The Australian Opals are in the box seat to contest the medal rounds at the 2024 Paris Olympics but the Boomers have a mountain to climb to repeat the heroics of the Tokyo Games – and Shane Heal believes a very controversial selection could come back to haunt them.
While the Opals sealed second spot in their pool and avoided a clash with the might of the United States before a potential semi-final showdown, the Boomers limped into the knockout stage of the tournament.
Losses to Canada and Greece had their Olympics on life support after also crashing out early at last year’s World Cup, with only other results allowing the Boomers to progress to the final eight.
The Tokyo bronze medal winners have come under intense scrutiny for those losses after coach Brian Goorjian controversially left out Portland Trailblazers star Matisse Thybulle.
Boomers fans were left stunned by that decision, as Thybulle is an NBA Defensive Player of the Year and has twice been named in the best second unit in the best league in the world.
On July 4, it was reported that Thybulle was ‘squeezed out’ of the Australian squad in favour of Dyson Daniels, Dante Exum, Josh Green and Matthew Dellavedova.
Goorjian acknowledged the difficult decision at the time , saying, ‘there’s going to be a lot of people who want to put a bullet in my head.’
Shane Heal, who famously shaped up to Charles Barkley at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, said the Boomers would need a big reverse in form to reach the medal rounds
Boomers fans were shocked when NBA Defensive Player of the Year Matisse Thybulle was left out of the squad for Paris
There were reports that a senior player would boycott Paris if another senior player was not picked, which squeezed Thybulle out of the squad. The Boomers have denied this
Last week, a Boomers coaching staff member denied claims that a senior player had threatened to boycott the Games if a teammate, reportedly Joe Ingles, wasn’t selected.
Adding petrol to the fire is the fact Ingles has only played two minutes in Paris, in the opening match against Spain.
Former Boomer Shane Heal, who famously shaped up to Charles Barkley at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and now works as a basketball expert for Stan Sport, said questions deserved to be asked about why Thybulle was not picked for Paris.
‘I haven’t heard any more than what has been speculated and reported in the press, I have no facts to add to that,’ he said.
‘But it is certainly interesting times. There are a lot of question marks over why Matisse wasn’t selected.
‘You can see him in all of the games, how Matisse would have been so valuable.
‘He’s one of the best defenders in the world and that athleticism certainly would have helped this Boomers team.
‘There is certainly question marks over selection, over how they have gone about it and where they are now and why Matisse isn’t there.’
Thybulle was part of the history making Boomers squad from the Tokyo Olympics that claimed a bronze medal, Australia’s first in men’s basketball
Boomers coach Brian Goorjian has come under fire for his selections after the Boomers lost two of their pool matches and barely made it to the quarter finals
Waiting for the Boomers is three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić and a powerful Serbian squad
While hindsight shows the selection of Ingles would have been better off going to Thybulle, Heal said it was not necessarily a clear indication of a rift between squad members and the coach.
‘It’s very difficult to play everybody,’ he said.
‘I think that the last two players most of the time are more insurance than they are there to be able to play minutes.
‘You can even see it with the American team. [Boston Celtics superstar] Jayson Tatum didn’t get on in the first game, so they have been rotating with two players that haven’t got on.
‘If Matisse went, it probably would have come down to whether you’re taking Matthew Dellavedova or Joe Ingles in that [last] spot.
‘With not that much confidence that either is going to play but as that insurance role.’
Heal is bullish about the Opals chances of success in their quarter final match up against Serbia after they corrected the ship following a shock loss to Nigeria to open their tournament.
‘Their opening two games were really disappointing and you struggled to see any of their best,’ he said.
‘The way they looked after the ball, their defence, free throw shooting, but today’s game [a 79-72 defeat of previously-unbeaten France] gives you hope.
‘They were exceptional, they turned it all around in front of a big crowd in France and played some great basketball.
‘I think their match-up is a really good one, I don’t think Serbia has the depth or quality to be able to match the Opals.’
The Opals started their tournament on the wrong foot but recovered with a huge win over Canada to seal their place in the quarter finals
Heal believe the Opals, on current form, have a strong chance to reach the medal rounds and even push for gold
On the Boomers chances against Serbia, who have three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokić, Heal is less confident.
‘He is a superstar, one of the best players in the world,’ he said.
‘I think probably what separates Serbia from Greece who have really struggled [despite having Giannis Antetokounmpo in their squad] is they have other scorers, particularly [Atlanta forward] Bogdan Bogdanović. He has shown he can turn it on at Olympic level.
‘We are going to have to pay a lot of attention to Jokic, but they’ve got other people who can hurt you as well.
‘We know he is such a great passer so it makes them even more dangerous.
‘This is a match up I’m not as comfortable with as I am with the women.
‘We are certainly capable of winning this game but we’re going to have to turn around some of our form.’
Shane Heal is a basketball expert in the Stan Sport Olympics lineup. The only place to watch every event from Paris 2024 ad-free, live and on demand with 4K. With exclusive features including international multi-language channels and minis, go to Stan.com.au/Olympics for more info.
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