If we're a legit medal chance then a group of death shouldn't be a problem.
It looks to me like if we keep winning, we don't run into the USA until the gold medal game. (assuming they also keep winning)

What are you on about?

Look at the cross-overs - at worst we face the US in the quarter-finals at best semi-finals.

We can't avoid them.

USA are in Group E. AUS in Group H. Top two of Group E go into Group K; Top two of Group F advance into Group L in the Round of 32.

Group K and L cross-over in the QF and SF stages.

And not surprisingly it has been setup so China get an easier run as hosts in the top half of the draw.

USA are in Group E. AUS in Group H. Top two of Group E go into Group K; Top two of Group F advance into Group L in the Round of 32.

The last sentence should read as: "Top two of Group H advance into Group L in the Round of 32.

What are you on about?

The host always gets put in pot 1 when teams are drawn, ensuring they avoid the top seeds.

We can only hope that Canada don't have their NBA guys as they often don't.

Okay got you now. AUS and USA meet if they win their second group (likely) and we are runners-up. But as winner AUS go into the top half of the bracket.

So it is crucial we win the group to be transferred to the top half of the draw.

A A Ron yes and then they used probably used the UEFA hot balls strategy (LOL) to avoid tougher opponents for them.

We can only hope that Canada don't have their NBA guys as they often don't.

This is the key.

NZ's group a bit harsh too. They have Greece and Brazil in their group. I otherwise like to see NZ do well, but this might be fortunate for Australia in a way because our records will be compared to see who gets the Oceania spot in the 2020 Olympics.

If NZ perform better than us, we need to win one of the 4 pre-Olympic tournaments to gain entry into the Olympics.

I wonder if being placed in this difficult group makes it less likely for Simmons to play. Although in reality it means we need him more and he should participate to help earn his spot in the Olympics. After all, an Olympics spot isn't available to him if the whole team doesn't qualify.

McCarron instead of Goulding !!!

At least he defends hard, whereas Goulding will be a liability every time he steps (sorry, struts) onto the court.

I believe McDowell-White has been out injured. Before that he was playing German second division club Baunach.

Anyone going? I was, but life has gotten in the way. Tickets to all Boomers games including finals if they make it is only $210!

It's a pity that the Olympics is still prioritised well above the World Cup by many players, when the challenge of the World Cup should make it a more prestigious tournament. It's why I think New Zealand's best result ever in major tournaments exceeds the Boomers best ever.

I heard the rumours about him being called 'the yank' but no one has wanted to name names so it's a bit up in the air as to what the deal is there. If Ben playing comes down to him just not wanting to I'd bar him from ever playing for the Boomers. You're either buying in or your not. This isn't your "whenever I feel like it" social team. If his contract ties him up, fair enough. But if he misses it just to work on a jump shot that he could always be working on anyway, I'd tell him to forget about the Olympics.

"If I were to guess Lemanis' squad today, it would look something like this:

Guards - Dellavedova, Mills, Sobey, Goulding
Wings - Ingles, Broekhoff, Creek
Bigs - Bolden, Motum, Baynes, Bogut, Maker
"

As for whether this squad can medal, I'd say they potentially could. We almost did in Rio with a squad that was noticeably less athletic than this one. But I do think the world cup is a tougher competition. I really hope we do get Simmons though because he elevates the team from very good to being one of the top two or three teams on paper.

Given all the NBA talk about him. And Ben needing to work on his jump shot. I actually expect him to spend the off season training and that would mean he doesn't play in the world cup.

It would be nice to have him in the world cup team. But I'm not expecting it

This is the problem when teams like Canada and Australia have all their best players absent for so many games. I imagine it effects most teams with NBA players, but perhaps its worse for these two?

I don't know what system they used for draw, but by and large they have done a good job. Very well balanced.

Yes, the Host nation gets seeded, that is almost always the case. Apart from that, they have spread the tops teams out. (Not sure how Slovenia failed to qualify??) And got a good balance to most groups.

China's group looks a little light because of the Ivory Coast. On previous form they have no business even qualifying, but that means they are on the rise and dangerous.

Simple fact is that Australia is only ranked 11th in the world, and Canada only 23rd. Realistically, we COULD be ranked top 8 and seeded, and presumably Canada could be a lot higher also, but that means going a lot harder in every game.