Aussie Watch

If/when he gets called up and sees some minutes with the Blazers, I think it'll be fair to say it's the best crop of Aussie players in the NBA that there has ever been. Bogut's having his best season to date, Andersen's settling in a bit more, Jawai had his moments when injuries were giving him a bit more playing time and Mills may well shine in limited minutes. 1996/97 featured Luc Longley, Shane Heal and Mark Bradtke of course but Longley's the only one who did anything of significance in the NBA.

That's pretty amazing, glad he's come back strong.

All of this will hopefully bode well for the national team! Maybe we can final medal at the next Olympics. I remember back in 2000 when we came 4th.

We're long overdue for at least a bronze. Gold is most certainly a pipe dream.

I always hated CJ Bruton as the starting PG

We're long overdue for at least a bronze. Gold is most certainly a pipe dream.

You guys have to be able to spank the Tall Blacks consistently by 20-30 points to be considered a medal chance

Yeah, that would be a start.

Just beating them every game like you use to before the noughties would be a better start

The X, talk to me after a full strength Australia pummels your beloved Tall Blacks.

The X, talk to me after a full strength Australia pummels your beloved Tall Blacks.

They won't meet. And it's not like the Tall Blacks have had Marks since 2004, so we've been under strength for a while.

And when is Australia ever going to be full strength? I have seen Tall Blacks beat Boomers with Bogut, with Mills and the rest of the guys. Only thing I haven't seen is Bogut & Mills together. But really, Bogut is under-utilised by Australian team so does it really make much of a difference if he's healthy or not?

In the end, the Australian team lacks international quality at the wing positions & that is why they won't medal.

Better coaching and selections wouldn't go astray.

The current coach doesn't like to utilize his big men. He likes to allow CJ Bruton to jack up shot after shot.

The Boomers have a great frontline and now they have a decent point guard. You're right we lack some good wing players, I wonder if Brad Newley is developing in Greece. It would be cool to see him make the NBA D-League at least.

The current coach doesn't like to utilize his big men. He likes to allow CJ Bruton to jack up shot after shot.

The Boomers have a great frontline and now they have a decent point guard. You're right we lack some good wing players, I wonder if Brad Newley is developing in Greece. It would be cool to see him make the NBA D-League at least.

Why?!? I'd think it's more prestigious to try & stick in the highest level of European competition than the lowly D-League

The current coach doesn't like to utilize his big men. He likes to allow CJ Bruton to jack up shot after shot.

The Boomers have a great frontline and now they have a decent point guard. You're right we lack some good wing players, I wonder if Brad Newley is developing in Greece. It would be cool to see him make the NBA D-League at least.

Why?!? I'd think it's more prestigious to try & stick in the highest level of European competition than the lowly D-League

If he's playing for an affiliate, and playing really well, better chance of getting a call up. That's my opinion.

honing his game in Europe, getting attention at the World Champs and Olympics gives him a better chance of getting an extended NBA stay and with more court time.

he gets a D-Leage call-up, he probably gets a 10-day contract and plays 28 minutes total. Could set him back further.

honing his game in Europe, getting attention at the World Champs and Olympics gives him a better chance of getting an extended NBA stay and with more court time.

he gets a D-Leage call-up, he probably gets a 10-day contract and plays 28 minutes total. Could set him back further.

Possibly and your argument is noted however I feel that it could go either way. There are pros and cons with both. With the D-League, I think a player would be more attractive to NBA teams because of proximity to the league and the style of play is closer to what it would be in the NBA. However, I do admit a player would really need to be 'killing' it in the D-League to have a longer-term stay with an NBA team.

Anyway, onto topic of Patty Mills. He might get a call-up this week as the Blazers are down to players!

Patty Mills has been recalled by the Blazers. He had 22 points and the game winner in his second NBDL game. I hope he plays well in his NBA debut.

Good news.

Didn't take Blazers long to realise that he is already ready to roll

He's very lucky that the team has got some kinda injury bug going around. Andre Miller played great but won't be like that every game. Ample opportunity for Mills to make an impact and stay on the roster!

Hopefully he'll get a chance for more than five minutes per game. I also hope he's still in the rotation in a week's time, there's a Blazers game on ESPN Australia.

Hopefully he'll get a chance for more than five minutes per game. I also hope he's still in the rotation in a week's time, there's a Blazers game on ESPN Australia.

We might get to see him on the bench.

they should've left him in the d-league.. might catch the injury bug again in portland

Hopefully he'll get a chance for more than five minutes per game. I also hope he's still in the rotation in a week's time, there's a Blazers game on ESPN Australia.

We might get to see him on the bench.

Better than not seeing him in the NBA at all I guess.