Team USA vs Australia Exhibition Game Thread

The Men’s Olympic basketball team will take on Australia on July 12

Team USA’s Men’s basketball team will have their second friendly on Monday at 8 p.m. EST where they will play Australia. The game will be hosted at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas Nevada. It is the second of three exhibition games the team will play in Las Vegas. Argentina and Nigeria are also participating. Last Saturday, the Americans lost to the Nigerians in their first match.

The Boomers feature considerable NBA and Olympic experience and seems like a likely contender to earn a medal in Tokyo. The team includes: Aron Baynes, Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Christopher Goulding, Joshua Green, Joseph Ingles, Nicholas Kay, Jock Landale, Patrick (Patty) Mills, Duop Reath, Nathan Sobey, and Matisee Thybulle.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Notably missing from the roster is Philadelphia 76ers Ben Simmons, who has opted to focus on his own game this summer. Andrew Bogut, a longtime Boomer, retired recently and will no longer compete for the national team.

While the Australians can’t match Team USA from an athleticism standpoint, they are well-coached and well-suited for the international game. And also, the Boomers have played together for a longer period of time than the Americans, who looked like a collection of parts last Saturday.

With Bradley Beal’s recent comments about wanting to be a defensive stopper for the team, it will be interesting to see who is matched up with. Green or Thybulle seem like reasonable bets to spend time trying to guard Beal.

The full Team USA roster includes: Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Durant, Jerami Grant (Detroit Pistons), Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors), Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks), Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls), Damian Lillard (Portland Trail Blazers), Kevin Love (Cleveland Cavaliers), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee Bucks) and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics).