Boomers embracing the challenge of do-or-die basketball against Japan

If the Australian Boomers win tonight's game against Japan, they advance. Lose, and their dream of a first World Cup medal is over. The stakes are high, but they're ready for the challenge.

Sunday’s loss to Germany might have left Australia’s FIBA World Cup hopes on a knife’s edge, but it hasn’t changed the mindset of the players. They came into the tournament once again preaching “Gold Vibes Only”, and as they prepare for tonight’s do-or-die clash with Japan, that’s still the case.

“Our goal doesn’t change, the vibe between the group remains the same and what we’re here to do, it’s just learning as we go and adapting as we move forward,” Boomers star Patty Mills said after practice this morning.

To reach those goals later in the tournament, the Boomers need to first focus on tonight. Win against Japan, and they will advance to the second round; lose, and they’re relegated to the classification games and a 17th-place finish at best. It’s high-stakes basketball much earlier than Australia would have ideally liked, but Mills says the playing group is ready to embrace the challenge and tackle it head-on.

“This is the World Cup and nothing is going to be handed to us on a silver plate, it is going to be hard. Everyone is going to give us our best shot, that’s credit to where we’ve levelled up our basketball for the international stage, so we understand this is gonna be hard,” Mils said.

“That pressure we welcome, and we understand what’s at stake here for this game and moving forward, but that’s the international stage, that’s World Cup basketball, and we’re here for it.”

Credit: FIBA

The challenge tonight will be a unique one, with the Boomers facing off against the host nation and the raucous crowd that comes with them. As Japan rattled off an incredible comeback on Sunday, erasing an 18-point deficit against Finland to win and keep their own World Cup hopes alive, their fans threatened to blow the roof off the Okinawa Arena. Australia has started slowly in each of their first two games and trailed in the opening quarter – doing the same against Japan would only bring those fans even more into the contest.

“It’s something we’ve looked at and trying to improve on and see what we can do to make sure we don’t get off to slow starts,” Mills said. “Hanging our hat on the defensive end, being able to deliver the first punch, I think is what we need to look at doing, and all the details come in after that.”

This Japanese team presents just as many challenges on the court, where coach Tom Hovasse has implemented a high-upside gameplan on both ends of the floor. It worked to perfection in the second half on Sunday, with their pressing defence rattling the Finns and some hot perimeter shooting opening up the floor offensively. The Boomers are much tougher opposition for them, but as Hovasse said after his team’s last win, they won’t be taking a backwards step.

The Boomers are hyper-aware of Japanese superstar Yuta Watanabe in particular, and the damage that he can do offensively. The newly-signed Phoenix Suns forward was quiet against Finland, scoring just four points while shooting 1-6 from the field as his teammates rained threes around him. Both Mills and Caporn know that could change in an instant, having seen his quality first-hand with the Brooklyn Nets – Mills as a teammate, and Caporn as an assistant coach with the team.

“We obviously know how much of an elite shooter he is and how streaky he can be, he makes one and he can rattle off nine, ten in a row, no matter how he’s been shooting in the past,” Mills said.

When asked what the Boomers might have up their sleeve to stop Watanabe, Caporn was happy to keep it simple: “Stop him scoring, that’s the plan. Great shooter, great player.”

While Watanabe is the marquee name on Japan’s roster, and big man Josh Hawkinson led the way against Finland with 29 points, it could be Japan’s guards that pose the biggest threat to Australia. The Boomers’ switch-heavy defence was picked apart by Germany, with guards Dennis Schroder and Madeo Lo exploiting the mismatches it created and combining for 50 points on the night. 

Just hours later, a similar scene played out once again, with Japanese point guard Yuki Kawamura running rings around Finland’s bigs. The five-foot-eight guard used his speed to lose NBA star Lauri Markkanen on multiple occasions as he poured in 15 points in the fourth quarter alone, finishing with 25 points and nine assists in the game.

That threat is something the Boomers are wary of, but assistant coach Adam Caporn is backing the team to respond tonight. “Largely we defended well [against Germany], the players did what we asked them to do, it was a hard-fought game against a really good team and we’re carrying a lot of that forward,” Caporn said.

“Sometimes you want to do things a little bit better but stick with the scheme, and we’ve been changing schemes – we changed across the course of that game and they made some tough shots, little things in that we could have done better. We’ll have changing schemes again tonight.”

One player that enjoyed some success defensively was Xavier Cooks, who was able to stay in front of Germany’s guards more often than his fellow bigs. The Washington Wizards forward played 20 minutes in the loss, up from 14 in Australia’s first game, and as coach Brian Goorjian pointed out post-game on Sunday, the Boomers have been at their best when he has been on the floor. Against a Japanese team that cites speed as their biggest point of difference, Cooks’ mobility and defensive instincts could become even more important.

“From the first practice of the campaign we could tell Xav was going to be a special part of the group, or brought something that we thought we needed, including not just his defence, but his passing and versatility,” Caporn said. “It’s great to see him have that impact in that big a game, he’s just going to keep getting better and better.”

The same goes for Josh Green, whose playing time has been sporadic as he has returned from an ankle injury suffered in Australia’s warm-up games. Prior to that, Goorjian had pegged him as a member of the starting lineup, with his combination of shooting and defence unmatched on this roster. As he returns to full fitness and builds his conditioning, it would be no surprise to see his minutes jump exponentially, and that may start tonight in a game where his skillset could be gold for the Boomers.

“He seems in a great place, we’re super confident in him, we all know what he brings, his energy and toughness and vigour and his shooting, and we’re going to need all of that tonight. He’ll be an important part of this game,” Caporn said.

While a must-win clash in the first round is far from ideal, it presents a good opportunity for the Boomers to test themselves in a tough environment. Ahead of the tournament, Goorjian said that his team’s draw into the so-called “group of death” would only make them better in the long run. If they can advance to the second round, they will do so with a tight loss to one of the tournament’s most talented teams and a win in the pressure cooker of do-or-die basketball under their belt. That valuable experience is something not many teams can get so early in a long tournament.

“This is what these guys are here to do – play in a big game at a World Cup, go out there, play together, and get a win,” Caporn said. “You always knew these moments would come in a World Cup, and it’s here, and we feel prepared and we’re excited.”

The Boomers face Japan today, 29 August 2023 at 910pm AEST.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN Australia, and is available to watch for free via Kayo Freebies.