NBA Fantasy Basketball : Hints + Tips

While it's still quite early, generally around this time of year we start to get queries from people trying to prepare to trump their friends in NBA Fantasy League play.

So I thought it a good time to re-post an article I wrote in a previous life for a site called RGB : Rose Garden Blog, with some slight updates.

NBA Fantasy Basketball : Hints + Tips

Fantasy basketball -- every armchair enthusiast's chance to be GM. But it's more than just being Elgin Baylor, it's personal. It's about beating your buddies. Rivalries that go on season after season.

The Basics

If you haven't gotten into Fantasy NBA already, now is the time to do it. Get a group of like-minded budding basketball experts together and start those battles which are going to bring that added level of interest to the NBA season.

The popular choice for most Fantasy Basketball veterans is Yahoo! Fantasy NBA. The guys at Yahoo! have been running FNBA for years now and the product is top quality and gets better every season. The actual "prettiness" of the interface has been a little lacking at times, but they have certainly upped that this season with the advent of the NBA's own entry into the Fantasy market.

NBA.com has noted the popularity of FNBA and how it attracts a new level of fandom to the sport, so have decided to bring this aspect of the game in-house. NFL and other sports run top-notch fantasy games from their own sites and now NBA is offering Ultimate Fantasy Commissioner. At this stage it's hard to say which one is going to be better, so if you're like me, you'll enter a team in both versions this season. If you just want to go for one, I would recommend Yahoo! purely based on their track record.

There are also various Fantasy games out there where you have to pay, providing you with extra features and prize money sums. I prefer to stick with the free one myself and make the wagers on the side with friends.

Tips

With the NBA season approaching and thus Fantasy drafts approaching, I thought it a good time to start with some tips for putting together a winning strategy for your team. If you want to analyse the full details of the rules, I recommend you go to one of the sites above and read up on their Help sections (which are quire useful). Rules do vary from league to league and can be adjusted by individual commissioners.

What I am going to discuss here are some key tips for getting over the line in your league. These articles will continue in the coming weeks as we wait for the season to start. Today's topic is potentially the most labour-intensive part of preparation: ranking players.

Ranking Players

No matter what type of league you are competing in, the key is that you need to put a spreadsheet together. That is of course assuming that you want to win. If you just want to select players that you like to add some enjoyment to the season, then do it. But believe me, you will soon grow bored of your fantasy team as it languishes at the bottom of the ladder and your co-competitors will not want you to join their league next season.

The difficult truth -- a good player in reality does not equal a top fantasy NBA player.

Most Rotisserie FNBA leagues involve the following categories: FG%, FT%, 3PM, REB, AST, STL, BLK, T/O (less is best) and PTS. The objective is for your fantasy team to rank highest in each of these categories with comparison to your competing FNBA teams.

Your spreadsheet needs to take into account the statistics from 2007/08 for every player. You then need to rank each of these players with respect to the average for the league in each category. For example, if Tim Duncan averages 20.0ppg for the season and the average ppg across the league is 11.0ppg, then Duncan is 9.0ppg above average. This increases his fantasy value. However Duncan also shoots significantly below average from the free throw line. This decreases his fantasy value.

The reality of this means that a player such as Duncan may kill your fantasy team in one category, despite the fact that he is highly useful in many others (blocks, rebounds etc). A player such as Shaquille O'Neal is a FNBA rookie mistake from this perspective -- he will absolutely demolish your chances of winning the FT% category. If you have him on your squad, you might as well give up on that category and get every other poor FT shooter in the league and concentrate on their other categories.

The techniques of ranking using a spreadsheet can get a bit daunting if you are not too keen on mathematics or use of Excel, but try to follow this analysis. In order to rank your players, you need to do the following:

1. Copy the 2007/08 NBA statistics for every player in the league in the categories listed above.

2. Make adjustments to the statistics to reflect what you predict the players to output during the 2008/09 season.

3. Insert rookies to the list and make conservative estimates of their statistics.

4. Work out the average for each category of all players (eg work out the average PPG, the average FG% etc).

5. Calculate the standard deviation for each category. Your spreadsheet software should be capable of doing this for you.

6. Take each player's output in each category, subtract the average for that category. Divide this number by the standard deviation.

7. The resulting number if ABOVE ZERO, is GOOD. If BELOW ZERO, is BAD.

8. Tally all category results as per 7 (remember that turnovers is a negative). This total determines the rank for each player - the higher the better.

That's enough to get you started in your preparation. More hints and tips to come in future posts! Feel free to hit me in the comments or email me with any topics you want covered on FNBA.

Today's warnings : 11 August, 2008

Today is the chance to shine for the Womens Olympic Basketball teams. We are less than 30 minutes away from the commencement of Australia v Brazil, as the Aussies try to remove the taste from their mouths of the Men's loss to Croatia yesterday. Here's what's going on around the basketball wide web:

• Ryan at Hoops Addict continues with their successful Floor Burn Tournament. Get your votes in for Round 2.
• In echoes of yesterday's Men's, the USA ladies easily accounted for China 108-63, behind 27 points from Tina Thompson and a Lisa Leslie double-double (boxscore).
• In tomorrow's must-see Men's matches, host China takes on favourites Spain, Croatia and Russia should be evenly matched and Argentina vs Australia is a must-win for both teams (full schedule).
• JR, On Fire brings to light an unknown Aussie who might not stay unknown for too long -- Angus Brandt. He's hitting a US court near you.
• TheHive produced a very impressive Team USA preview piece the other day which pits American players against their nearest rivals. I enjoyed the LeBron James vs Mark Worthington match-up, as whilst they are players in different stratospheres, I can see the similarities that are being compared here. Wortho looked like he enjoyed guarding LBJ in the AUS v USA warmup match last week too.
• Basketbawful visits Larry Bird's Summer Home for a BBQ -- and it sounds nice.
• And One goes book hunting and finds some old treasures.
• WorldHoopsBlog asks whether we are seeing a shift in sports society, where basketball becomes bigger than football (soccer)?
• Basketball is one sport that certainly embraces all people, regardless of disabilities. As a result, all basketball fans should be interested when this type of question is raised: where is the borderline between a funny movie and taking it too far?

Good luck, whoever you're supporting at the Olympics!

Isaac Hayes -- singer, actor, ABA team owner -- dead at 65

Today came the sad news that funk-soul legend, Isaac Hayes has died at his Memphis home, aged 65. On the same day as the entertainment industry lost comedian and actor, Bernie Mac, Hayes was found dead after apparently working out at home.

The talented singer, songwriter and composer, who won the Oscar in 1972 for best original song for the theme from "Shaft," was found unresponsive at his house by family members, Shelby county sheriff's spokesman Steve Shular told AFP.

Hayes was discovered at about 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) collapsed on the floor of a bedroom in his home next to a treadmill that was still running, he said.

"We don't believe there was any foul play," Shular said. "Based on the statements by family members that Mr. Hayes had been treated of late for a number of medical issues, we believe that led to his death today. There are no plans for an autopsy."

Before the days of rapper Jay-Z crossing over music and basketball, there was Hayes. The singer, who was most recently famed for his voicing of the "Chef" character on South Park, bought into an American Basketball Association team in the 1970's (per wikipedia):

On July 17, 1974 Isaac Hayes, along with Mike Storen, Avron Fogelman and Kemmonis Wilson took over ownership of the American Basketball Association team the Memphis Tams.[11] The prior owner was Charles O. Finley, the owner of the Oakland A's baseball team. Hayes' group renamed the team the Memphis Sounds. Despite a 66% increase in home attendance, hiring well regarded coach Joe Mullaney and, unlike in the prior three seasons, making the 1975 ABA Playoffs (losing to the eventual champion Kentucky Colonels in the Eastern Division semifinals) the team's financial problems continued.

In a scenario reminiscent of that portrayed in Will Ferrell's comedy Semi-Pro, the team was faced with a tough fight for survival:

The group was given a deadline of June 1, 1975 to sell 4,000 season tickets, obtain new investors and arrange a more favorable lease for the team at the Mid-South Coliseum. The group did not come through and the ABA took over the team, selling it to a group in Maryland that renamed the team the Baltimore Hustlers and then the Baltimore Claws before the club finally folded during preseason play for the 1975-1976 season.[12]

See the complete history of the Memphis Sounds at RememberTheABA.

Hayes was married four times and fathered 12 children, according to US magazine. He is survived by his current wife Adjowa, whom he married in 2005 and with whom he had one child.

Today's warnings : 10 August, 2008

In a full day for Men's Olympic Basketball, let's Czech out some of the links around the interweb:

• Ball Don't Lie liveblogged the USA v China game, so if you want to feel like you were there watching the game along with various other internet denizons, knock yourself out!
• FIBA YouTube interview with Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian.
• Brandon Roy has his eye on Rudy (Rudolfo) Fernandez at the Olympics, with thoughts of next season with the Blazers. I imagine he would have enjoyed what he saw today vs Greece where Rudy led his Spanish team to a solid win over a key rival.
• Carolyn at And One talks about the death of Grandpa Munster, basketball fan.
• A Spurs fan hating on their team's outlook (via Truehoop).
• Yao started out sooo well against Kobe; shame China couldn't keep it up.
  
  

Highlights: Australia v USA (Pre-Olympic match)

Highlights, courtesy of msfbasketball of the Australian Boomers v Team USA pre-Olympic warmup match, including the great performance from 19 year old point guard Patrick Mills.

Croatia 97 - 82 Australia : match autopsy

The first games of Olympics mens pool basketball games are almost all over, with just USA v China to come.

Today saw a couple of surprise results, along with the predictable ones.

JR, On Fire has a round-up of results for today, including a somewhat surprising Lithuanian defeat of star-studded Argentina (on a Linas Kleiza three on the buzzer following Carlos Delfino coughing up the ball), Russia's easy disposal of Iran, Germany not falling prey to potential-laden Angola (behind new recruit Chris Kaman), powerhouse Spain proving their mettle against former champs Greece and Australia sadly falling to a white-hot shooting Croatia.

Australia and the Croats both went into this match knowing that it would be a key pool game, as both are vying for a tight berth into the medal rounds. Croatia came out all guns blazing and blew the Boomers out of the water, 97-82.

Australia started the game in traditional fashion of late, with a CJ Bruton three-pointer, but from there it was all downhill.

The Croatian victory can be put down to one word: treys.

The boys in red, white and blue seemingly could not miss from deep and unfortunately for the Aussies, Brian Goorjian's trademark pressing defence played right into this strength. Australia was pressing the ball, with some success, all the way up the court. Of course though, when you press and don't succeed in stopping the ball, it leads to wide open shots.

Croatia did a great job of spreading the floor and beat the press in most cases with crisp passing that led to a series of threes raining from the sky. The Croatians just could not miss in this game. It is near impossible to stop a barrage like that.

The Croatians shot an unbelievable 12 of 16 (75%) from long range and the Aussies could not respond, with 6 of 19.

Once a team starts shooting like that, the same confidence transfers to all aspects of the game and the Croatians made a number of unbelievable and-ones under the basket and had the Aussies running in all directions, trying to cover all of their shooters.

The stars for the Croats from deep were Marko Tomas (4/4 for 12 points), former NBAer Zoran Planinic (2/2) and Davor Kus (2/3), whilst Marco Banic (16 points) and Nicola Prkkacin (16 points) did a great job inside.

It was not all doom and gloom for the Aussies, with a very strong captain's performance from Matty Nielsen (13 points, 5 rebounds) and a spirited, inspiring offensive display from David Barlow who proved himself beyond his years with 12 points including a stretch where he seemed to be the Boomers' only offensive threat.

Australia will just hope not to encounter another team with that sort of luck/skill/fortune from the land of deep if they are to progress into the next round. Their full-court defence certainly posed the Croats some problems at times and made the final scoreline more respectable than it could have been.

Now onto USA v China, which is in front of me on the TV screen now...starting with a Yao Ming three!

Today's warnings : 08:08:08

Today's warnings are quite brief as there are Olympic Opening Ceremonies to be watched!

I just saw AK47 carry the Russian Flag through the stadium -- he wasn't sulking or anything.

• Australian sharpshooter, blogger and all-round nice guy, John Rillie is challenging Steve Nash's 21 free throws in 60 seconds. Steve, if you're out there, the gauntlet has been thrown down!
• Mark Cuban's thoughts on the NBA players heading for the hills (hat tip to World Hoops Blog).
• Nathan Jawai is getting a helping hand in his start with the Toronto Raptors. I guess in much the same way as Yao Ming had a translator/minder early on, Fearne will partly act as translator, as Canadian is an awfully hard language to master.
• Basketbawful can see Dan Dickau better now.
• Self gets $3m a year for 10 years. That's a lot of money for a College coach to lead kids who don't get paid a dime, isn't it? Most of all, I just love the headline, it's one of those "what?" headlines, like pretty much any headline that involves Darnell Mee or Rudy Gay. Childish? Possibly...
• Thanks to Carolyn at And One who linked to this great blog being maintained by one of the Beijing basketball announcers, Olivier Sedra.
  
  

Elgin Baylor, will you do my homework for me?

You know the old saying, if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it for you.

Well, if you want something done right about now, I'd be asking Elgin Baylor to help out. His Clipper ship has been steaming through the Pacific, tacking where necessary and heading dead astern (we like that word here ... asternwarning) for a dose of respectability or at least the appearance that Head Office has tried.

Baylor has gone through his rough patch of years as VP of Basketball Operations in Los Angeles' other team. He's been labelled as everything from stupid, to gutless to lazy in the Clippers' continued mediocrity through the 90s. They have only made the playoffs twice since 1993 and have failed to make much noise, always being seen as the 'also-ran' to the cross-town Lakers.

"May you live in interesting times" supposedly is the Chinese proverb. Well, this off-season for the Clippers has certainly been that. It all started out with doom and gloom as it looked like the Clippers were going to lose their key free agents (Elton Brand and Corey Maggette) and see nothing in return. Then suddenly there was a blast of fresh air with the apparent double-signing of Baron Davis and Brand. The see-saw went back down as it became clear that Brand was not returning. Then the fat kid got back on the other end of the see-saw as the Nuggets make a charitable, tax-deductible donation of Marcus Camby to the Clips.

Now, let's see if you can keep up with this as we recap the moves that have been made in Clipperville since mid-last season, February 2008. Just after the trading deadline, they signed Nevada rookie Nick Fazekas to a 10-day contract. They also set Sam Cassell free to join his buddy KG in Boston for the title run.

In March, they signed Fazekas to another 10-dayer and picked up the now-smushed-Smush Parker. They then decided to sign Fazekas for the rest of the season and picked up Marcus Williams, dropping his namesake Aaron.

Then to the off-season where things really get fun... the Clips extended qualifying offers to Fazekas and Williams, pretty much because they had only about 5 other players on their roster (including Baylor, who decided he'd make a comeback as he's clearly more successful on the court than upstairs, much like MJ, Larry and Isiah).

Farewells were given to Smush, the unfortunate Shaun Livingston, Disaster Dan Dickau, Boniface Ndong and James Singleton. Nothing too surprising here. But this is just when it all starts to get interesting.

Solid shooting guard draftee Eric Gordon was signed, in a situation which gives him a great mentor in Cutino Mobley. And his backcourt partner was announced as Fear The Beard's own Baron Davis. Then the controversy came when Golden State tried to counter by throwing cash at Elton Brand, which he refused, duping them both to sign with the Philadelphia Sixers.

All the while, Corey Maggette was in negotiations in the background and Golden State picked up their consolation prize on the way out the door by signing the slashing small forward to a 5 year, $50m deal.

Next up to the table were draftees Mike Taylor and dominating big man DeAndre Jordan, who projects as a solid interior player. As the ink was drying on that, Baylor was finishing cleaning Rex Chapman's three cars (inside and out) as the VP of Basketball Operations in Denver gifted Camby to the Clips, giving them a solid defensive presence to play alongside bratwurst eating Chris Kaman.

Laura Bush got jealous and signed her own deal to play backup point to B-Diddy (see left) as her husband picked up his tickets to see China v the Redeem Team in Beijing from Ticketmaster.

At this point the Clippers realised they weren't in as desperate a situation as first thought and threw Marcus Williams and Nick Fazekas back onto the NBA/D-League merry-go-round.

Not content to let Golden State's Chris Mullin rest, they signed atheltic restricted free agent Kelenna Azubuike to an offer sheet. The Warriors were having none of it and matched.

Baylor was pretty happy with how the Camby trade panned out, so brimming with confidence he decided to try his luck again. This time he traded as-pure-a-point-as-they-come Brevin Knight to the Utah Jazz for Jason Hart. A move that makes the Clips younger and slightly more versatile in the backcourt.

Get buckets? Things were getting a little quiet there for 5 days or so and with the focus not on the Clippers, they decided to sign "community service leader" Ricky Davis, who is still only 28 amazingly enough. And he has gotten rid of the braids, in an image shift. "I was thinking about doing it last year. It means something to cut the braids off. I got a new look."

Next on the chopping block was Josh Powell, who was replaced by been-around-the-world big man Brian Skinner, a quality big to have off the bench. The PF/C, who has played for seven teams, was originally drafted by the Clippers back in '98.

In another "let's swap 2nd-round draft picks in the future if you want to at the time" deal, pure shooting forward Steve Novak was acquired from the Houston Rockets two days ago. But Novak was too skinny to fill an entire roster spot, so the Clippers followed that by signing another Miami Heat castaway in Jason Williams... look out for some White Chocoalte in Los Angeles, ladies and gentlemen.

Phew.

Is it all over? Who knows. Only Elgin knows.

Certainly, no one can accuse Mr Baylor of being lazy or Donald Sterling of being stingy in their moves this Summer. The fans of LA know that they've got staff working to bring them a better basketball team. The wild west is a tough place to play, so playoff are far from certain, but the Clippers will challenge for that final spot, no doubt.

DEPTH CHART

PG ¦ Baron Davis ¦ Jason Williams ¦ Jason Hart

SG ¦ Cutino Mobley ¦ Eric Gordon ¦ Mike Taylor

SF ¦ Al Thornton ¦ Tim Thomas ¦ Steve Novak

PF ¦ Marcus Camby ¦ Brian Skinner

C ¦ Chris Kaman ¦ DeAndre Jordan

Head Coach ¦ Mike Dunleavy

USA 87-76 Australia -- No Bogut, No Cry

Team USA, as expected by all but a few Australian players' parents, took out a victory over the Australian Boomers in Shanghai today. The 11 point victory probably did not please the American camp all that much, as many were predicting a whitewash, particularly with Aussie NBA big man Andrew Bogut out with a faulty ankle.

Dwyane Wade has silenced all of the naysayers in the pre-Olympic going with some 2006-like performances of late, including 22 points today. He was happy with the team's performance:

"It was a great game for us, the last game before going into the (Olympic) tournament, we are happy that we played them and I'm sure they feel they got better from this," Wade said.

"But at the end of the day, we won the ball game and found a way to win."

Despite Bogut being out, Australia had the advantage of not having to go to small ball, with Chris Anstey, Matt Nielsen and David Andersen all fit to go. Anstey had a game befitting of his vast international experience, stepping up with 13 points and 6 rebounds and at one point getting into a firey situation with his opponents in a short-lived scuffle.

As always, Team USA came out of the game not feeling too unsettled and walking with the swagger that only they can muster. However, the reality is that should Bogut have been in action and had replaced the minutes that David Andersen played the result may have been infinitely closer. Andersen (4 points, 4 rebounds and 5 fouls) appeared uncomfortable at times in this match, perhaps as he was forced to play down low more than usual in Bogut's absence. Once the Games begin and the Milwaukee Buck is back in action, Andersen will be able to go back to his bread-and-butter mid-range jumper.

Bogut will indeed be back in time for the Olympics, with the team saying that he is 70 percent fit. "If this was the Olympics today, he would play, but it's not _ it's just a warm-up game, and we are going to be cautious and make sure it is right," the spokesman said.

The opening of the match was not unlike the 2004 Olympic encounter between these teams, where a very tight first three quarters culminated with a fourth quarter run-away by Team USA. Team USA played full-court defence today right from the get-go, with Jason Kidd closely manning CJ Bruton. With the athletes at their disposal, this is clearly the best move. However Australia did not get too flustered by this and Bruton's experience allowed him to navigate the press well.

Eventually coach Brian Goorjian made the decision to bring in 19 year old Patrick Mills for a change of pace at the point and he did not disappoint. Mills' speed certainly took away from one of Team USA's strengths and he did surprise them en route to the basket on more than one occasion. He finished the game with 13 points and no doubt gained some new NBA scouting admirers who will be closely following his exploits at St Mary's next season in anticipation of coming Drafts. His lack of size is easily made up for in the speed, shooting and decision-making departments. Australia certainly does not lose a great deal when he subs onto the court.

In the second quarter Australia slumped somewhat, as USA used their full-court press to their advantage and the Boomers' offence suffered somewhat, giving up 22 points to 10 in the period.

The third saw Australia rally back and get within spitting distance, but the Americans never really were forced to get into top gear, as they kept the lead in double figures toward the end of the final quarter. Carmelo Anthony proved he can man the power forward position quite adequately with 12 points and 10 rebounds, whilst fellow classmen Wade and LeBron James (16 points, 4 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks) stood out from the rest. Dwight Howard in no way dominated inside and often appeared to need some help against the bigger Australians. He may also need some free-throw practice before the USA meets with some tougher opponents after going zero for six from the stripe.

After all the talk of the imporance of Australia's bigs, they did their job as expected in this match and in addition the punch was received on the perimeter by Mills, Brad Newley and David Barlow. Australia will be relying on that input in the Games to have a chance against the heavyweights.

A FEW WARNINGS

Skeets and co at Yahoo's Ball Don't Lie hosted a fun little live blog on the match, allowing us all to do a bit of hello sweet worlding about the relative merits of Luc Longley's surfing skills, the fact that Fosters is bottled in oil cans and whether we'd "like to go to a hip-hop club with [Andrea] Bargnani".

Boxscore for the match is here, courtesy of NBA.com.

Review of the match from a site I've not visited before called Soul Assassins (including a couple of great closeup pictures of Kobe v Nielsen).

SLAM giving some love to Patty Mills and Joe Ingles as potential future NBA stars, along with Ricky Rubio as players to watch in the Olympics.

The Melbourne Age's review of the match.

This Australian squad is Goorjian's best yet, as per the Melbourne Sun (which has been said ad nauseum in the leadup to these Games -- let's hope it's for real).

Kelly Dwyer's thoughts on where Team USA needs to smarten up.

2008 Olympic Warmup Preview : Australian Boomers vs Team USA

The last time these two teams met in an Olympic setting, a very close game ensued for three quarters, with Team USA walking away with an 89-79 victory at the end of it all. It is fair to say that the Australian Boomers put up a very strong fight against a USA team which did not have as easy a ride in Athens as it often hopes to, going out of the tournament with only a bronze medal to show for it (behind Argentina and Italy).

This time around appears that it may be a little different. Already the USA men have shown they are in strong form and the disappointments of the last eight years have hit home with the stars of the team. The blasé attitude has departed to some extent and the USA is doing all it can to waltz home with a gold medal in Beijing.

The Australians play a phyical game and have a significant amount of size in their lineup, which may bristle a few feathers, as it did in September 2000 during the pre-Olympic match held in Melbourne (see photo, right). Vince Carter walked away with a chant from the crowd he possibly had not heard before after not only injuring referee Bill Mildenhall, but also clashing with and standing over Aussie basketball legend Andrew Gaze.

Whilst firey personality Shane Heal is not with the team this time around, the Australians will no doubt still try to make a statement against USA this time around. Only this time it may all be through their play on the court.

Team USA has perhaps its strongest lineup in many years and definitely its most focussed. The athelticism of the team is unprecedented with players such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade headlining that area. The key area of weakness from the outside looking in, is the lack of depth in the big man department. Carlos Boozer, Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh certainly have an uphill struggle should any of their number have to miss time due to injury or foul trouble and will rely on players such as James to help out down low.

Here's a breakdown of how some of the matchups may play out, based upon the rotations that seem to be getting the most burn to date in the warmup games:

C: ANDREW BOGUT v DWIGHT HOWARD

Whilst Bogut has the height advantage on Howard, Superman from Orlando is a physical specimen that should not be messed with. Australia's front line may have one of the better chances of challenging Howard inside and at least stifling his dominance on the boards. It is worth noting that Bogut's performances against Howard's Magic during his NBA career have been less than flattering. He has performed well below his season averages in points and rebounds against Orlando, whilst Howard has had no such problems with the Bucks. Look to Howard to frollick untethered on the glass. In the background: Chris Anstey (AUS) v Chris Bosh (USA) -- Anstey likes to play on the perimeter a lot, whilst Bosh can mix it up inside or midrange.

PF: MATTHEW NIELSEN v LeBRON JAMES

Once again, Nielsen's height advantage on James may be negated by King James' superior athleticism and raw strength. James is undoubtably only rivalled by teammate Bryant for status as the most talented player in the world and this is an area where Australia will really struggle to contain Team USA. The defensive assignment on James may well fall to someone like David Barlow who has superior lateral quickness and athleticism, leaving Nielsen with a smaller player to guard. Nielsen has proven on the world stage in many stratas that he can perform at a high level and as captain this time around, will be looking to serve his country proudly. He will do his job on the boards and scoring from mid-range, but playing at LBJ's level is a duty beyond the call for the star from Penrith. In the background: David Andersen (AUS) v Carlos Boozer (USA) -- these guys have quite similar games, both can bang inside or hit the jump shot and will provide significant support off the bench.

SF: DAVID BARLOW v KOBE BRYANT

Barlow is a solid and consistent threat from the perimeter, particularly when he has his feet set. See John Rillie's insight on Barlow's game here. The "Prototype" will try his best to keep up with either Bryant or James on the defensive end, but whatever the assignment will be, he will struggle to keep up, as will almost anyone in the world. Bryant has designated himself the "Doberman" of the squad, so it is likely that he will be a harrowing force on the defensive end for Team USA and will look to cool down whichever Aussie gets hot from the perimeter early (whether it be Barlow or Brad Newley). In the background: Mark Worthington (AUS) v Carmelo Anthony -- once again, these guys have similar games. They both can score in a variety of ways, play big for their position and have strong on-court personalities. Worthington likes to play defence though, something Melo is not renowned for.

SG: BRAD NEWLEY v DERON WILLIAMS

Newley has shown some glimpses of brilliance so far in the Olympic leadup. His ability to slash to the basket and hit shots from the perimeter may cause some problems for USA should they decide to stick with the Deron-CP3 backcourt that they have been using for extensive stretches in previous matches. On the other end, Williams will continue to razzle and dazzle in his ball-handling tandem with Chris Paul and will give the Aussies fits at containing his solid decision-making. In the background: Glen Saville (AUS) v Dwyane Wade (USA) -- Sav is a veteran with great poise and versatility, but Wade is in a whole different stratosphere. Look to Wade to play a significant role, whilst Sav provides support in spurts.

PG: CJ BRUTON v CHRIS PAUL

As one of the team's veterans, Bruton will be looking to steady the ship for Australia and not let them get too overawed against their more famous opposition. CJ is a scrappy player that is not afraid to fall on the floor and take a charge (almost too willing some would say) and will do his best to stay in front of Paul, one of the quickest players in the tournament. Much of the time however, it may prove useful for the Boomers to bring out Patrick Mills' blinding pace to have a shot at matching CP3, who will no doubt continue his brilliant domination from the backcourt. In the background: Patrick Mills (AUS) v Jason Kidd (USA) -- the master and the apprentice. Mills at 19 years of age, will see his minutes to give the Boomers a change of pace when things aren't going to plan, meanwhile Kidd will be brought into steady the ship in much the same way, but rather he will be on court due to his experience and heady decision-making.

Australian coach Brian Goorjian will be happy with this result if Australia does not embarass themselves in a blowout. To date the Boomers have acquitted themselves well in all of their matches (wins and losses) and will be looking to keep the confidence levels up going into the Olympic tournament. Noone likes to lose, regardless of there being nothing at stake, so look to Team USA to try their best to make a statement with a big victory here, punctuated by some late game fast-break dunks.

Also see: Australian Boomers Olympic Preview