Australia had a big opportunity to seal its spot in the next stage of the FIBA World Cup against a Germany team without Orlando Magic star Franz Wagner.
Instead, another slow start finally came back to haunt the Boomers and now they prepare for a must-win clash against Japan that could be far more challenging than it appears on paper.
Japan rallied late against Finland, drawing off the energy of their home crowd to storm to a 98-88 victory. It means the winner of Tuesday’s game will finish second in Group E.
Beyond the World Cup, Australia must also win on Tuesday or risk missing out on automatic qualification for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The highest finisher between Australia and New Zealand at this year’s World Cup will earn the spot, with the loser having to fight their way through a qualification tournament.
While Australia’s roster is more talented on the surface, the Boomers need to be wary of underestimating a Japan team that is really yet to realise its true potential in this tournament.
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MATCH CENTRE: Australia vs Japan score and play-by-play updates
Boomers denied game-tying opportunity | 00:31
In fact, two of the team’s best players — Phoenix sharpshooter Yuta Watanabe and former Melbourne United champion Yudai Baba — combined for just nine points in the win over Finland.
If those two fire and the rest of Japan’s players lift like they did against Finland, the Boomers could certainly be in for a fight.
Japan head coach Tom Hovasse called Australia “one of the best teams in the world” after the victory over Finland and there is no doubt the Boomers can be that good.
Against Germany though, the Boomers struggled to contain the double-punch that was starting guard Dennis Schröder and Maodo Lo, who provided much-needed production off the bench with Wagner sidelined.
Australia also constantly found itself trailing after slow starts to quarters and while the Boomers were often able to drag themselves back into the contest, bad habits eventually caught up to them.
Coach Brian Goorjian has named unchanged starting fives for the first two games of the tournament, although he may alter that approach to try avoid another sluggish opening with everything on the line.
In that regard, while it is easy to understand why Goorjian has been reluctant to give Josh Green too many minutes given his disrupted preparation for the World Cup, the Dallas Mavericks star is one option to come into the starting unit.
That would see Matisse Thybulle drop back to the bench and would be hardly a surprise given Goorjian had flagged Green was his preferred starter before the World Cup tipped off.
Outside of that, it is unlikely the Boomers will make any changes and will likely lean into the size advantage they have in the form of regular starters Nick Kay and Duop Reath.
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