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Key takeaways from Boomers vs Team USA game one

Well that was certainly something.

There is a lot to take away from the first exhibition match between the Boomers and Team USA, from the *cough* seating arrangements to the on-court action.

First things first though - 50,000 people rocked up to see some elite basketball being played in Australia. No matter which way you look at it, that is an incredible result for an idea that hadn’t really been done here before.

Unfortunately, parts of the execution were badly lacking. Clearly some thinking has to be done about how best to seat fans willing to stump up a bit more to be closer to the action.

Organisers and promoters were always going to find it difficult to sell the atmosphere of an NBA game in a stadium built for AFL, but having floor seats beneath the court itself was on the wrong side of embarrassing.

No basketball stadium in Australia can hold 50,000 fans, and tickets were a hot commodity - hopefully next time around, a little more thought will go into how they set it up if they choose to use a bigger venue.

Anyway, onto the good stuff.

Australia can match the US - at our best

The 102-86 scoreline didn’t flatter the Aussies, but the final margin didn’t quite tell the full story.

‘At our best’ is a massive caveat. It means the Boomers have to be at peak performance for the full 40 minutes to compete with team USA.

This applies as much to the starters as it does to the bench, and it’s the bench that has a few issues.

Nick Kay is a great NBL player but struggled against Team USA. It’s hard to see David Barlow, already battling a crook back, improving the situation.

The Americans were more than happy to play relatively small, a trend seen across all levels of basketball, and Australia didn’t quite have the cattle to keep up.

The decision to overlook Brock Motum and, in particular, Deng Adel, will be in the spotlight again in the coming weeks.

Patty Mills battles Team USA's Donovan Mitchell for the ball in the first exhibition game at Marvel Stadium. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Patty Mills battles Team USA's Donovan Mitchell for the ball in the first exhibition game at Marvel Stadium. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Holdovers from the Rio Olympics - Matthew Dellavedova, Patty Mills, Joe Ingles and Aron Baynes - all performed well. Dellavedova looked especially zippy, even pulling up off the dribble and splashing a three with his reworked, faster shot.

Chris Goulding was hot coming off the bench, while Andrew Bogut showed he will be an excellent veteran presence.

Jock Landale also impressed in his minutes with some good work down low.

There is plenty to like about the Boomers, but they lack the dominant isolation scoring of Team USA.

Absent All-Stars no problem for Team USA

None of the 13 players vying for a spot on the Team USA roster for the World Cup are scrubs, and Thursday night’s game proved why.

An electric second half from Kemba Walker shocked the Boomers, who had done a good job playing pesky, aggressive defence in the first half.

Walker’s jolt single-handedly served as a reminder that even though the US is missing their biggest names, there is plenty of talent to go around.

Indiana Pacers big man Myles Turner was quietly one of the better performers for Team USA, totalling 15 points and 14 rebounds in a little over 20 minutes of action.

A decent shooter and rim-protector, Turner is the kind of player that can really make this USA team tick.

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum’s chemistry as Boston teammates was on show, while Brooklyn’s Joe Harris had no problem hitting from outside in the first half.

Team USA are young, fast and fun - but the Boomers shouldn’t be at all discouraged by the final score.

Basketball is a fickle game after all, and you never know what could happen once the World Cup rolls around.