Boomers came ready, Kiwis didn't
MELBOURNE (Paulo Kennedy's View from Downunder) - Anyone who thought any team would have a series of walks in the park during the home-and-away FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers obviously has never followed the soccer equivalent.
Playing these games in home gyms makes it literally a different ball game. Rolling into a foreign country and foreign stadium for a one-off game mid-season is very different to having a month-long preparation and then settling into one location for a multi-game tournament.
Of course, as the first FIBA window showed us, it's not just the away games that can be tricky, just ask the New Zealand Tall Blacks.
I'm sure it wasn't conscious, but it seemed pretty evident the talented Kiwis didn't bring the right mindset into their clash with Korea in Wellington.
That was strange, because Paul Henare's men had lost to them twice at the FIBA Asia Cup and had seen first-hand what a dangerous opponent they are.
Knock knock, who's there?
Henare certainly was concerned about a possible upset heading into the game, perhaps the issue was the line-up had changed so much since August's tournament, with so much talent coming in, that some of the players thought the names on the back of the shirt would get it done. They didn't.
I wrote a fortnight ago about how the Tall Blacks are now doing things differently offensively to the Kiwi teams we have watched for so long, something that stood out to observers.
But in reality their 80 points at 46 per cent, with 13 o-boards and 12 turnovers was a solid return at that end of the floor and, as Henare said, enough to win an international game if the D was sound.
It wasn't, however, with the Kiwis horribly reactive to the perpetual motion that is Korean offence. If you are trying to follow what the Koreans are doing and then trying to stop it you are in for a long night, you've got to stop their movement at the source.
They didn't and Jeon JumBeom had a field day, knocking in 6-of-8 triples in a match-winning display.
It's easy to pick at coaching and defensive strategy as causes of those defensive struggles, but I think the issue largely rests with those on the floor who didn’t bring the energy from tip-off.
Boomers set the standard
Contrast the Tall Blacks' intensity with that of the Boomers in their two games. The Aussies defended almost every possession like it was crunch time, constantly up and in the lanes disrupting their opponents' sets and forcing them to disrupt.
Andrej Lemanis' men gave up just 124 points in 80 minutes while scoring 186 themselves. They had 23 steals amongst their opponents’ 33 turnovers. They only allowed 12 offensive rebounds from 76 misses.
Mitch Creek, Damian Martin, Brad Newley and Nathan Sobey all made life very difficult for the Japanese and Chinese Taipei guards, while Matt Hodgson was a tower of power inside.
🚫NOT IN MY HOUSE🚫 Hodgson with the nasty rejection #FIBAWC #ThisIsMyHouse
— FIBA 🏀 World Cup (@FIBAWC) November 27, 2017
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Filling roles
Nick Kay also made it very clear why he is in this Boomers team, and it's almost laughable that some suggest Daniel Johnson should be selected ahead of him because he scores more points in the NBL.
The Boomers don't need points from Kay, but his relentless hustle and screening, discipline to the system, clever passing and finely-tuned nose for o-boards - he had 10 in less than 42 minutes - creates plenty of points for his teammates.
Johnson can't do those things, as good as he is at putting the ball in an NBL basket. The reality is Daniel Kickert fills the role DJ might and he does it exceptionally well, not just scoring 37 points on 15-of-20 shooting last week, but also dishing off seven dimes.
Who's China bound?
The obvious discussion to come out of these windows, all around the world, is which players who have stepped up in these important games will earn a spot at China 2019.
From an Australian perspective I think Mitch Creek continues to move closer to being a must-pick in any Boomers squad.
Since he took over the job Lemanis has been looking for an Aussie Mika Vukona, and Creek brings plenty of that strength and energy while being far more dynamic at the offensive end.
While our country has lots of talent playing in the NBA, no one there quite brings the combination of relentless defence, unselfishness, versatility, strength under the bucket, speed in transition, penetration, passing and just sheer will to win any contest he is in.
🇦🇺@MitchCreek55 the Rim Rockerrrr!! 💥 #FIBAWC #ThisIsMyHouse
— FIBA 🏀 World Cup (@FIBAWC) November 24, 2017
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I can see Creek and Ben Simmons spending plenty of time alongside one another at the two forward positions for many years to come - that will suit Lemanis' system beautifully and make the Boomers very dangerous at both ends.
Operation Castro
The next big challenge is the Philippines, who also sit 2-0 in Group B after hard-fought wins over Japan and Chinese Taipei.
While Terrence Romeo caught the headlines at the FIBA Asia Cup for his impressive one-on-one play, I wrote at the time that Jason Castro is still the engine that drives the Gilas bus.
He certainly showed that last week with 40 points on 14-of-25 shooting, 11 rebounds and 10 dimes in his country's two wins.
I can't wait to see him go up against the Australians, with he and Andray Blatche two players who will present quality defensive challenges for the Boomers’ impressive team defence.
Operation stay in touch
While New Zealand's home loss wasn't a disaster, as they are pretty much certain to finish above Hong Kong and progress to the second round, it means they are now on the back foot heading into February road clashes with China and then Korea.
Lose both of those, and a repeat performance of last Thursday's effort would probably result in that, and they will carry at least three losses into the next round, depending on their final home game against China.
Given only eight of the 12 teams from the second round - including China as host - progress to the World Cup, that would certainly leave them with some work to do.
Simply put, they need to win at least one of their away games in February, and that leaves coach Henare with some thinking to do. Against Korea, three players who flew back from Europe played 79 minutes and took 37 of the team's 66 shots.
Given how well the New Zealand Breakers contingent is performing in the NBL, is this the best recipe? Does Henare need to reconsider his approach? Or was last Thursday just a bad night, a kick in the pants that will see a better performance next time around?
Whichever Henare decides he needs to get it right, because not qualifying for the World Cup would be a disaster for New Zealand basketball, and that becomes a real possibility if they go 0-2 in February.
Paulo Kennedy
FIBA
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