An Australian Guide To The NBA

Due to the success of the Australian national team at the recent Olympic Games,  Australian interest in the NBA is at an all time high.

With the Australian national team finishing a solitary point from winning their first ever medal at a major championships, Australia has taken a greater interest than ever in the NBA. This is in main part due to play by the NBA players on the team.

Andrew Bogut has long held the torch aloft as the most influential Australian in the NBA. He still holds that honor but there are others who are going to play as big a role in basketball in general, in Australian basketball in particular.

There are eight Australians in the NBA this season; only the USA, France (12), Canada (12) and Brazil (nine) have more representatives.

Here is a guide of Australians in the NBA.

Andrew Bogut, Dallas Mavericks

Bogut, as described earlier, has been the most influential Australian to play in the NBA, ever. Bogut was the first ever Australian taken with the first pick of an NBA draft. For the past four seasons Bogut has been the linchpin of the Golden State Warriors defense.

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His offense has suffered being on the same team as two amazing shooters in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, but I get the feeling that this will change.

Due to Kevin Durant choosing to sign with Golden State, Bogut’s contract had to be moved to another team. That team was the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas has been looking for a starting caliber center for a number of years and Bogut certainly gives them that.

Bogut has been injury prone throughout his career. He has only played 70 games or more three times in his 11 seasons. In his rookie year he played all 82 games, in his third year he played 78 games and then last year he played 70 games.

Dallas need to keep Bogut on the floor for 20 to 25 minutes per game. This is similar playing time to what he had in Golden State. If Dallas can do this then they will see a marked improvement in their defense.

Matthew Dellavedova, Milwaukee Bucks

Matthew Dellavedova is everything that an Australian can support and relate to. In a recent discussion with a fellow NBA tragic I described him the anti-Bogut. This was not a negative assessment, he is a battler made good.

Bogut was clearly the best in class for his draft. blessed with height and great skills. Dellavedova did not get drafted, just another guard, not even blessed with great athleticism.

Dellavedova played his way onto the final spot of the Cleveland Cavaliers roster prior to the 2013-14 season and has not looked back since.

Must Read: Milwaukee Bucks 2016-17 season outlook

For Dellavedova, one mans bad luck is another mans good fortune. When Kyrie Irving injured his kneecap in the 2015 Finals, Dellavedova stepped up to start. What then happened has gone into Australian folklore.

Delly does not have the talent of Irving, nor the physical attributes of LeBron James.

What Dellavedova has is a heart bigger than most and a desire to lose skin which borders on maniacal. The disregard that he showed for his body diving for the loose ball was inspiring.

Due to another career season in 2015-16 where his per game averages (7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 4,4 assists) were respectable, Dellavedova landed a $38 million contract over four years with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Milwaukee are a team who are using a 6-foot-11 point forward in Giannis Antetakounmpo to run their offense. I can see Dellavedova playing a large defensive role with Milwaukee as his defense is a large part of his game.

Dellavedova is also a good ball-handler. capable of finding the open man. His three point shooting will also help space the floor for the Bucks.

Thon Maker, Milwaukee Bucks

The 10th pick in the 2016 draft, Thon Maker is a project pick for Milwaukee. The 7-foot-1 power forward/center has incredible speed on the floor and a good shooting touch.

Maker’s wingspan will make him a reasonable rim protector but his lack of weight will stop him from being able to defend in the low post effectively. Maker’s first order of business when drafted should have been to hit the weights room.

Miles Plumlee should be the starting center for Milwaukee next year. His defense is the best of the big men on the team. Greg Monroe provides offense off the bench, with little to no defense. This means that Maker will not see much playing time.

Lack of playing time might not be a bad thing for Maker. This will give him a chance to develop his body into an NBA size and means that he will be harder to stop in years to come.

Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers

As the first pick in the 2016 draft, Ben Simmons will have the expectations of all Philadelphia 76ers fans on his shoulders next season. Simmons would have been aware that he was going to a struggling team as he was slated as the top pick in the 2016 draft when he was in high school.

Must Read: Philadelphia 76ers 2016-17 season outlook

During the Summer League, Simmons showed why he has been thought of so highly with an incredible passing ability. His ability to find the open man with some jaw-dropping passes was simply awesome.

Unfortunately, his ability to turn the ball over was in evidence as well. NBA level defenses will curtail Simmons’ effectiveness if he does not take better care of the ball.

Philadephia have a loaded front court. High draft picks, Joel Embiid, Nerlens Noal, Jahlil Okafor and fellow rookie Dario Saric will all be vying for playing time. Simmons will be able to ease the pressure on coach Brett Brown by playing small forward or guard.

Hopefully when the season comes round the questions about Simmons jump shot will be answered.

Aron Baynes, Detroit Pistons

Aron Baynes was another hard-working Australian who did not make it into the NBA by way of the draft. Baynes was signed as a free agent in 2013 by the San Antonio Spurs. After three seasons as a reliable junk-yard dog type player, Baynes signed on with the Detroit Pistons.

Must Read: Detroit Pistons 2016-17 season outlook

Last season, Baynes showed himself to be a reliable back-up to starter Andre Drummond. Baynes was a hard worker in his 15 minutes per game with Detroit. He averaged 6.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

This did not allow other centers to have a rest, even when Drummond was off the floor.

This season, Baynes faces greater competition within his own team for minutes. Boban Marjanovic was signed in the offseason and the 7-foot-3 ex-San Antonio center showed great potential in his rookie year.

Patrick Mills, San Antonio Spurs

Patrick Mills has shown over the previous few seasons with the national team that he is ready to run a highly talented team. The only player in his way at the moment is French superstar Tony Parker.

When the two met at the recent Olympics, Mills outplayed Parker but there is a massive difference between international basketball and the NBA.

This seasons edition of the San Antonio Spurs is going to be different from last season.  Mills should start playing more that the 20.5 minutes per games that he averaged last season.

At the start of the 2016-17 season, Mills will be 28, Parker will be 34. Parker will find it difficult  maintaining his brilliant play for a full 82 games, given his advancing years. Mills is ready and capable of taking over the Spurs.

This will allow Parker to give more spark off the bench for his remaining years.

Joe Ingles, Utah Jazz

Joe Ingles will see less playing time in this season for the Utah Jazz. This does not mean that he will give anything less than his full effort.

Ingles does not look like an NBA player. The 6-foot-8 combo forward/guard has been the primary back-up for Jazz star Gordon Hayward for the past two seasons.

He does a little bit of everything but does not pose a a significant enough risk when on the court to warrant playing time over new recruit Joe Johnson.

Inles is too good as a team player to be forgotten at the end of the bench. As shown in his play for Australia, Ingles will put stats aside and concentrate on helping the team win.

Dante Exum, Utah Jazz

Of all the Australian players in the NBA next season, Dante Exum is the one that I will be watching with the most interest. Exum is coming back from a knee injury which cost him the entire of the 2015-16 season. To say it was poorly timed is an understatement.

Must Read: Utah Jazz 2016-17 season outlook

In the middle of his rookie season, Exum replaced Trey Burke as the starting point guard for the Jazz. Exum did not set the NBA on fire with his statistics with 4.8 points and 2.4 assists per game.

What Exum did display was his high quality defense which will see him back in the Jazz rotation early in the season.

Utah, who were extremely thin at point guard last season, traded for George Hill. The ex-Indiana Pacers  guard brings an experience to the point guard position that Utah have not had in years.

Shelvin Mack was acquired mid-season last year from the Atlanta Hawks and provided a steady hand in the second half of the season.

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With less pressure on Exum, I hope to see him improve his output. There is no such thing as time wasted on an NBA team. Exum will have gained knowledge in his time on the sidelines. He will be able to put this knowledge into performance when the new season commences.