Team USA Exhibition #2: The Boomers
And Australia has done it before
As you probably know, Team USA lost to Nigeria in an exhibition game Saturday night, 90-87. It was the first time any African team beat Team USA and also, generally speaking, a very rare exhibition loss.
The last one of course was to Australia, 98-94 prior to the 2019 FIBA World Cup. That was in Australia and the US went on to finish a dismal 7th.
Well guess who the next exhibition game is against Monday night?
If you guessed the Aussies, you win a Shaquille O’Neal three point shot and a Bojangles 40th anniversary T-shirt.
This year, the Boomers boast Aron Baynes, Matthew Dellavedova, Dante Exum, Josh Green, Joe Ingles, Patty Mills and Matisse Thybulle, who we had no idea has Aussie citizenship. Ben Simmons is sitting the Games out to work on his anemic offense.
It’s a deeply experienced team though and one that knows it can beat the US. Additionally, the pressure is on the Americans after one exhibition loss. Things will get really bad if it’s two straight.
The good news is the US can certainly play better than it did Saturday night and should.
The game is at 8:00 EST and on NBCSN. You can also get a free trial of FUBO and watch it over there too.