FIBAWC Preview: Can Nick Nurse continue to work his magic with Canadian Basketball?

Sporting News Logo

Roster

Fresh from bringing an NBA title to Canada, the entire country’s basketball identity has been confidently placed into the hands of Nick Nurse, who was appointed head coach of the national team this summer and given the proverbial key to the country.

Nurse’s appointment seemed to be perfectly timed, as it aligned with the expectations of what many have been calling Canada’s ‘Golden Generation’ – a group of players that have had a major impact on the NBA, as the game has grown substantially over the border to the North of the USA. However, expectations will now have to be recalibrated for their trip to China for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, due to the flurry of omissions that have dominated the headlines leading into the tournament.

Before starting on who will be available for Nurse, it’s worth discussing who will be missing. Among those to have reportedly declined to participate are recent New York Knicks draft pick RJ Barrett, Minnesota Timberwolves wing Andrew Wiggins, Cleveland Cavaliers big Tristan Thompson, Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, new Oklahoma City Thunder pick up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dwight Powell, Trey Lyles, Dillon Brooks, Brandon Clarke, Nik Stauskas and Chris Boucher.

So, who does that leave then? Well, it actually speaks for just how far Canada has come as a basketball nation, that Nurse can still field a respectable team with his remaining resources, but that doesn’t take away from the disappointment. The top talent in the roster is Sacramento Kings guard Cory Joseph and he’ll be expected to lead the, team in the absence of Team Canada cornerstone Kelly Olynyk, who recently had to withdraw to recover from a nagging knee injury. Also included in the roster are İstanbul BŞB guard Brady Heslip,  Unicaja forward Melvin Ejim, second generation talent Kyle Wiltjer, Kevin Pangos, Khem Birch and the Scrubb brothers.

Brady Heslip Canada FIBA

Qualification

A staggering 36 players were involved in Canada’s qualification process, as they earned their spot at the tournament in China. This was a testament to the amount of ability in the squad, from top to bottom and filled the camp – led by Senior Advisor Steve Nash and General Manager Rowan Barrett since 2012 - with a great deal of optimism. They had come a long way from their wildly disappointing World Championships back in 2010 and it was showing on court.

In the first round of qualifiers, Canada pounded their way through Group D, barring a road defeat to a wily Dominican Republic side. In the second round, they continued that run of form and really built on their promise.

The Canadians took care of Brazil and Chile handily in Group F, but were handed a reality check by an all-too-familiar and tough Venezuelan side, in front of an intimidating crowd. They weren’t exactly helped by the 30 hour journey to the arena either.

As well as providing bad memories due to a string of important defeats to Venezuela over the years, this game served as one of the few red flags for Canada, who will recall that night in Caracas when they are tempted to underestimate anybody in the upcoming competition.

To clinch their spot in China, they headed Sao Paulo to play Brazil – a game that ended with a win for the Canadians, showing tremendous character and punching their ticket.

Overall, Canada’s confidence will have been massively affected by their performance over qualification, as they were as dominant as any other in the Americas qualifiers and were able to showcase their array of talent.

Group

If Canada don’t have their best possible roster, at least they have a fairly straightforward route to the second round, right? Wrong.

The four teams that make up Group H complete what is being widely labelled the ‘group of death’. On September 1st, they will face a similarly up-and-coming basketball nation in Australia – a team littered with top-level talent and experienced veterans - most of which will be taking part. Australia will have lofty goals of their own, which will make the group even more competitive.

Just two days later, they will be met by a physical and gifted Lithuanian side, who are aiming for a podium finish at this competition. Dainius Adomaitis’ side are considered one of the most realistic threats to the United States, let alone a depleted Canada squad. They have a long history of picking up bronze medals at the World Cup and will be greatly determined to improve on that. With talented big men such as Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas, they’ll be a difficult proposition for any defense.

Phil Scrubb Canada FIBA

Senegal will not be considered as significant a threat as the other two, but they certainly should not be underestimated. Although missing notable names in recent Boston Celtics signing Tacko Fall and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Gorgui Dieng, they will still make for stiff competition for the Canada.

Of course, a lot has changed in recent weeks since the unexpected dropouts, but Canada will hold on to a semblance of hope heading into the group. If they can somehow survive the dreaded group of death, it’ll prepare them greatly for any elite opponents they meet going forward and surpass the newly-adjusted expectations.

Matchups

As is to be expected in such a difficult group, Canada are set to face a few difficult matchups, that will force them to adjust, in order to make it through to the knockout stage.

Size matters, when it comes to Canada’s world cup. Dealing with the immense amount of power and size that they will be up against could be Nurse’s biggest challenge. Before being traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for Marc Gasol, Lithuania’s Valanciunas was coached by Nurse in Toronto, so he will be all too familiar with the big man’s tricky inside game and immense use of force.

The 27-year-old wont be in it alone however, as Indiana Pacers centre Sabonis is quite the handful himself. When sharing the court, they will hope to overwhelm their opposition with the ‘twin towers’ approach. So, how will Canada cope with that? Well, it would have been in the hands of Olynyk and Thompson, so they’ll need to adopt the ‘rebound by committee’ approach.

This will be integral in the team’s meeting with Australia too, who boast a bouldering pairing of Aron Baynes and Andrew Bogut, known for their immovable physical presence. If their remaining bigs can perform on the glass, it would give Canada some hope.

Despite practicing with the team, Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons pulled out of the Boomers’ squad to focus on his development. This creates a hole in Australia’s playmaking and increases the offensive workload for players like Joe Ingles. If Cory Joseph can galvanise his team to share the ball effectively and encourage off-ball movement, that could give them the edge against a team who depends on a crafty veteran Patty Mills and am offensively-limited Matthew Dellavedova to run their sets. Make no mistake about it, with Simmons gone, Joseph is the most gifted guard in the group.

Stories

A short period of time ago, Canada’s basketball setup was described by many as a ‘basketball factory’. However, regardless of your potential output, investing into and manufacturing home-grown talent will surely count for less if those resources can’t produce a medal. Unfortunately, it will seem like a missed opportunity if Canada cannot leave China with a reward and it would be hard to place blame on the present squad.

It should be noted, that the stakes for this World Cup go beyond the tournament itself; if Canada are able to finish as a top two Americas team, they will automatically qualify for the next Olympics, for the first time 2000 – a possibly momentous achievement for the programme. Failing that, they would face a last-chance Olympic qualifying tournament next summer. With so much to play for, it’s difficult to comprehend the absences.

The decision to miss the competition has been one of the hot-button topics around the top-tier of basketball recently. Team USA have experienced a similar exodus over the summer, but Canada don’t share their bordering nation’s ability to call upon a seemingly endless well of exciting talent.

The World Cup will be a considerable challenge for Nurse, but one that he will relish. Bringing an NBA championship to Toronto meant more to Canadian basketball fans than much of the world realises. The majority of the country stood behind Nurse as he worked to overcome the mighty Golden State Warriors in the Finals earlier this year, so he already knows how it feels to have that weight of national expectation on his shoulders. He will be champing at the bit, eager to establish a new force on the international scene, on his competitive debut. The lack of big-name players won’t change that.

The preparation cannot be called into question, as Canada met early in August for what will be at least a five-week commitment to the national side. Despite mixed results in exhibition games against Nigeria, the U.S., New Zealand and Australia, there should be no real cobwebs to blow out by tip-off due to the regularity of action.

Crucially, there will be no easy period of this competition for Canada; if they make it past the opening round of games, things may just become more challenging. Group H received it’s daunting nickname for a reason and there has to be absolutely no let-up from Nurse’s depleted team if they are to even avoid falling at the first hurdle. For that reason, they certainly remain a team to keep a close eye on, without a doubt.

Author(s)