Steve joined us to discuss the Boomers and Opals squads, why he would've picked Matisse Thybulle, his thoughts on where we will find points, the importance of Josh Giddey, and more!
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SEN Tassie
ESPN Basketball writer Steve Smith (13.7.24)
Allstate wants to remind fans that mayhem is everywhere. Like when your fantasy league meets up at your house, everything's great until the hot plate gets too hot for the tablecloth. Now your kitchen's up and smoke, and if you don't have the right home insurance coverage, the cost to fix this is anything but a fantasy. So switch to allstate, save money, and get protected from mayhem like this. Not available in every state based on coverage selected, subject to terms, conditions, and availabilities, savings vary. Great to have you back with us, David. This guy on Brett Jeeves with you this morning, we're going to continue the hoops theme as we do so often here on Saturday mornings, and someone I admire greatly with his work, and very familiar with it on his writing with ESPN, etc. Steve Smith has jumped on with us. Good morning, Steve. Morning, mate. Happy new year. Super. Are you excited? This boomer stuff that we love and the Opels, by the way, is coming soon soon. The how's your levels of gittiness? I don't mind as an absolute boiling point. Yeah, look, I'm really excited. Look, I think the swatching controversy is a side. It's still a really good boomer team, and I'm really curious to see how it goes. We'll get to them, but I think just talking about the boomers and look where they've probably gone wrong, and the team is what it is at this point now, so it's not going to change unless there's a last minute injury. So it is what it is, and we'll just have to wait and see how it goes. Let's talk about it. Very difficult discussions, and in fact, I'm sure in your time a bit like mine, I've never, ever in my gosh, put my age out here, but best part of 40 years being a boomer's fan since a very, very early age of five or six. I can't remember so much anticipation, so much keenness to know, and people really keen to have their opinions. It was an awfully tough team to pick, whichever way we went, yeah? Yeah, I think so. For me, and I've written about it at length, I've talked about it at length, is that I just can't see a scenario. I just don't understand the thinking about leading the team's Bible out. It's just for me, he is one of the 12 best players that we could possibly pick. And I know Brian Gorgen talked about, well, he's gone for what he considers the best fit, not necessarily the best 12. I just can't understand that, that doesn't include one of the 15 to 20 best defensive players in the world. Yep, sure, and difficult decision. And it does appear the last call really became between Daniels and Matisse, certainly by the understanding of the dialogue. We've obviously got feedback from after the event. If that was the last call, from my eye, that in itself was a really long ball one. If that's the decision they make, I guess just for the minute park, the other players that obviously were in the discussion to make the 12. Yeah, I think, you know, there's a talk also about, you know, Joe Ingalls was on the bubble. He was on the outside looking in. And, you know, sort of Gorgen talked about the second half of his, of the second game against China, how Joe sort of settled the team. And I think, you know, Dyson as well, look, he was on the bubble as well, but I think they take him because of his, you know, extra playmaking duties. It just, it just means though that if they've taken him, Gideon and Dally, and also a bit of a surprise, he kind of left him in long distance shooting from the point that spot. But look, Dyson is an incredible defender as well, so he's long and athletic and combined with, you know, excellent green. I think that's a really good career to defend the wing. Yeah, like you say, it's such a hard thing to pick, but that's the way it is. It's a good problem to have. It is, and I think that's from my perspective, and, you know, from back three months ago, I struggled to find a spot for Matisse. It obviously was a tough year for me. And you can't necessarily put all of the Portland spell, of course, in isolation, because it's a very tough place to be when you're in a tanking organisation, as well, it doesn't mean you always get onto the court. But he is somebody that's really struggled to evolve offensively. And I thought the first game against China was a stereotypical Batisse cyborgame. He had four steals, and he was one from six from the field. And most things didn't look like going in. Is that a fair analogy of how it was? And I know it's a difficult conversation, the balance of offence and defence. Yeah, I think he still puts more on the table than he takes off. And I think the issue for me is that you can have, like, basically two ways you win at international level, at that top level in, grind it out, defence, and you have some elite distance shooting so that you can shoot over some pretty heavy physical zone defences. So if you're not going to take this season, why wouldn't you take, like, a knockdown shooter like Chris Golden? It's just the seeking for me that it just doesn't mesh. I guess if you're not going to go with all of the defenders, then you go with all the shooters, and they haven't done that. And it puts an awful lot of pressure, I think, on young Jackwick Bay, who, look, he's going to be... I'm so excited to see how he goes, because if there's anyone with the self-belief to do it, it's him. But it does put a lot of pressure, because he's realistically the only proper threat now from distance. It really probably depends, I guess, on Patty and Joe, and if they've got how much they've left in the tank. But the signs there are probably, you know, not great either. So we really need one last to ask from both of them as well. And, look, if they can, great. But to me, there's a real depth of shooting there at the moment. A fair question mark. And I think the deli I think none of us even, these greater supporters may have been, at the top of that list, had him anywhere near this 12, six months ago. Tremendous finish to the year for Melbourne. And I wouldn't say he had a year where he's shooting, he's three points shooting, and sort of come back to those housing days of nine or ten years ago, but he forced his way into. I guess, you know, we talk about Daniels and Exum and Green. Can you get, I mean, Exum's had an excellent two series in a row for Australia, the World Cup and the previous Olympics. Can you get more of an offensive result from Josh Green? Can Daniels, I guess, evolve offensively, which would make that decision to leave Matisse off a little better? Of course. I mean, it feels like they might be backing themselves in. Can Green average 12 or 13 points a game, for example? Yeah, and I think, look, there were signs there, and obviously the international game is a little bit different. But there were signs from both Exum and Josh in the NBA finals, and throughout that playoff run from Dallas, that there were signs there that there's some development and some maturity in both of them from an offensive standpoint. So, I think it's there. It's unlocking it, and how much can they step up this time around? And, look, in all honesty, I'd be really hopeful that they can do that. It's just, you just don't know, it's such an unknown factor. And I agree, I think, offensively, the bonus is that that's where we're probably going to struggle a little bit, and just having players that can create buckets from nothing, and Josh will be going to be super important there, because he's going to have the ball in his hands a lot, and I don't think the game plan will be just for him to distribute. So, he will need to score a lot more than maybe we thought he might have to. But I'm excited to see what he can do. If he got the ball in his hands 60, 70% of the time, let him go to work. Not bad about that. It's a very exciting opportunity for him as well, to be able to showcase what we know that he hasn't spent an awfully, awfully tough, 12 months for him. He, you go from the world at your feet to, obviously, the personal issue, which is, golly, whatever the guys must have affected a lot, the family, et cetera, and then he gets traded. I even saw a little bit of evidence in game two, where he cut the bankers and a little bit more straight ball, if you like, where perhaps he does have that gear in him, and we think he's got that he can actually, you know, take out the game offensively. And that might score in his will not just facilitate, doesn't it? Yeah, for sure. And I think we also saw signs of it, you know, throughout, obviously, he's NBA creative. And I think at the last World Cup, you know, he was a little bit up and down, but the good signs were really, really good. So, the potential is there, and I'm really excited just to see him go, because there's just so much talent there. And I think he'll have the confidence of everyone around him. Also, I think the trade is actually a good thing for him. It was clear that both Jim and Oklahoma needed to go a separate way, that he wasn't willing to come off the bench, and that's fair enough. You know, you're a long time retired, and you've got to make the most of your opportunities in the NBA, where they present themselves. So, going to a team like Chicago, which also has a young core, and they'll probably look to run more, and that's a key talent as well. So, he'll be excited about that. So, I think going on, it's a really good start for him. And, yeah, I can't wait. It should be really good. All right. Well, let's take us into quarter final. We've managed to get out of the group, which is going to be really difficult. I mean, Spain, perhaps we think they're, perhaps not what they've been over the last 20 years, but always competitive, of course. Greece, let's not call it a one-man ban. The Vermont Guard is outstanding. The veteran, they've got a couple of wing shooters. But, essentially, it is a Gianna's show with a reasonable one core, of course. And then, you know, can you see a situation? You're a quarter final against America. There's five minutes to go. Who's on the court? Yeah, it's a good question. Isn't it? If we're within touching distance of the US with five minutes to go, something's gone very, very wrong for America. And something's gone very, very right for us. Hi, Steve. Come on. Let's be optimistic. Yeah, look, no. Hope Spring's eternal. Like, that absolutely has to be. That is such a loaded squad that, you know, they're really shot badly if that happens. But, look, OK, let's say it's Germany. Whoever it is, whoever we're playing, where the game is on the line, we want to get into the semis. Because these are big calls, you know, we sure Patty Mills is still able to be there and all the things with it, you know. I believe Jack McVay might be on that court at that stage. I'm interested in your views on it. Yeah, look, there's a school of thought that Jack over the course of the selection camp, not only sort of played his way onto the squad, obviously, but he played his way right into the core group. There was a lot of reports about how, you know, even Matt Nielsen with one of his system coaches was a couple of days late from the camp. And everyone was like, oh, you can see what Jack's doing. He was a bit sort of, not skeptical, but he was like, oh, I just want to see what's going on here. And then he, after one day of watching Jack McVay at camp, he's like, oh, yeah, no, this guy's with you. So, look, yeah, there's absolutely a scenario, especially if he's caught fire earlier in the game, earlier in the tournament, like you want someone like that who's shooting some distance with confidence. I absolutely can see him being out there. He'd probably be alongside. You're probably going to see him as that long-range bomber. And then you've got some-- Stretch four or something. Yeah, yeah, that might go smaller. And they have Landale at the five. That's right. And then they've got, and then they've got X and Green and probably Giddy. I think so. Yeah, yeah. I think so. And if they're playing well, Giddy's going to have to be contributing to a lot of those points, whether it be by the feed or scoring. It's really exciting. We know what the world game has done. And so many of the big names right across the place, American particularly, still annoys me the job, embed somehow part of that team. But we really are in a different world. And certainly it's the strongest team we've seen since 1992 from the Americans. But the gap, funnily enough, when we say that, and they're probably going to streak it when gold, it is closing this gap. And I feel like at some stage still will have-- they'll have some competition from somebody. And it may not be the bonus. Let's be really clear at that. Yeah, no, look, look, if Canada clicks, they've got a bunch of NBA talent. Look, they're clearly going to be the toughest team for us to lead in our group. And so, look on their day-- and look, even in their warm-up match, they showed flashes. And, you know, there's so many different nuances to the international game that some of the US players will have to get used to. We saw Joel and B fail out in, you know, 12 minutes of play. He went foul hunting, and international arrests will not give him those calls. So this is something that's kind of fascinating to watch. Like, I'm telling the line, they should win easily. But the international games are funny on some times. And you can have some upsets when it only takes, you know, a couple of off games and a couple of people on the other team to get really hot. And, you know, we saw Joel and Brooks in the World Cup, you know, against America. You know, I've been-- not in America, but he's got like 37 in the finals. So, you know, he wasn't-- so, someone like him who's, you know, just an average NBA scorer, you know, the whole thing, the paddy thing, that applies to other players and other countries as well. So, you pull on that. You pull on that national jersey, and you suddenly get about three feet taller. No, I don't know about it. It's just a recap, of course. Greece, Canada, Spain, the three teams that are going to be featuring. The will magnate piece in it all. It was pretty clear early on in the way they did, and the fact that they wanted to start wreath and jock alongside each other. They're going to need one big back, but it's probably his ability, too. The-- I like the fact that he was 40 feet out of his, you know, high bait, hibernate in here, if you like, and seven metres past the three-point line and double-teaming, and then hustling back on the big seven-foot-four guy from China. He's got a role, hasn't he? Because it's that little bit more of explosion that some stage I think that he might be better suited than Lando, even in some match-ups. Yeah, he'll get minutes. He will. They took an extra big because I think they were, I think Brian's sort of Bronghorgin's overreacting, not overreacting, but I think he's looking at what happened at the World Cup, and Lando's limited pride, so when they just went with their operations, the only big. And I think he probably regrets that, we sort of got outsized a little bit. And I think that's the reason Will got picked over Xavier Cooks. I think Xavier Cooks is obviously a far more athletic, more versatile defender. I think Brian Gordon looked at it all, looked at some of the teams who've been trained, and said, "Well, I mean, we just need the size, and we probably have enough athletic defenders, and you can gather the weight on what your preference is there." But I think that's the thing behind it. Look, he'll get minutes. He is, you know, he's a big dude, he can rebound. He's not going to need it to score a lot, but he will be needed just to put a big body on another big, and that's 5,000, you know, at least 10 minutes a game. That's a really good, I think, indicator of how well he's going. Very exciting. As is the Opals, who appear they like they might be surprised, and if you after probably a toughest four or five years stretch, you could say in three decades almost, in terms of success. The great story is Lauren Jackson, 43 years of age, but she hasn't, she hasn't earned it because the team's no bloody good either, has she? There is a, you know, the seven girls have come back from America. There's some young stars like Ezzy, who keep getting better. They've got a few pieces there that are going to be really competitive, albeit perhaps not against the Americans who, again, are probably one of the biggest, the strongest team in any sport for so many decades. Yeah, no, I'm really bullish on the Opals and what they can do. I think it's got a really good mix of age and experience and youth. I think, obviously, LJ is LJ, and even at 43, I don't expect her to be our leading scorer, but she's going to be really, really important from a size perspective as well. Like there were about three really four really good bigs to sort of rotate there. And like you said, the youth factor as well, which is really interesting because like, I think there's three or four on that squad who weren't even born when, you know, when Lauren started playing for the Opals, sorry. Amazing. How does that happen? I know it's such a good story, and I think everyone who understands what Lauren has been through is cheering for this because I think it's to make your fifth Olympics 12 years after your four. She should have played in seven, mate. What are we talking about here? Yeah, exactly. She was, yeah. And to be able to do that, just I chuckle every time I think about it because it's just so critical to see about it, isn't it? It's really, it's, it's, it made LeBron's 40 in the end of the year. I mean, it's along those lines isn't in terms of, you know, she's, she's almost four years older than where LeBron's at, and obviously such a high level. And she appears to be playing such a high level. We didn't see the outside, outside shot fall in those China games, but we know she strokes it really well. It really, the bit of a Tasmanian flavour of course with Alanna Smith, the son of, well, the boss here, the jack jumpers, the devil's great. If you like, Darren Smith, Alanna, she's, she's coming in and she's having a terrific year herself. Yeah, well, she's been, she's been great at Minnesota. And another one who's, who's been around the block a couple of times as well is her second game, taking Olympic. So, you know, I'm really happy for, for those sort of players who, and there's a couple of first-timers as well. Like you look at Sammy, which can, it's her first game and she's 35. Like she was really unlucky at the last Olympic to miss out. That's unbelievable, isn't it? Yeah, like Christy Wallace at Indiana, Seth Talbot at Las Vegas, like there's a bunch of WMBI players back out on the Phoenix. They're all going to be so important. It's, it's such a well-rounded squad. I'm, I'm, I'm thinking though, but they'll go close to getting a medal. Obviously, I don't think they'll be in the US, but I think they'll be right there for, for the, for the bronze and look if, if everything goes their way, they, they could well be in the gold medal game. Brilliant to touch you, Steve. We could go on and on here. There's so much excitement. Look forward. Of course, the jack jumpers we haven't touched on. They've got their international debut coming up in September. I think that's a pretty cool thing to be back in that sort of game for the NBA, isn't it? To have a representation on the world stage. Yeah, look, the, the NBA games concept is a really, really good one and it's been really beneficial not just to the, the NBA teams, but you know, just in terms of attracting that, that next star talent and, and outside of that just really good importance to them, sort of come along. So I cannot wait for that either. Great to have you, Steve Smith. Thanks so much for joining us this morning. Good to talk, some hopes with you. No worries, my cheers.