Luguentz Dort, RJ Barrett shine in Canada’s win over Australia

Canada is more than just the brilliance of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

The NBA MVP runner-up collected two fouls within the first two minutes of the Canadian men’s basketball team’s game against Australia on Tuesday at the Paris Olympics and had to sit. But thanks to five 3s in the first quarter, nice secondary playmaking and the eventual appearance of its perimeter defence, Canada took control of the game, winning 93-83.

If Canada beats Spain on Friday, it will win Group A, arguably the deepest group in the tournament. If Canada loses by seven or fewer points, it would still win the group in the event of a three-way tie with Spain and Australia. The group’s winner will not play either of the group winners in the quarterfinals. The United States is the strong favourite to win Group C.

When he returned to the floor, Gilgeous-Alexander hit 8 of 10 shots, but the other Canadians put him in a position to take over the game.

Here is what stood out in the win.

Good defence can take several forms

When we picture good defence, it is usually a player locking up a ballhandler in a one-on-one battle on the perimeter or a shot blocker swatting the ball away after coming across the paint. For Canada, it was hustle.

With no excellent rim protector, Canada’s defence has to be generated by its guards and wings. The bigs up front can use their relative size to help Canada scramble, but they will not shut down the paint. After giving up 49 points in the first half, allowing Australia to shoot 73 percent from 2 and trailing by four, coach Jordi Ferrnández called for his team to put pressure on Australia after the break.

Crucially, the play didn’t stop if Australian guards beat the first line of defence. Early on, Josh Giddey broke that pressure, but Luguentz Dort and Dillon Brooks knocked the ball away from behind. Other times, when Australia tried to get the ball inside to Jock Landale, Canadian guards swarmed and made him get rid of it or knocked the ball loose.

By the end of the game, Australia turned the ball over 18 times to Canada’s 11, a huge reason for the Canadian win. Canada outscored Australia 28-10 in points off of turnovers.

Luguentz Dort is your cult hero

Defence also can be viscerally awesome, of course. With Australia set to take the last shot of the third quarter, Dort ripped the ball from Giddey’s hands and went the other way for a dunk, hanging on the rim and threatening to slap the backboard. Be careful with those FIBA refs, Lu.

one of the best defenders in the world showing it on the world stage 💪

the product of Montreal, Lu Dort, came up huge for 🇨🇦 today#Paris2024 | #SMNTpic.twitter.com/IoJhVJ0c3T

— Canada Basketball (@CanBball) July 30, 2024

Regardless, Dort is such a fun player to have on your team. In the fourth quarter, Patty Mills dislodged him with a moving shoulder screen, and Dort went tumbling to the floor. It seemed like he didn’t feel it. He pumped his fists on the floor as Canada got the ball off the illegal screen.

Entering the pre-tournament exhibition games, Dort figured to be a key reserve for Canada. With Jamal Murray’s time away from the team as he tries to regain his conditioning, Dort has become the fifth starter. As with the Thunder, he’s a snug fit. He had 11 points and three steals.

Signs of life

Murray’s five-point performance in 24 minutes is not going to calm many Canadian fans’ nerves. However, he had a short spurt in the fourth quarter that helped Canada keep Australia at arm’s length and allowed Gilgeous-Alexander to rest.

First, he hit a contested leaner with 4 minutes, 28 seconds remaining, giving Canada an 11-point lead, its biggest of the quarter. After Dante Exum responded with a 3, Murray strung out the defence and found Khem Birch (who played ahead of Kelly Olynyk and Trey Lyles up front in the second half) for a layup. The sequence came with Gilgeous-Alexander on the bench. Before leaving, the Thunder star missed two free throws, stole the ball but then gave it right back to Australia. He needed a minute to collect himself, and Murray was there to make some plays.

Murray also had two blocks, which nobody is counting on. Those plays said something about his overall health right now. He also had five assists.

FIBA RJ

RJ Barrett is a physical scoring forward who played for the New York Knicks. When the Knicks picked him third overall in the 2019 NBA Draft, perhaps their fans were dreaming of a home-grown Carmelo Anthony.

That was not to be, as Barrett was traded to the Toronto Raptors last season. However, like Anthony, Barrett seems to excel internationally. Anthony put together one of the best careers for the United States in FIBA; he was a big part of gold medal-winning teams in 2008, ’12 and ’16. Playing alongside so many stars, he cut the fat from his game and became extremely efficient.

Barrett is doing something similar. Barrett led Canada to a gold medal at the Under-19 World Cup in Egypt in 2017, a massive accomplishment for the program. He was second in scoring last year at the FIBA World Cup for Canada, averaging 16.8 points per game. Now he has led Canada in scoring in both games of the tournament with 47 total points on 59.3/40/91.7 percent shooting from the field, 3 and the stripe, respectively.

The moment that turned this game around for @CanBball 🇨🇦🏀

Watch the 4th quarter now on @cbcgem pic.twitter.com/r2dlCpmynh

— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) July 30, 2024

Barrett has a long way to go to achieve the international career Anthony had. Having a big tournament in Canada’s first Olympic appearance in 24 years would be a nice line on his résumé.

Say something nice about the Bulls

The Bulls appear to have picked a lane this summer, by making the (maligned) Giddey-Alex Caruso trade.

No matter your feelings about Giddey, he has looked good as a top option for Australia. He went mismatch hunting in the first half against Canada, victimizing Dwight Powell with stepback 3s twice. He also used his size to get into the lane, deploying his floater liberally. His size and fluidity make him dangerous in the paint.

He slowed down in the second but still had 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists. A nice showing from him thus far. He even got the requisite double foul as Brooks got in his face after he scored over him.

(Photo of RJ Barrett: John David Mercer / USA Today)