Golden dream offsets NBA frustrations for Boomers pair
Murray Wenzel |
Underused NBA centre Jock Landale has company in Patty Mills, but he says the pair’s quiet seasons are a “flicker in time” given their golden goal.
The Boomers duo, stuck on the bench for Phoenix and Brooklyn respectively, have been comparing notes on their quiet seasons, before charting a course to the World Cup final in Manila in September.
Tokyo Olympics star Mills averaged 29 minutes per game in his first season at the Nets, but that has dropped to 13.3 minutes this campaign, his lowest since 2012.
Landale (14 minutes per game) is sharing the back-up centre role with Bismark Biyombo, the Suns having renewed title hopes after Kevin Durant’s arrival, ironically from Mills’s flagging Nets.
“I had a chat to Patty, talking about not playing minutes, and he’s in the same boat,” Landale said.
“He said, ‘Don’t let this time period affect what’s coming’.
“I’ve got a long career ahead and I want to come home with the gold.
“This stuff is just a flicker in time. It doesn’t mean much in terms of getting miserable about not playing any given night, especially when I know I’ve played f***ing well multiple times.”
The Boomers won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, breaking an agonising wait for a maiden medal that included heartbreak at the last World Cup in 2019, when they blew big leads in the semi-final and bronze medal game.
That was Landale’s breakout tournament, the 27-year-old proving his worth against the world’s best and eventually earning an NBA contract.
He is now the front-court leader of a side that is arguably the best on-paper Boomers squad in history.
Josh Giddey has made NBA history for Oklahoma City since his non-selection for the Tokyo Games, while Dyson Daniels and Josh Green are flourishing for New Orleans and Dallas.
Joe Ingles is healthy again, Matisse Thybulle has secured his short-term future after a trade from Philadelphia to Portland, and Ben Simmons, while a shadow of his All-Star best, would still be a potent weapon in the Boomers’ machine.
NBL standouts Xavier Cooks, Aron Baynes, Will McDowell-White, Chris Goulding, Nathan Sobey and Keanu Pinder will all command consideration, while Matthew Dellavedova, Thon Maker, Nick Kay, Dante Exum, Duop Reath and Jack White will ensure a busy selection camp for coach Brian Goorjian.
“Giddey coming up, Daniels, Green, a lot of exciting players, ready to roll, committed and all pumped,” Landale said.
“(The potential is) crazy. I believe we can beat the US at full strength.
“The way we play, the togetherness, toughness carries weight and we’ve taken it to a new level.”
Australia’s NBA players have often gathered during the All-Star weekend to unofficially begin their tournament preparation.
Landale said he might “put a message around” ahead of this weekend’s break to get the conversation started.
“I think about it every day,” Landale said.
“We can win gold. We say it a lot and we mean it.
“And this year we’ve gotten even better.”
POTENTIAL BOOMERS WORLD CUP SQUAD
* Patty Mills, Josh Giddey, Josh Green, Ben Simmons, Jock Landale. Bench: Dyson Daniels, Joe Ingles, Matisse Thybulle, Aron Baynes, Dante Exum, Chris Goulding, Xavier Cooks.
IN THE DOGFIGHT
* Matthew Dellavedova, Nick Kay, Nathan Sobey, William McDowell-White, Xavier Cooks, Duop Reath, Jack White, Thon Maker, Keanu Pinder.
AAP
