As the Boomers' tune-ups ahead of the FIBA World Cup continue, Andrej Lemanis has made it clear that these lead-up games have been focused on internal growth and articulating an identity. Expect to see the same line peddled over the next few days as the Boomers finish their World Cup preparations with a pair of games against the might of Team USA in Melbourne.
Notions of winning, while important, tend to drive a results-oriented news cycle, but for the Boomers' brains trust, the process of scaffolding, of building a collective identity, has always taken precedent. Players need to subjugate their egos and play for a larger purpose to attain collective success. The larger focus for the Boomers has always been China -- specifically being finely tuned by Sept. 1 in Dongguan, where they'll step onto the court against an increasingly confident Canada team.
Step by step, they're getting there; time tends to help as individuals marinate within the Boomers ecosystem. We saw a jittery feeling-out game against Canada on Friday that culminated in a 90-70 destruction at the hands of Nick Nurse's charges. That was followed by a more physical, dialed-in defensive performance the following night from the Boomers as they escaped with a morale-boosting win.
Sure, the win was nice. But it was the shifting of gears from practice pace to game ferocity, from clunky uncertainty to bludgeoning intent -- more in line with where they want to be -- that would have pleased Lemanis and his assistant coaches the most. It's about the process.
With that in mind, the two games against Team USA offer the same opportunities to sharpen the edges of that identity.
Again, winning against a Team USA on home soil would be nice (a particularly morale-boosting injection if gold is the colour of choice), but the goal is to refine the outlines of a rotation into a working tournament pecking order. It's about testing your process against the most athletic, precise and starry humans available. The stakes rise. Every misstep on this occasion will result in transition death (hello, Donavan Mitchell et al).
The opportunity to test this team's gold medal aspirations is simply a bonus.
Still, expect the Boomers to tinker, trying to identify optimal lineup choices and even unexpected ones that Lemanis can toggle for specific game situations in tournament play.
With the sudden withdrawal of Jonah Bolden from the World Cup squad, the muddied waters of the big man rotation begin to clear. Melbourne United's Dave Barlow -- the ageless Dave Barlow -- will be the fifth big and provide a shooting threat from deep off the bench. If it's comfort and familiarity that the Boomers craved, I'm shocked Brock Motum was not recalled.
But the core, four-pronged big man rotation will be Bogut-Baynes-Landale-Kay, in some configuration. For now, Lemanis has avoided the Rio starting tandem of Bogut and Baynes, though that in-game option has not been available thus far due to both resting a game each against Canada. We'll see if that duo ever shares the court, but that appears remote, with Team USA unlikely to pair two centres -- Myles Turner, Brook Lopez or Mason Plumlee -- on the court.
It remains to be seen whether Jock Landale has indeed locked down the starting power forward spot. His activity and mobility -- loping down the floor in transition for quick-hitters and his slips in the half-court and assortment of rip-throughs -- have caught the eye.
Nick Kay grew into Game 2 against Canada and looked more comfortable in the second half. In opposition to Landale's finesse, he provides brute physicality and a commitment to hustle his way into offensive rebounding positions.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for either Landale or Kay will be the wings masquerading as 4s on Team USA. Both will take turns chasing Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Harrison Barnes along the perimeter.
The battle between Bogut and Baynes for the starting centre role is simply a choice of offence or defence. Bogut is the superior defender, rebounder, rim-protector, communicator and playmaker. Baynes has more nimble feet, which theoretically means he can slide better, unlocking more pick-and-roll defensive coverages. That's theoretical, though -- Baynes looked off-the-pace against Canada in his limited minutes. Those same happy feet carried him into foul trouble, and he looked like he was walking on ice when guarding in space. There were times when it was unclear why he was running out at Khem Birch on the perimeter.
Baynes does, however, provide more individual offence, though the Boomers' motion has worked best with Bogut as the fulcrum. If you look only at numbers, Landale might have impressed most with scoring production, but it's Bogut who makes all this work.
Thing to watch: how the Boomers navigate pick-and-roll defensive coverages. Against Canada, the Boomers big men mostly dropped back to corral the ball handler, while Dellavedova or Mills chased over the top of the screen. Expect the same, but with subtle differences, such as how deep they stand. Bogut is known to drop back into the lane, but Baynes took it to almost absurd levels in Game 2 (there was one possession on which he was basically parked under the rim) and was completely out of position. On a related note, Khem Birch feasted on little floaters and flips right at the lip. In both games, the Boomers yielded open looks in those in-between spaces.
Bolden was the one big man who played higher up, able to straddle the line of corralling the ball handler and staying relatively connected to the roller. He was able to disrupt. Now that he's no longer in the squad, the Boomers lose that option. Kay can do a reasonable facsimile, but he isn't as athletic, and Landale doesn't look as steady on his feet on defence, nor does he have the defensive instincts. He has made rotational mistakes.
There was some fun stuff from Canada, who flashed a pick-the-picker sequence with Bogut typically laying back in the pick-and-roll, only for Kyle Wiltjer (Landale's mark) to lay a back-screen on Bogut. With the backside defence in crisis, it created a wide-open midrange look. The Boomers also unleashed this version of the "Spain pick-and-roll" action, with Ingles setting the pick on Baynes' defender, only for Canada to snuff it out.
Stagger screens have also confused the Aussie big men coverage, and clearing the one side of the court for two-on-two actions have also been problematic. Watch other teams try to exploit this.
Most importantly, it will interesting to see how much help the Boomers' perimeter defence sends, and if there is more consistent weak-side help -- you don't need to stay attached there because it's a longer pass. Chris Goulding was surprisingly good in that respect with his off-the-ball defensive discipline. At times, he zoned off his assignment in the opposite corner, tagged the rolling big man and allowed someone such as Bolden to rotate in help.
The wing rotation remains a relative mystery. Joe Ingles aside, it's a free-for-all among Goulding, Cam Gliddon and Mitch Creek in the race to nab minutes.
Goulding appears ahead of Cam Gliddon in the pecking order for now, particularly if he continues to show that defensive grit.
"My comfort level within this group is really high," Goulding said after Game 2. "Figuring out what I need to do, and I think it's going to change probably on nightly basis, depending who's out there. Just being versatile, trying to bring intensity on defence every single time and see what happens on offence."
Mitch Creek is the unknown. Although his outside shooting is iffy, he provides a level of physicality, switchability and the obligatory meanness that can be used in doses, particularly defending bigger wings such as the Middleton, Tatum and Barnes cadre.
Patty Mills will likely chase Kemba Walker, leaving the sturdier Matthew Dellavedova to contend with the size and explosiveness of Donovan Mitchell. Those matchups will probably flip-flop on the other end for Team USA.
Walker will be Team USA's closer, but Mitchell is primed for a breakout tournament. He will light up Marvel Stadium.
Nathan Sobey, who was nervy against Canada, might benefit from the more open floor game that might unfold, partly from the transcendent athleticism that USA brings and partly through the electricity generated by a supersized crowd at Marvel Stadium.
Offensively, the Boomers made a concerted effort with inside-outside basketball against Canada in Game 2, which led to better shots and floor balance, and that will have to sustain against a more talented and nimble opponent. If their shot profile resembles their first outing when quick outside shots were launched, Team USA will rain transition death on the Boomers.
Defensively, the Boomers will need to improve their containment with dribble-drive penetration, perhaps even unleashing a zone in intervals -- something they could not do against Canada -- to dare Gregg Popovich's team from downtown.
They'll need to stay attached to Kemba Walker and Joe Harris, but they might take their chances against the rest.
Those are the sorts of compromises you need to make against the premium talent in the world. Over the next days in Melbourne, we'll see how the Boomers build and evolve and if their gold medal aspirations are realistic.