3 pt fake and decides to pass it instead of taking 3 easy free throws. That's 5 points right there.

Props to Bairstow for that fadeaway, but man does he need to work on his upper-body strength. He's got decent touch, but can't attack the hoop to save his life.

Not sure how Bairstow survived a year in the NBA.

Soft foul calls against Vukona.

Andersen good flop.

I don't know if it's physical strength so much as mental strength.

Wow Dave Anderson tonight! I'm no longer cringing when he gets the ball

Abercrombie really hasn't progressed at all over the past three years. There were a number of things that he needed to work on -dribbling especially - but it hasn't been done.

To the knockers, I think David Anderson has proved his worth in the team!

Bogut is clearly not 100%. Respect him for playing.

Delly with the big F-You on that last possession.

Newley is definitely not useless. Really poor rotations for the Boomers in general - it's good to get guys involved, but too much rides on this series.

Substandard first half. Almost like the Boomers didn't know or didn't realise that they were actually playing for a spot in the Olympics.

But they in the trenches and dug deep.

Surprised however that it took them long to respond. Surely you know your going into battle and you prepare for war.

For Rio:

Mills/Exum
Delly/Goulding
Ingles/Broekhoff
Simmons/Motum
Bogut/Baynes

Good finish by the Aussies, just a little bit too much class to end with, bad luck to NZ, unfortunate misses cost them when they needed it but a courageous effort by them too.

Hats off to Anderson and Webster...

Bogut is on the court for defense, rebounding, and passing. Anything else you get is a bonus. He did fine. The mistake was looking to feed him in the post, which was a coaching decision.

NZ won't be happy with that. They should be very disappointed.

Had a very good opportunity to really take that and missed probably 4-5 open shots in a row and that was the game.

But don't get it twisted NZ certainly wouldn't be happy 'to get close'.

I think something we have to come to terms with as a basketball nation is that -- although are producing legit NBA talent on an annual basis these days -- our coaching across all levels is a fair way behind the rest of the world.

I can see every play Lemanis runs ahead of time, and I'm a moron. Imagine what top basketball defensive minds can see. It's just so easy to stop. And that's just on the offensive end. Wait until we come up against an all-world pick & roll ballhandler and Lemanis' coverage rules will make you want to punch things.

He makes it hard on himself by picking the wrong team, then he plays the wrong players, in the wrong combinations, for the wrong minutes; and then he calls the wrong plays on both ends of the floor. It's not exactly a blueprint for success...

Unconvincing by the Boomers but veteran play by Delly to get that final basket. We should be quite happy with a 12 point spread going into G2 I reckon.

@Mick, curiously asking, who else could we have picked instead of this team for tonight's game, I am unsure of who else could have done better?

Don't really understand why were stuck on the whole 'play to the end' non-issue.

Its agreggate based. Therefore lets move on.

Expecting a big win by Aus next week.

Ordinary performance really. Need to get more guys involved. Mills made some key shots but also took way too many and had too many turnovers.

Yeah, completely understandable that Delly takes the shot at the end - +/- may well matter, depending on the result in game 2. Still, looking back at that Haka, Delly had to NZ guys up in his face. I think there was a whole lot of F-U in that last shot.

Wasn't there a points spread for NZ? Could have been worth the bet with that result, but I am not sure of the margins...

Bitterly dissappointed with Bairstow.

Delly will be the heart and soul of the team in Rio - he is the Vukona of Aus with much more skill & talent.

Mills is like the Shaun Johnson (NRL) of basketball. If you know SJ then you'll know thats a perfect comparison.

12.

Bear, spread was 20.5 but went down to 16.5 about 10 mins before tip off (TAB NZ)

I didn't go near it on the basis that it was $1.87 and didn't have any other bets to tie it into a multi/not going to put $100 straight bet on it ;)

If NZ win by 12, then they multiply that margin the number of months Exum will miss, divide by the average roster position of Aussies in the NBA, then subtract the number of months til Rio. That is the tie breaker.

Fair dinkum some of the crap that gets posted on this forum is UNBELIEVABLE!!!!
We have a lot of fine coaches in Australia at all levels,it"s not their fault that American colleges are falling over themselves to recruit a lot of our kids. And then we have players also going to Europe as well.We have done well at junior woprlds and our opals have done us proud over many years.the Boomers have a much deeper pool of teams to compete against but I am sure in the future they also can medal.So how about getting your heads out of the sand and acknowledge the talent that exists in our country and stop taking cheap shots.

Everard Bartlett has been putting in a lot of time on his shot.

Having Exum fit and healthy and having him available and the necessary permission are one and two different things.

Plan without him.

Utah won't release him and that's more han reasonable.

I'm surprised "Thon Maker" hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread.

"Ingles gets little time at utah as a bench player."

Meanwhile, in reality, he played 79 games, started 32 of them, and averaged 21.2 minutes per game.

First thing is throw out the flow offense as you need time for players to learn it. Rather, run simple sets like most NBA teams do. Some simple pick and rolls or pops, post isolations, or double screens for Patty.

Less is more. Use less players and don't sub every two mins. Give the combos time to settle.

No reason not to play Delly for 30 plus minutes. If can do it for the Cavs why not Australia.

So who is the core then? Listing someone's NBA stats doesn't prove or disprove how integral they are to the Boomers.

Something that surprised me is that Australia was completely unable to get its game going inside. The New Zealand defence did a great job hindering everything they attempted. Motum was rendered useless, and Bogut isn't a go to guy inside anymore - so they completely negated a strength we were expected to have.

As for the game overall, I am fairly happy with the effort the boys put in and the individual play from most players, but the execution as a team was poor, the rotations were ridiculous and the combinations of players truly puzzling.

Our best 3 point shooter is Ryan Broekhoff; why were no sets run for him?

What a calamity this would have been if we weren't lucked into having Patty Mills in the team? Anyone who thinks timid little antelope Dante Exum would have had a deciding impact on the game is kidding themselves. Not that this is even Exums issue, but Lemanis was shown for being a downright fool for even considering leaving Mills off of the team.

On the upside, there were a few nice plays and highlights; and the presentation by channel nine was absolutely top notch and we can be hopeful that they will choose to screen game two.

Basketball Australia deserve congratulations for making this an event, getting it on free to air, and making Melbourne turn up to the game. But I certainly hope Basketball Australia is thinking over its coaching options and methods right now. For instance, was it right to place so much energy in the Uni games team with this important Boomers series coming up? Could we not have got some of these guys in camp even earlier? *the non NBA ones*

^ tl;dr

"We can medal with a core of Delly mills and ingles? Are you mental?"

Who did serbia have last year that were so impressive?

New Zealand may not have won tonight, but what they did show is that names on a sheet mean absolute ZERO.

The talent - on paper - will not be the trouble in Rio. We are around the mark. We are in that very tight group of about 8-10 teams just behind USA and Spain where anything could reasonably happen. I believe our issue will be our coaching.

Am I being too sensitive or are the Kiwis overdoing the haka bit?

To literally push your faces, thrust your arms and hands inches away from your opponents is no longer tradition. It is plain simple intimidation and rude. It may look cute in rugby but on a small sporting basketball court, IMO it certainly looks very unsportsmanlike.

It is certainly theatre but the haka is in reality officially sanctioned thrash talking that gets penalised during play.


I would vote that the haka be banned before basketball games.

Do the Kiwis even do it before every international game?

The Tall Blacks were very good until the last 3 minute when they ran out of steam. In international ball bench depth is the difference in the end. Will the Boomers play better next game........no one knows, but there is still life in this series.

Re NBA players v non-NBA, the Tall Blacks reminded me of the Boomers teams from 25 or so years ago. A solid starting group of international quality players, none playing even significant bench roles on any NBA or Euro teams but for Longley, rounded out by role players understanding their place.. Nevertheless, like the Tall Blacks now, they played tenacious ball and hussled like hell, earning a reputation for taking down teams with bigger reputations.

I put the Tall Blacks in that same basket, you have to be ready to fight to the end otherwise you walk off the court wondering what just happened.

"Pretty much all of Serbias team played Euroleague. Might not be big names but they played in a big league. A bunch of NBL players, a Euroleague player or two and Couple of 'end of the NBA bench when their teams are healthy' players does not Make a top 3 team"

SMH.

Okay, so the serbian teams "weren't big names, but played in a big league", yet NBA players with similar roles are demoted to "a couple of end of the bench players" Ummmm? So which league is bigger, mate? NBA or Euroleague? Because you just contradicted yourself there.

As for a Euroleague player or two, do you mean Euroleague players who have won championships like Anderson? A Euroleague player getting NBA summer league call ups like Broekhoff?

And a couple of NBL players? What? Guys who have led the entire league and will only play momentarily? Guys like Goulding with Summer league call ups?

Your point is void.

Talent will NOT be Australias problem going forward.

I will eat a Matthew dellavedova jersey if Australia comes top 6.

"A Euroleague player or two"

GWB lists two Euroleague players

Well done you absolutely spud

A well coached, well executing Boomers of the exact same line up would have blown NZ out tonight. Fact of the matter is they didn't have much preparation, they have a shit coach, and the players don't know their roles right now.

Yeah, 2 Euroleague players who have done very well, and bunch of NBA bench guys (assumedly better than Euroleague players?). We will have 7 or 8 next Olympics - will that outrank Serbias randoms from Euroleague in the perception of the anonymous with the odd remark?

"Blame the coach for professional basketballers not being able to basketball. K"

Do you understand the role of the coach? Or do you just think that they throw the ball up in the air and the players 'have at it'? Plays, execution, coaching, it counts for a lot.

Better is subjective. Better suited to the NBA, evidently, or they wouldn't be there over the Euroleague players. And the NBA is a higher standard of basketball than Euroleague, so make whatever connections you choose to out of that.

Mills Iso was what was working. Plus plays are primarily the domain of the coach. Lemanis has to structure plays for Delly to call.

I am not sure why anyone is taking it out on Ingles for. He has been nothing but solid for the Boomers in every campaign he has played in. Delly was very good tonight overall as well. I understand that people want that real X factor that Spain and USA have, and I guess we may have it next year if Simmons goes how he should.

Those plays need training and practice times. Who is going to be the one to say "coach, in todays session, we are going to run the Cleveland offence". Or are they all meant to spontaneously know eachothers plays via some form of psychic ability?

I guess after each Boomers session Delly should take the boys out for the "real" session at some secret court somewhere?

"As far as I can tell, all plays are made up of a combination of screens, routes and movement. How hard is it to say 'coach how's this for an idea' and run something new. Yes you need reps to learn it but it's not like they're learning the fundamentals all over again

If we all hate lemanis as much as we do surely the players don't love him. Don't see anyone caring too much about hurting his feelings if his plays are as bad as they are and the players want to make changes. Don't have to use the entire Cleveland or golden state playbook, why not introduce a couple. Get Bogut to teach them the elevator door play they run for Steph for broekhoff. Open threes for days"

Absolutely, yes. I have heard that there are players who aren't too happy with the coaching staff at the moment. I had a conversation with a certain person who knows a few of the players well, has coached a few of them, and isn't a huge lemanis fan himself, and it leads me to believe that the players MAY want change. I wont say exactly who, but ummm..... don't "steal a drink?" :P

Think about it

No one forced the Aussie players to go and stand on the halfway line. They can't really complain about anyone getting in their faces.

I have mixed feelings about the haka. It does seem like an excuse to taunt the opposition thinly veiled as some kind of cultural display. Basically, it is organised trashing of the opposition. On the other hand, I think you would have to be fairly weak to find it particularly intimidating. I am not sure what makes New Zealand so special that we must pause for a moment before every game to respect their culture; maybe the Boomers should simulate an imaginary BBQ to their opposition before every match?

I didn't mind the didgeridoo as such, but it really was a soft response. Should have had Andrew Goodes run out with his imaginary spears and called them racist if they looked confused about it.

A new article has arrived from an NBA writer talking about the haka. He also notes, in an observation which backs up my point, that Australia (on talent, as this guy obviously doesn't know our coaching) should be one of the stronger teams in Rio.

On paper, we should be. But Lemanis is likely to have us running Will Ferrels Semi Pro offence.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/25270756/watch-matthew-dellavedova-and-andrew-bogut-stare-down-the-haka

"Webster is a really good NBL player, but he's just at another level when in a NZ jersey. Surprised he hasn't got a look in EU."

He has, plenty, but chooses to stay with the Breakers like a number of his teammates with OS offers. There's a reason NZ has won four of the past five titles!

As for tonight, cracking game even though the refs forgot to bring their whistles. Pretty impressive stuff from the Boomers, that was a quality close out to go 12 up. Those last few minutes could be the difference between Rio and the qualifying tournament.

I found it entertaining to watch also, despite cringing at the lack of direction and execution. The boys had been hampered in a number of areas and didn't have ideal preparation, but managed to out talent a well executing team that was out for the jugular. I have no beef with the players tonight. Coaching and execution remain the issue with this team.

And I think Corey Webster is ready to take his game to the next level. I am not sure what differentiates him from being an NBA player. He certainly looks legitimate to me.

Paul, just out of interest, how have Coreys performances been against top Euro teams?

In NBA terms Corey is a SG in a PGs body.

Ok then #534, as the Boomers players decided to stand as close as possible, then YOU can't complain that anything the Kiwis did with the haka was too severe.

If you're going to pretend that a summary of #525's comments about the haka was that it's an unfair scare tactic because it has no right of reply, then I think it's obvious that YOU have the issue with mental retardation.

From memory, at the World Cup he had 22 against Turkey and 26 against Lithuania, and that was on a hobbled ankle. Make no mistake, he is an elite offensive talent in international basketball.

I think as fans we need to be a little realistic about the performance. I have seen a lot of international basketball over the years, and have watched various nations; given our preparation - or lack thereof - we really did not play bad at all. Considering we only played 4 games together and our best player turned up last week, the boys dug deep and the veterans did enough to bring it home. It wasn't the puritans wet dream of execution (and execution and rotations should have been better), but there were a few nice moments and highlights; certainly enough to show the great talents of the players on court. Would a world power like Spain and Lithuania play similarly under such circumstances? Yes, probably. I think Basketball Australia took a risk with such a small lead up, but basically Patty Mills and the determination of the men on court saved their face. Reservations about coaching not withstanding, I think we should be fair to the players here. Sure, NZ is full of NBL guys, and Boomers have guys from more heralded leagues, but the Boomers took on a well oiled machine with very little prep and did what they had to do. New Zealand has troubled great teams before, and there is no shame that they did the same to us.

GWB, you might be surprised why they used the didgeridoo as a response!

If I'm not mistaken, the particular piece played (?Reflection) is meant to welcome "the good spirits and drive out the bad spirits" and calm the listener. Had the same ritual performed at the opening ceremony of a conference couple of days back with the artist explaining the significance.

Much more appropriate gesture than a war challenge/thrash talking at a sports event.

Back to basketball, the Kiwis certainly played well as a team. Noticeably the body language and confidence of the players from the get go was intriguing. Didn't seem to be intimidated by the "NBA aura" of the Boomers.

Love some of the match ups, especially the Delly-Webster tussles.

Love the individual brilliance of Mills and Webster.

Hate the Boomers lack of player movement in offence. So predictable and easily defendable.

And to stir more controversy :P, can the referees dish out a tech after the game is finished? That reaction of the Kiwi player slamming the ball hard on the pine after Delly's final score would have gotten stiff response during gameplay time.

P/S. I assume it was a Kiwi. If it was an Aussie ball slamming, same deal. Can he be teched?

New Zealand's past five games against European teams were:

Lost to Turkey by 3
Beat Ukraine by 12
Beat Finland by 2
Lost to Lithuania by 5
Lost to Croatia by 2
Lost to Sovenia by 5

If you think last night's 12 point win wasn't a good performance it suggests you don't really follow international basketball. And yes, NZ made those teams look very scrappy at times too.

"I remember that game. France players stepped over halfway and ended up with a $15,000 fine. Yet the NZ teams can get within touching distance and its fine".

What?

France were fined $5k for advancing past the halfway line.

The All Blacks NEVER get within touching distance. Not even closem

Its World Rugby rules that you can't go past a certain line.

If your going to throw a comment about, can I suggest you at least get all the facts right.

Your comparing Basketball to rugby hakas.

No where in your 'the roar' article does it mention the value of the fine.

Don't try to pull the wool over my eyes.

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10761451

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/international/france-fined-2500-for-standing-up-to-haka-to-general-disbelief-2375840.html

It was $5k..i could go on with the articles.

Plus your still comparing Basketball to Rugby.

The ABs dont get anywhere near touching distance.

France got fined for crossing the halfway line and they were doing the Flying V.

I have no issue with it. Both teams did their respective performances. Told not to cross halfway.

France broke the rules..fined accordingly.

Apparently gem showing game 2 rests on last night's ratings. Is there any way to find out what the ratings were?

Put Ingles and Baynes in and the result would be different again. Put santa claus and the easter bunny in with the MonStars and Daffy duck and I am sure the result would be even more confusing

Isn't it surprising we are running the same sets as NZ.

Bulk of Kiwis are Breakers with "Lemon-miss" influence. With "Lemon-lack" running our show, do you expect the "Lemon-juice" to taste any different :P

A lemon is a lemon any day all day.

P/S For the pure ballers, please regard the above as a bit of a troll ;D

If the Tall Blacks never committing an international atrocity by hakaing too close to the Boomers, they wouldn't have got out to an early lead and the margin would have been more than 20.

#hakagate

Lots of things to consider with this game, including preparation and nerves, but what has left me puzzled is the offence.

I cannot remember a consistent decent Boomer offence for the last 20 odd years. I know that they don't have the opportunity to learn and refine plays like you do on a team with a pre-season and season to get it right, but surely we can implement something...

There is no adjustment for small lineups, for shot clock situations, for in-bounds... all the things that are the difference from success or failure. It's the same every year - just replace Gaze, Heal shooting the desperate long bomb with the latest one to fill the role.

I don't blame the players either. What an honor to play for the Boomers, but I have no idea how that collection of coaches can sit by and watch this happen. And in the game is too late - if it's not done in training and as part of the plan it's already too late.

Final word - Andrew Bogut. I though he was outstanding last night. His offence is still obviously underdone and I think the confidence hit from the finals is bigger than anyone could imagine, however his patience and read on plays is outstanding.

The offence ran through his hands so many times and his patience not to clog up the key, direct traffic and keep the ball in the hands of shooters was excellent.

Initial average metro rating for Boomers was 141k, with 75k in Melbourne.

I just looked for ratings and noticed it didn't rate in the top 20 for the night. Were there really 20 things better to watch? Some cooking show or something?

141 K, so it rated something like a good A league game might? Would those be considered encouraging numbers?

Anonymouse 543408 - it would be easier and cheaper to train monkeys than an fwit like you!!!!!
Have you ever played the game? And at what level?You were probably one of posters that bagged Mark Watkins who went on to get Silver with his team.And in finishing show some balls and put your name to your posts - F----ken keyboard warrior.

Man Heal/Gaze went on and on about Delly. They were absolutely frothing about him.

Dellys a good/solid player.

Opals rated 82K and Boomers 141k. Seems solid.

Yeah I suppose.

I'm probably more the opposite oddly enough ;)

In the NBA he gets open because teams give that up to nullify LBJ. I think he showed his shooting ability among other things during the NBA season.

But in this environment where he is scouted and 'headhunted' a little more i don't think he is anything above solid to maybe good.

Would it be wrong of me to think that if he was in the NBL he would put up similar numbers to Jamar if not slightly worse. A lot of quality PGs going around in this league.

Would love to see how Delly goes against Martin/Gibson.

Martin is one of the best defensive PGs in the world (IMO) - would just love to see how that battle ended

Dear anonymouse i can spell the F word but there could be women and young people looking at these posts. Some monkeys are more intelligent than others and have a bit more class - keep on bagging the Aussie coaches and players you retard. You wouldn"t know any better!!!!

You are spot on with our offence Winston Gruberguiger. We made some terrific plays last night but we usually are just relying on creativity and talent. When the 5 on court don't gel so well we get stuck and end up in an iso and/or bad shot. You just have to look at New Zealand over the last couple of decades to see what you can do when you run a small number of offensive systems over and over and every player is locked in. Countries like Lithuania and Serbia do the same.

Won't swear because women and children could be looking at these posts...

So uses incredibly offensive terms to the disabled community instead.

What a guy.

Ps 'anonymous' is written everywhere on this site. No E. Idiot

I am wondering when we should know if GEM is broadcasting by. Surely 141 thousand on a station that usually airs 1940s movies is a decent viewership?

Thought Webster was really impressive. Bogut not so much - hopefully the injury explained that. Delly and Mills decent.

Webster is the man. I very much look forward to seeing him in the NBL season, I think he is going to bring it up a few notches.

It was nice to see Delly play well internationally again, it's been a while, and against a legit top 16 team too. I think they'll show him a bit more respect on Tuesday.

I liked seeing Delly penetrate and finish convincingly. He had trouble doing that in the NBA, and internationally for some time. Less of those wonky floaters going on. That is what I like to see.

So it rated 141K, how much did the Boomers used to rate in their prime in the 90s?

Also just over 15 thousand in attendance. What is the biggest ever crowd for the Boomers?

paul, except the Breakers are ranked 21 ;)

Nah i know what you mean. Top 16 at WC and worthy of that.

Thought they respected Delly...perhaps even a bit too much

I actually think they should respect him less..put the attention on Mills.

When Delly makes a 3..i'll live with that.

But theres something different when Mills makes a 3..gets the energy going in the team, intensity lifts etc.

Focus on Mills..if you break him offensively you kill that 'energy boost' and intensity lift that the Bs get. Easier said than done..so many weapons.

Plus the stats don't lie. We all talk about Dellys shooting ability but his FG %s aren't the best - a lot of these would be fairly open too.

Mills on the other hand from memory has a respectable FG % in the NBA and probably gets even tougher cover.

In terms of shooting ability, in order of danger its Mills, Goulding/Broehkoff, Delly.

AnonymousE = Gutless also see Dickhead.

Delly was 40+% from 3. Something under 30% from inside the arc. I wouldn't settle for letting him shoot 3s, I'd let him get inside. His floater percentage last season would have surely been single figures

Is Hugh J an anonymous name or were your parents really pissed at how unplanned you were?

MACDUB, I would't read too much into those Euro-skewed rankings. When a team makes the top 16 whenever they play at the World Cup, they're a top 16 team to me!

Agree with you about the energy from Mills though, the way he and Webster go about it seems to lift their team.

NZ's shooting percentage was low (37.5%), mostly due to poor 3 point shooting. They also took a much higher proportion of 3 point shots. The Boomers shot a better percentage overall and from 3 point line, as well as taking a substantially lower rate of 3 point shots. Boomers also had as many assists as NZ and only 3 more turnovers (10 vs 7) for similar numbers of shots (60 vs 64).

Those kinds of stats seem odd outcomes given the general theme in this thread of Boomers playing ad hoc offences that weren't well executed and NZ playing smooth offences that were well executed. I know the story of a game is not told by the box score but the outcomes usually are more consistent with that story than the above.

GWB - the 82k and 141k sound like fair ratings to me, but it's hard to tell. The test will be whether Network 9 agrees and broadcasts the second games.

For comparison, ratings for replays of another sport's national championships last year were about 64k. That was a 2 hour replay on a sunday afternoon, 3 months after the event and it was a minor sport (amateur, about 20 world standard athletes, only a couple medal standard in world echelon, not usually seen on tv). It clashed with AFL coverage as well and was on the 10 network.

thought they were better without bogut, gsw the same mostly this season. time to get out of the past and move on and look at new talent. can't believe gliddon was the best replacement for damo !!!! would like to see joey with the same group and play some fast transition ball.

To anonymousE who now posts as Hugh J Moron to sound like he is intelligent.I don"t know or care how my parents felt or whether I was planned or not _ the fact remains - I have parents. You were born out of a test tube and I was the donor You"re a poor unfortunate unintelligent BASTARD.

Calls people unintelligent. Can't use an apostrophe. Well done

Hugh I and Hugh II, just shut up please.

First time I have watched Delly play at a game, I was ultra impressed with the guy, at one stage he denied Webster the 3 with some of the best one on one defence I have ever seen. Controlled the tempo like a vet and played some real intelligent basketball. I can actually see big big things for him in the NBA if he still can get some opportunities.

Mills- Superstar Aussie basketballer, just watching him play (I have a few times now) you can understand why every NBA player loves him and his game.

Isaac, think you were a little harsh on Bogut, coaches have destroyed his offence game to make the offence run through and around him(if that makes sense). He didn't have a huge game, but if you actually paid close attention to what he did, you would understand why is so important to any team he plays on through is basketball IQ.

I really liked the way they did the court lights and blacking out the crowd. It really made the basketball court look like a 'stage'. Probably the best court lighting, camera angles and attention to detail I have ever seen in Australian basketball from that stand point.

I think they did a good job of not Americanising the whole thing. Shame that Rod Laver Arena isn't an NBL Arena - that place rocks. Could Perth do the same thing with the lighting?

A, he had some pick and rolls where he fluffed it against kids or undersized forwards. He should be a man amongst boys in that situation, scoring or getting to the line at will. 4 and 4 is a bit meek. Andersen looked more in control - had 17 points in under 20 minutes.

Lighting - A+

You could argue Delly's defense won the Aussies the game, putting the clamps on Webster would be no easy task. Loved watching Millsy taking over the offense, no shame in over shooting the ball - give that boy the rock!

I was also impressed with Goulding and loved that he is now getting opportunities to play.

Agree would like to see a bit more from Bogut on offense, but his defense is exceptional! Could also be critical of Broekoff given scoring is his strength and he didn't actually do it!

Broekhoff was never open and was never given the ball if he was anyway. I think they geared in on Broekhoff and Motum, and didn't have much of a defensive plan on Patty because they hadn't seen how the Boomers worked with him.

I would like if GEM replayed the game. Surely the ratings it got deserve this much? And I have been checking the TV guides; still no update for the game. Apparently Gilmore Girls will rate better?

Towards the business end of the game I also thought Delly did a great job in making it more difficult for Webster, but when we went to Anderson and he was hitting them while the NZ bigs and forwards were missing what appeared to be 'not too difficult' shots, the game just got away from them.

So many plans to run plays and set up an offense just get broken down during the play because both teams know each other well and scouting these days causes the end result often on someone to just make a shot, that's basketball.

You make those and you win, you don't and C'est la vie as the French say...

So much is going to come down to Bogut.

He is the only one that will be able to stand up and say, "this isn't working, I'm the vet, we need to go in a different direction with the coach and bring someone else in from outside of Australia or we are going to waste a golden opportunity here."

He clashed with Mark Jackson in Golden State over forcing religious views on players and a poor offensive playbook. It's critical he does the same here.

With Brett Brown at the team, I would be able to say with a straight face this team would be around the mark for Bronze. With Lemanis, I don't think we can crack the top 8. That's how bad he is. It's really not a joke at this point. We are going to waste the prime of Mills and Bogut because of something that is so easily fixed.

Yes, I don't think we can just gift Lemanis another term to figure it out. He has had them since 2013, and the boys have had lacklustre results for that long. I would be head hunting right now.

As for those who may say it will ruin team synergy, we all know Lemanis will say that when he gets basically the same team together next year anyway. There will always be some excuse as to why they are running Will Ferrels 'Semi Pro' offence.

The boomers overcame their coaching and managed to out talent the Tall Blacks. We will not out-talent the European superpowers. The guy needs to go.

Did anyone else get why Lemanis started Bairstow in place of Motum and then gave Motum so few minutes? I'm guessing he felt Motum would get pushed around more by Vukona/ Fotu, but in doing so, he also put a crimp in our offence.

Motum would've stretched the floor much more, creating space for Bogut inside and his smart cuts would also have been a nice target for Bogut's passes. Personally, I would've backed Bogut and Broekhoff's good rebounding to offset any minor disadvantage Motum brought in that department.

And speaking of getting pushed around by Vukona... man, the amount of fouls that guy gets away with is unbelievable! I don't think I saw him set a legal screen all game!

The Kiwis posted up Motum every time down the floor, FWIW.

http://www.yourtv.com.au/guide/tue/afternoon/#filter-sports

So, no TV coverage for the second leg in Wellington? I'm pretty sure NZ has live coverage for both games.

This is disgusting.

I'm struggling to remember now, but was that while Bogut was on the floor Paul? And who was posting him up? To me, that is one of the reasons you put Motum out there with Bogut. Apart from Loe, Bogut can leave any of the Kiwis other bigs and help out if Motum is being overpowered.

You can't leave Fotu, shot 42% at World Cup. Can't remember who was on the floor with Motum though, sorry.

Well that helps the Kiwis a bit if Fotu can shoot, but that just means matching up correctly. You make sure Motum is on whichever big man can shoot and Bogut stays on Vukona.

Big FU to Gem

Just read there is a chance Andrew Bogut may sit out with a back injury. Yep. Injury Prone.