Other than the United States, there has been no other men’s basketball team in Rio that has been as impressive as Australia. The Aussies finished the group stage with a stellar 5-1 record, with their only loss coming at the hands of the Americans.
The boys from Down Under have the perfect balance of a great offense and a tough defense. Two starting guards in Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova – both NBA champs with their respective teams stateside – have been fantastic in running the offense. Mills averaged 25.6 points per contest through the first three games of group play, while Dellavedova has had three double-digit assists games of his own.
Anchoring the defense is another NBA title-winner in center Andrew Bogut, whose terrific D will serve as the perfect foil to Lithuania’s Jonas Valanciunas’ firepower in the post this Wednesday. And with all things considered, the Australians do indeed appear to be in great shape to counter any of Lithuania’s plans to move on to the next round.
Despite coming out of Group B as one of the four quarterfinal-bound teams that ended with a subpar 3-2 record, Lithuania has still got to be thrilled with its matchup against the Australians. The Lithuanians have beaten Australia in their last three meetings in international play, not to mention denying the Aussies a bronze-medal finish twice at the Olympics (1996 and 2000).
However, the boys from the Baltic have limped their way into the knockout stage by losing their last two contests. Standout guard Mantas Kalnietis, who has been quite the surprise in Rio and could land an NBA job for his performance, scored 26 points and dished out 11 assists in the final game of group play. But Kalnietis’ efforts ultimately went to waste as his team still fell to eventual Group-B leader Croatia, 90-81.
And even though the Lithuanians are ranked third at the Olympics with 3.4 blocks per game, it’s strange that they do not even rank in the top five when it comes to rebounding. It’s time for big men Jonas Valanciunas and Paulius Jankunas to step up their games, otherwise Lithuania can kiss its gold-medal hopes goodbye.
Writer’s Prediction
Australia (-4) handily advances to the semis, 87-79.
