David Andersen sank two free throws Saturday to give Australia a come-from-behind 76-75 victory over Jordan in its opening match at the basketball world championship.

(Discuss the Australia-Jordan match in our World Championships forum)

Andersen finished with 22 points and center Alex Maric led Australia with 23, while forward Zaid Abbas led Jordan with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Rasheim Wright added 16 points for Jordan but missed a layup in the final seconds that could have given his team a surprise win. Jordan could not claim the rebound, and Australia held on to win a game in which it trailed for three quarters.

“We were very lucky to escape with a win,” Australia coach Brett Brown said. “We recognize we were fortunate to claw back and snatch a win.”

Jordan did not practice or play a game for eight months after the country’s Olympic committee suspended the basketball federation for “administrative and financial violations” and the team did not get together again until shortly before the championship.

“It was a disaster,” Jordan coach Mario Palma said. “We are trying to recover from this disaster, but we are not in the shape we are supposed to be. Most of my players have not played an official game for eight months.

“Otherwise, maybe we could have beaten Australia today, we lost a big opportunity. We can play hard against any team. Maybe we can’t beat them all but we can give them tough games. We can compete against any team here,” Palma said.

Maric’s second-attempt layup with the last shot of the third quarter gave Australia its first lead of the game at 56-55. Maric then scored his team’s next six points to keep the Boomers afloat. Maric and Andersen added nine rebounds each.

“They really exposed us inside in the second half,” said Jordan’s guard Osama Daghles, who had nine assists and seven points. “But we gave it away.”

Jordan’s biggest lead was 11 points and Daghles was still shaking his head in disbelief long after the game. He had a turnover that produced Matt Nielsen’s layup that put Australia within one and then missed a layup with 13 seconds left. Jordan fouled and Andersen sank the two free throws that won the game.

“Jordan had a great game,” Maric said. “We had to play catch-up all the time. They did the basic things very well.”

Coach Brown said Australia’s young players “played young, but we are looking forward to playing Argentina tomorrow.”

Jordan plays Serbia in Group A on Sunday.

• LeBron James is planning on switching his jersey number from No. 23 to No. 6 and the superstar wants all NBA players wearing #23 to retire the number in order to honor Michael Jordan, but is the King really making the change for altruistic reasons? We don’t think so.

• The 24-year old Andrew Bogut may never live up to the expectations of being the 2005 #1 overall draft pick, but if the 7-0 Aussie can continue being injury-free and putting up 15, 9, and 1.5 blocks while shooting over 55% from the field, no one in Milwaukee is going to protest too loudly despite other draft picks Deron Williams (#3), Chris Paul (#4), Andrew Bynum (#10),  and Danny Granger (#17) flourishing.

• Joakim Noah continues his improvement. The 6-11 center has recorded five-straight double-doubles including 15 points and 14 rebounds in last night’s 101-87 win over the Sacramento Kings. In fact, Noah has only had one game in which he didn’t have 10+ rebounds. For the season, the third-year player has started all 10 games for the Bulls and is averaging 12.1 points, 12.4 rebounds , 2.1 assists, and 2.0 blocks.

• Ask Kareem Abdul-Jabbar a question about his recent Leukemia announcement.

• After being let go by the Houston Rockets on Friday, Pops Mensah-Bonsu was immediately picked up by the Toronto, where Pops had a career-season in 2008-09. Mensah-Bonsu suited up for the Raptors last night; played six minutes, scored 5 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in the Rap’s 130-112 setback to the Nuggets. Pops played just 12 minutes with the Rockets before being waived.

• Marco Belinelli scored a season-high 16 points off the bench last night in the Toronto’s 130-112 loss to the Nuggets. The 6-5 shooter from Italy is averaging 8.9 points in 18 minutes off the bench for the Raptors this season.

• David Andersen, former Euroleague star pivot, hit 9-14 shots and scored a career-high 19 points off the bench in the Houston Rocket’s 101-91 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.  The 6-11 center-forward from Australia also pulled in 6 rebounds.

• Who are your 2009-10 NBA All-Stars?

• Sasha Pavlović scored 30 points off the bench in two Minnesota losses (17 vs the Golden State, 13 points vs. Portland). Previously, Pavlović had yet to reach double-figures all season and had scored just 33 points combined in the season’s first seven games. After the Timberwolves won their first game of the season against the New Jersey Nets, they have since dropped 10 straight.

• After Allen Iverson was waived by the Memphis Grizzlies because of disagreements over his playing time, Iverson still wants to play in the NBA, but really, who would want him after such a public debacle that was basically a temper-tantrum? An NBA team would really have to be desperate to… oh wait the Knicks want him. Makes sense.

The NBA season starts tomorrow, but before the regular season begins, we’d like to present some NBA preseason pics and images of Andris Biedrins, Nate Robinson, Dirk Nowitzki, Carlos Arroyo, Erik Spoelstra, Ersan İlyasova, David Andersen, Shaquille O’Neal, Danilo Gallinari, and others.

[Show as slideshow]

(Photos are courtesy of the AP, Reuters, Getty Images, and the NBA)

The Toronto Raptors are hemorraging international players this offseason, while the Houston Rockets are stockpiling them to fill in for injured Chinese center Yao Ming.

Today, the Houston Rockets reached a verbal agreement with the 6-10 Pops Mensah-Bonsu, the energetic British center that played for the Raptors last season.

The deal is a one-year deal and the terms weren’t disclosed as of this writing.

Pops, a fan favorite, averaged 5.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in 19 games for Toronto last season.

The agreement was announced four days after the Raptors sent internationals Carlos Delfino and Roko Ukic to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems.

The Houston Rockets are hoping Mensah-Bonsu, along with the signing of Australian big man David Andersen from the Euroleague, can fill the huge hole left by the 7-6 Yao Ming.  The seven-time all-star is expected to miss the entire 2009-10 season with a leg injury.

With his NBA dealings nearly completed, Pops is expected to return to the Great Britain national team in time for their trip to Turkey for more preparation for Eurobasket. Without Pops, Great Britain went 1-2 at a recent four-nation tournament held in Seville, Spain.

The 2009 Eurobasket tournament set to begin on September 7.

With the news that Yao Ming will miss the entire 2009-10 NBA season and Dikembe Mutombo officially retiring the other day, the Houston Rockets have brought in Aussie big man and Euroleague star David Andersen to help fill the hole they have at center.

“I’ve spoken with the coach and the general manager (Daryl Morey) and they’re all excited about me coming in and this is why the main deal was done,” Andersen said to Basketball Australia. “I should get something signed and sealed in the next few days.”

“David has been a winner with every team he has played for in Europe,” says Rockets GM Daryl Morey. “He is a very well-rounded player who possesses good offensive skills, a very good shooting touch for a big man and is a versatile post player who should fit well in (our) system.”

Before obtaining the rights for the 6-11 Andersen, the tallest player on Houston’s roster was Luis Scola at 6-9.  The Rockets acquired the rights to center David Andersen from the Atlanta Hawks for cash and future considerations.

The Hawks had signed the 29-year old Boomer last month.

Links and Resrouces: Is David Andersen moving to Atlanta? (Interbasket),  Mutombo chooses to retire in Beijing (CCTV), Yao foot operation opens up opportunity for Andersen (Herald Sun), Is Yao Ming’s season over before it began? (Interbasket)

After being drafted in the second round of the 2002 NBA Draft, Aussie big man and Euroleague star David Andersen might finally become an Atlanta Hawk.

That’s all according to a report from El Mundo Deportivo, Andersen’s agent has informed his Spanish club FC Barcelona club that he wants to leave to play in the NBA.

Specifically, Andersen has a clause in his current contract that, if exercised, allows him to move on to the NBA.

If Atlanta signs Andersen, it would be great insurance in case backup center and unrestricted free agents Zaza Pachulia decides to leave the ATL.

The 6-11, 29-year old Andersen has spent the last ten years playing in Europe with club teams CSKA Moscow and Kinder Bologna, the latter of which he won the 2000-01 Euroleague championship alongside star guards Manu Ginóbili and Marko Jarić.

Andersen most recently won the 2009 ACB championship and FC Barcelona placed third in the Euroleague playoffs after defeating Josh Childress and Olympiakos.  The ACB Spanish league is considered the best league outside of the NBA.

Links and Resources: Will Aussie big man finally be a Hawk? (Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Aussie David Andersen to the NBA? (Interbasket)

Led by last year’s Euroleague Finals MVP, the playoff-tested Ramunas Siskauskas, CSKA Moscow advanced to the Euroleague’s championship game by narrowly defeating F.C. Barcelona 82-78 (discuss)

Siskauskas scored 18 of his career-high 29 points in the fourth quarter which included consecutive three-pointers that gave CSKA their first lead of the game, 62-61 midway through the final quarter.

Altogether, Siskauskas hit 8/14 shots from the field which includes four three-pointers in just six attempts. His career-high came despite coming off the bench for just the third time this season.

Former Duke star and current Euroleague star Trajan Langdon added 15 for CSKA (+ 6 rebounds), and 27-year old Russian forward Viktor Khryapa filled up the boxscore by contributing 9 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals.  Also for CSKA, Matjaz Smodis added 9 points, Erazem Lorbek and J.R. Holden each had 8 points.  Holden also had a game high 4 assists.

Former CSKA player David Andersen led F.C. Barcelona with 24 points, hitting all six of his two-point attempts, all three of his free throws, and was  3/6 from three point land.  Barcelona’s backourt of Jaka Lakovic and Juan Carlos Navarro each scored 13 apiece in defeat.  Lakovic also had a game-high 5 assists.  Daniel Santiago of Puerto Rico added 9 points and 6 rebounds for the losers.

CSKA are the defending Euroleague champs, and will next face the winner of other semifinal match between Greek rivals Olympiacos and Panathinaikos in the championship game.  CSKA is looking for its seventh Euroleague title.

Links and Resources: Euroleague Final 4 in Berlin (Interbasket), Regal F.C. Barcelona – CSKA Moscow Boxscore (Euroleague.net), Euroleague final: Panathinaikos vs CSKA Moscow (Interbasket)

DraftExpress reports that David Andersen, Australian center and Euroleague Star, is considering coming to the NBA for the 2009-2010 season.

One of the premier big men in the Euroleague, Andersen has an opt-out clause in his contract, and is interested in going to the American league this next season.  The problem?  “The fact that the Atlanta Hawks have shown little to no interest in his services” says DraftExpress.

I can’t imagine how Andersen wouldn’t be better fit than Zaza Pachulia.

The 6-11, 245lb Andersen was drafted 37th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in 2002, and has played for the Wollongong Hawks of the NBL.  He joined European club Kinder Bologna in 1999 and would win the Euroleague title in 2000-01 with stars Manu Ginobili, Marco Jaric, Antoine Rigaudeau, Rashard Griffith, and Matjaz Smodis.

Andersen would move on to Montepaschi Siena for one season (2003–04), before finally joining CSKA Moscow  from 2004–08, where he would win tw more Euroleague championships and become an All-Euroleague selection (2004-05).

Links and Resources: David Andersen to NBA? (Interbasket), European Roundup: Casspi coming along (DraftExpress.com)

Australia 95: Russia 80 -  in a small upset, Australia rolled over favored-Russia 95-80.

The Boomers used a 10-2 spurt in the final two minutes of the first quarter to take an eleven-point lead after one period, and built it to a 16-point distance at halftime.

The Aussies were bolstered throughout the game by their  three-point shooting, especially  from their frontcourt players – their 7-0 NBA center Andrew Bogut was 2-3 from beyond the arc, as was the 6-11 Chris Anstey while 6-11 David Andersen was 1-1, and 6-10 Matt Nielsen shot 1-2. Together the Australian foursome scored 52 of the Boomers’ 95 points.

As we mentioned yesterday, this was a crucial game for both teams.

The outcome all but guaranteed that Russia would be joining Iran in not  advancing to the next round.  With one game remaining, Russia has one win, while Australia and Croatia have two wins. Both the Aussies and Croatians won their matches against Russia, so in case of a two or three team tie, Russia lose out in the head to head.

The Aussies on the other hand have seen their fortunes changed.  They started the Olympics with two straight bad losses against Croatia and Argentina.  From there they renewed themselves by handing Iran their largest loss to date, 38 points, and now convincingly putting down the defending European Champions Russia by 15, the Boomers have done an about face and are confident.

After hearing some criticism about his statistical performances in Australia’s first three games, Andrew Bogut finished strong against Russia with his best offering; 22 points and 8 rebounds in 28 minutes.  Included in Bogut’s point total was a moster slam dunk around three Russian defenders (see image).   CJ Bruton matched Bogut with 22 points, shooting 4-8 from three and 8-8 from the free-throw line.

Viktor Khryapa led the 2007 European champions with 22 points on 8-9 shooting and added 9 rebounds, but the Russians needed better performances from their two main players Andrei Kirilenko and J.R. Holden.  Holden scored 20 points, but missed 11 of 18 shots from the field.  The naturalized Russian player also had 6 turnovers and 6 assists.  The Eurobasket MVP Kirilenko had a rough game from the field, shooting 1-10 to the tune of only 6 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 turnovers.  Center Aleksey Savrasenko added 16 points for the Russians.

Russia will play Argentina in their final match, while Australia’s next game will be against Lithuania, the only undefeated team in Group A.

Links and Resources: Australia – Russia Boxscore (NBC Olympics), Goorjian tells Bogut bashers to back off (FIBA), Olympic Basketball Preview: Day Four (Interbasket)

With less than a week left before Olympic basketball begins, Interbasket is previewing the twelve national teams participating in the tournament.  We will review the six teams in Group A today and Group B later on this week (Click here for Olympic Basketball Group B Preview).

Group A is filled with teams that are more equally-matched.  Outside of Iran, who is the definite underdog in the whole tournament, the remaining five teams, Argentina, Australia, Croatia, Lithuania and Russia, each have good chances of advancing to the quarterfinals.

In other words, we are basically looking at four available quarterfinal spots for five teams.  Group A features strong competitors in defending Olympic Gold-Medalists Argentina, Oceania-champions Australia, Croatia, Lithuania, and 2007 Eurobasket Champs Russia.

Argentina is the slight favorite of this group as they bring back the majority of their core team from 2004.  I would position Argentina just ahead of Lithuania, Russia, and Croatia with Australia being ranked fifth in the group.  Croatia isn’t the most well-known, but is the definite darkhorse of this group.

Check back tomorrow for the Group B Preview.

Argentina Olympic Preview (discuss)
FIBA World Ranking: 2 (726)
Qualified: 2007 FIBA Americas Tournament (2nd)
Roster: Carlos Delfino, Manu Ginobili, Román González, Juan Gutiérrez, Leonardo Gutiérrez, Federico Kammerichs, Andrés Nocioni, Fabricio Oberto, Antonio Porta, Pablo Prigioni, Paolo Quinteros, and Luis Scola.
Facts: Likely to be Ginobili’s last Olympics, Manu was chosen to carry Argentina’s flag in the opening ceremonies.

Note: Oddly enough, the gold medalists from the 2004 Athens Olympics are going to have to re-prove themselves in this tournament.  With the focus on team USA, Spain, and Greece, everyone seems to be overlooking the perennial contenders this time around.

In the same vein, everyone is looking to unseat the defending champions, “There’s no surprise factor this time,” said center Fabricio Oberto. “We’re up against the wall, because everyone knows they’re playing against the Olympic champion.  You can’t just show off your gold medal and expect to win.”

Admittedly, there are two main issues facing Argentina: #1 They are without their veteran point guard Pepe Sanchez, whom retired from international play and #2 is a worn out Manu Ginobili and his jammed ankle. They’ll also have to deal with the loss of key sub Walter Herrmann, whom pulled out from the tournament early on.

On the bright side, the Argentinians have a pretty good replacement for Pepe.  In Pablo Prigioni, they have one the world’s great playermakers, the 31-year old was voted ACB’s best base player (point guard) in 2007 and led the 2007 Tournament of Americas in assists at 6.3 assists.  The question is, how will Quinteros and Porta do as a backup?

Even better news is that Ginobili has now had a couple months off to heal, relax and decompress, since being eliminated from the NBA playoffs. “It feels great, and that makes me very happy.” said Ginobili after a couple National Team practices.

And let’s not forget that Argentina still boasts the hardworking Luis Scola, energetic Andres Nocioni, athletic swingman Carlos Delfino, and solid team contributors in Federico Kammerichs, Paolo Quinteros, Leonardo Gutiérrez, and Fabricio Oberto.  With a team like that, against Spain or USA or whatever, this is a team to be dealt with. “I’d love to play the Olympic final again, and it doesn’t matter against who.” says Ginobili.  Argentina’s First Game:  August 10th, 2008 vs. Lithuania (16:45 local time)

Links and Resources: Basketball at the Summer Olympics (Wikipedia), The Home Team… of Argentina (MySA.com)

Lithuania Olympic Preview (discuss)
FIBA World Ranking: 5 (486)
Qualified: 2007 Eurobasket Championships (3rd)
Roster: Linas Kleiza, Sarunas Jasikevicius, Simas Jasaitis, Robertas Javtokas, Rimantas Kaukėnas, Darjuš Lavrinovič, Kšyštof Lavrinovič, Mindaugas Lukauskis, Jonas Mačiulis, Marius Prekevičius, Ramunas Siskauskas
Facts: This is Sarunas Jasikevičius’s third Olympics, Saras will bear the flag for Lithuania in the Olympic opening ceremonies. Lithuania had received a bronze medal in three straight Olympics (92, 96, 00) before placing fourth in 2004.

Note: Even without Arvydas Macijauskas and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Lithuania is always a force to be reckoned with as the Liths can shoot the lighs out and are battle-tested with their superstars and proven winners in Ramunas Siskauskas and Sarunas Jasikevicius.

The 6-4 Rimantas Kaukėnas will be Lithuania’s starting shooting guard with the aggressive and physical Robertas Javtokas and Linas Kleiza supporting the perimeter players.

In the last several years, Siskauskas has catapulted himself into superstardom in Europe, proving to be one of the best players in the world with his ability to do a little of everything on the floor.  Siskauskas was named to the 2007 Eurobasket All-Tournament Team, won the 2008 Russian league championship, and was named its best player.

The key to Lithuania’s team comes from their perimeter players, mainly Jasikevicius, Kaukenas, and Siskauskas.  If the Lithuanians hope to medal, Saras has to pick up his game and be his magical self, Siskauskas has to live up to his reputation as the European Scottie Pippen (Siska has a much better jumpshot might I add), and Kaukenas must be consistent from the perimeter.

With Darius Songaila likely out of the Olympics because of an injury, Javtokas and Kleiza must be strong on the Lithuanian interior in both defense and rebounding.  They’ll be tested early on as their first game in pool play is against Argentina.  Lithuania’s First Game:  August 10th, 2008 vs. Argentina (16:45 local time)

Links and Resources: Basketball at the Summer Olympics (Wikipedia)

Russia Olympic Preview (discuss)
FIBA World Ranking: 16 (186)
Qualified: 2007 Eurobasket Championships (1st)
Roster: Sergei Bykov, Vitaly Fridzon, J.R. Holden, Victor Keyru, Viktor Khryapa, Andrei Kirilenko, Sergey Monya, Nikita Morgunov, Zakhar Pashutin, Petr Samoylenko, Aleksey Savrasenko, Andrey Vorontsevich.
Facts: Andrei Kirilenko, like Ginobili and Jasikevicius, will have the honor of being the flag-bearer for Russia during the opening ceremonies.  The last time Russia participated in the Olympics was in 2000, where the 19-year old Kirilenko led the Russians to eighth place while leading the tournament in steals.

Note: The 2007 Eurobasket surprise champions Russia, led by the do-it-all Andrei Kirilenko, whom was named Eurobasket MVP.  Fortunately, it looks as key-contributor Victor Khryapa will make it back from an ankle injury in time for the Olympics.  Khryapa will take the spot of former-Kansas center Sasha Kaun on their roster and will add another dimension to Russia’s frontline’s versatility.  Russia has one of the better tournament playmakers in American-born, Russian-naturalized JR Holden, but needs to remain consistent and unflustered throughout the game.

The 6-11 Nikita Morgunov is solid in the Russian frontcourt, and when I say solid, I mean it in a good way, but it also means he has slow feat and not much of a consistent offensive threat.  Think a poor man’s Fabricio Oberto.  Keep an eye out for Sergei Bykov, whom can shoot the three.  These international tournaments always seems to have breakout three-point percentages.  Russia’s First Game:  August 10th, 2008 vs. Iran (09:00 local time)

Links and Resources: Basketball at the Summer Olympics (Wikipedia), Andrei Kirilenko, Russia Basketball (Salt Lake Tribune), Blatt refuses to give up on Khryapa (FIBA)

Croatia Olympic Preview (discuss)
FIBA World Ranking: 20 (100)
Qualified: 2008 World Olympic Qualifying Tournament
Roster: Marko Banić, Stanko Barać, Davor Kus, Krešimir Lončar, Sandro Nicević, Zoran Planinić, Marko Popović, Nikola Prkačin, Marin Rozić, Damjan Rudež, Marko Tomas, and Roko Ukić.
Facts: The last time Croatia participated in the Olympics was in 1996 with players like Toni Kukoc and Dino Radja, placed 7th in the Atlanta Olympics.  Marko Banić, their 24 year old power forward, shot an amazing 93% from the field in the Olympic Qualifyng Tournament, going 14-15 from the field.

Note: Since winning silver in 1992, the Croatians haven’t been able to qualify a team in the last two Olympics despite having some of the more talented players in Europe.  They were able to qualify by going unbeaten in this year’s Pre-Olympic World Qualifiers with a 4-0 record, with much thanks to efficient performances of rising European player Marko Tomas, whom averaged 17 points on high percentages.

Though the Croats are happy to be back in the Olympics again, they’re not satisfied with just being there,“(Being back in the Olympics) is a great success, a great gift for us, but we are not going to go to Beijing as tourists.” said Marko Popovic

This version of Team Croatia has the right amount of talent, chemistry, defense, and aggressiveness to move on to the next round.  There are no headcases or egos on this team.  And to boot, the 2008 National Team brings back 9 of the 12 players that defeated Spain in Eurobasket 2007.

This is a new generation of Croatian players, with a good mix of youth and experience, and are capable of playing and defending at different speeds and styles of play.  Much of that flexibility is due to their under-rated yet diverse backcourt, which is one of the strongest in the Olympics.

Croatia’s backcourt features Davor Kus, Zoran Planinic, Marko Popovic, and Roko Ukic.  These four guards were in Croatia’s top-six in scoring during Eurobasket 2007 and would expect similar production.

In the frontcourt, the 6-10 Damir Markota had injured his meniscus during the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament and won’t make the games.  Markota has been replaced by the versatile Damjan Rudež in order to shore up the forward positions.  Rudež, along with 6-11 Lončar and 6-8 Marko Banić will have to shoulder more of the interior with Markota out.

Even with Rudež, the Croatians will have to continue rebounding as a team.  In the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, no one Croatian player dominated the boards, but the Croats had nine players that averaged between 2.2 rebounds and 3.8 rebounds.  Croatia’s First Game:  August 10th, 2008 vs. Australia (20:00 local time)

Links and Resources: Basketball at the Summer Olympics (Wikipedia), Olympic Team Profile: Croatia (Euroleague), Rudez called by Croatia after meniscus injury knocks out Markota (FIBA), Croatia returns to Olympics with victory over Germany (FIBA)

Australia Olympic Preview (discuss)
FIBA World Ranking: 9 (284, tie)
Qualified: 2007 Oceania Championships (1st)
Roster: David Andersen, Chris Anstey, David Barlow, Andrew Bogut, CJ Bruton, Joe Ingles, Patrick Mills, Brad Newley, Matt Nielsen (C), Shawn Redhage, Glen Saville, Mark Worthington.
Facts: Recent aboriginal NBA draftee Nathan Jawai was left off the Australian roster.  Since 1980 Olympics, Australia has participated in all seven Olympic Games and have placed 8th, 7th, 4th, 6th, 4th, 4th, and 9th.  In the 1996 and 2000 games, where Australia took 4th place, they lost both Bronze medals to Lithuania.

Note: Qualifying through the Oceania region, the Aussies are bringing back five players from the 2004 team (Andersen, Bogut, Bruton, Neilsen, and Saville) and they all will play a large role in the wins and losses of the 2008 team.

The Aussies have always had the talent and size to make noise in international tournaments and they have.  Even though they’ve placed fourth in three of the last five Olympics, the Aussies never quite get over the hump, on the court or total respect off it.

The Aussies have one of the best frontcourts in the tournament with great size in 6-11 David Andersen, 7-0  Chris Anstey, 6-10 Matt Nielsen, and 7-0 Andrew Bogut, whom recently rejoined the team after finalizing his $76m multi-year contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.

With their sizable frontcourt, the Boomers success will also hinge on their guards; experienced point guard  CJ Bruton, Brad Newley, and newcomer Patrick Mills.

Having good guards is key to having a legitimate run for a medal, “You definitely have to have above-average guards.” said Bogut. “It’s not going to be Andrew Bogut or David Andersen averaging 20 and 12 for us to get a medal.”

Team Australia will certainly miss the leadership of Sam Mackinnon, whom is having various knee problems.  Sam Mack was named NBL’s defensive player of the year, MVP, Finals MVP, and international player of the year.

The game plan for Australia to be successful is team chemistry and effort, rebounding, defense or what Bogut likes to say “We’re going to have to junk the game up.”

The Boomers know that in order to advance, they’re going to have to play well together.  Head Coach Brian Goorjian realizes his team’s potential but understands the challenge of coming home with a medal, “There are only three medals. You have got the USA over there and some very strong teams in Europe. We are going to have to play very, very well together.” Australia’s First Game:  August 10th, 2008 vs. Croatia (20:00 local time)

Links and Resources: Boomers’ Andrew Bogut prepares to face basketball’s giants (The Australian), The Boomers (FoxSports.com.au), Neilsen reaches into his own pockets to reach Beijing (FIBA), Bogut says guards hold key to Olympic success for Boomers (Herald Sun)

Iran Olympic Preview (discuss)
FIBA World Ranking: 33 (33.1)
Qualified: Asian Championships (1st)
Roster: Hamed Afagh, Amir Amini, Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, Javad Davari, Saeid Davarpanah, Ali Doraghi, Hamed Haddadi, Mehdi Kamrani, Mousa Nabipour, Oshin Sahakian, Hamed Sohrabnejad, Iman Zandi.
Facts: The 2008 Beijing Olympics will mark only the second time that Iran has qualified and participated in Olympic basketball, the first time being exactly 60 years ago, in the 1948 Olympics held in London.  Iran placed 14th out of 23 participating teams.  Basketball is the only team sport Iran is participating in 2008.

Note: The keyword for Iran is “Experience.”  If being THE underdog of underdogs in this year’s Olympics wasn’t going to be enough already, Iran will compete with heavy hearts after they lost their best player, Aidin Bahrami, to a car accident a couple months after winning the Asian Championships in 2007.

Additionally, Iran may have lost their key player for the games, Hamed Ehadadi, as he went down with an ankle injury playing a pre-Olympic game against China on August 1st.  Haddadi is a promising 7-2, 254lb center that is also Iran’s leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker.  Whether Ehadadi will be ready in time for the games is still in question as of this post.

Still, this will be a great opportunity for the Persians to gain valuable experience against more established and competitive teams as is recognized by Serbian head coach Rajko Toroman “In my opinion, that’s only way to improve these players because Iranian league is not so strong. They don’t have enough tough games. Genetically (Iran has) good abilities. They have good body skills, but they do not have enough good technical games in Iranian league.”

“It is like a dream to participate in the Olympic Games — especially for us because basketball in Iran is not that … important,” Aidin’s brother, national teammate, and Iranian captain Samad Bahrami said.

And Bahrami recognizes the feat in front of Team Iran, “”Everybody knows . . . we cannot win any medals, but it’s going to be a very good experience.” Iran’s First Game:  August 10th, 2008 vs. Russia (09:00 local time)

Links and Resources: Basketball at the Summer Olympics (Wikipedia), Aidin Bahrami dies in car accident (Interbasket), Hamed Haddadi the next big thing (Interbasket), Hamed Ehadadi’s injury is the worst nightmare for Iran (Beijing2008), Iran gears up for Beijing Olympics (Iran Press TV)

With the two Olympic Basketball Groups now set and determined, which group would you rather be in?  Or as a thread in our Olympic Basketball Forum asks, “which is the Group of Death, A or B?”

The twelve participating national teams were randomly drawn into two separate groups..  Each of the two group will have six teams, with the top four teams from each group advancing into the quarterfinals.   Here is what the groups look like:

Group A: Argentina, Australia, Croatia, Iran, Lithuania, and Russia
Group B: Angola, China, Germany, Greece, Spain, and USA

Group A
In group A, we have the aging gold medalists from the 2004 Athens Olympics, Argentina.  With age, an injury to Manu Ginobili, and the lack of Pepe Sanchez and Walter Hermmann, they’re not as fearsome as they were in 2004 or even 2006, but certainly cannot be overlooked.

Also in Group A are three very solid European teams.  The 2007 Eurobasket surprise champions Russia, led by the do-it-all Andrei Kirilenko and Victor Khryapa.

Even without stars Arvydas Macijauskas and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Lithuania is always a force to be dealt with as they’re battle-tested with Ramunas Siskauskas and Sarunas Jasikevicius.  Then we have the revamped Croatian squad that went unbeaten in the recent Pre-Olympic World Qualifiers, thanks to efficient performances by Marko Tomas.

Rounding out Group A is a competitive Aussie team with David Andersen, Brad Newley and Andrew Bogut, and a not so competitive Iranian team.  All in all, this group is probably the most-rounded of the two groups.

Group B
Group B features two of the favorites of the tournament – the United States (now with preparation and urgency!) and Spain, the 2006 World Champions.  The Spaniards are a disciplined, emotional, talented, and stacked team – a deadly combination.  Not far behind these the USA and Spain, is Greece.  Team Hellas just came off a 4-0 record in the World Qualifying Tourney, defeating their opponents by a sick 32 points a game, including a complete 57-point drubbing of Lebanon. Yikes.

I would place hosts China and the Dirk Nowitzki-led Germans in the same tier.  No two teams need more from their NBA stars than these two teams.  China has the pressure to do well on their homecourt, they have Yao Ming coming off injury, a young and talented 7-0 Yi Jianlian, and Wang Zhizhi coming back to the National Team.  Together they form the new version of the Great Wall.  Germany has really tighetned up their supporting cast, adding a naturalized Chris Kaman and solid outside shooters that will make teams pay for paying too much attention to Nowitzki.

Also in group B, is the perennial African champion Angola.  This team continues to improve year over year as they have the best organization and support of all African teams. Led by Eduardo Mingas, Olimpio Cipriano, and Joaquim Gomes, the Angolans are never an easy squad to defeat.

So which group is tougher?
Well, it all depends on which perspective you are taking. You have five competitive teams in Group A, but you also have Iran in that same group.  Group B has three top-tiered teams, with a three decent teams in Angola, China and Germany, each with an decent chance of upsetting any team.

It really comes down to which likely-scenario is tougher – With Group A, there are five teams with similar chances advancing unto the next round, so four teams out of five, with the sixth team Iran unlikely to make any noise.  However in group B, it’s essentially three teams fighting for one spot because the United States, Spain and Greece are very likely to qualify into the next round.

So with that said, if I were a national team, chances are better to advance in group A scenario.

Links and Resources: Which one is the “group of death”, A or B? (Interbasket Forum), Olympic Basketball Forum & Message Board (Interbasket)

The Australian National Team defeated the Tall Blacks today 79-67 in the Oceania Championships, bringing the Boomers one game away from qualifying for the 2008 Olympics. The Aussies used stifling defense to pull out the win.  Leading the Boomers offensive attack was center and Euroleague star David Andersen with 20 points, Sam Mackinnon had 18 while Glen Saville chipped in 16. The Tall Blacks were led by Kirk Penney‘s 20 points.  Originally posted 08/20/2007