Basketball World Cup 2023, Group E on Sunday, 27.08.2023
Equally on Sunday the boys of the DBB have to lace up their sneakers again – so they didn’t have much time to recover!
There is nothing less than the group victory at stake. But as much as I would like to see the Eagles win, in my Australia Germany tip I still assume a victory for the Oceanians due to various aspects.
The whole of Germany is looking forward to the FIBA World Championship 2023 – and rightly so! Because the bronze medal winner of the EuroBasket 2022 managed to defeat host Japan right on Friday with a commanding 81:63.
Decisive for the success was the excellent game structure of Dennis Schröder and the skills at the basket of Moritz Wagner, who could contribute 25 points to the victory.
The size advantages I mentioned in my Germany Japan tip were obvious. However, there is also an unpleasant incident to lament: Franz Wagner’s sprained ankle.
Germany will have to rely on both Wagner brothers to keep the quality on the floor high. After all, the difference in performance between their own starting five and the bench players is considerable.
This alone could quickly prove fatal against a team like Australia, which is much stronger than Japan and also has an excellent lineup across the board.
Because the semi-finalist of the 2019 edition of the World Cup celebrated in my eyes the most impressive success of the entire 1st day of competition: a 98:72 over by no means weak Finns.
Australia thus celebrated a higher victory than Germany on Friday – and that against an opponent who is clearly superior to Japan in purely qualitative terms.
To be honest, that doesn’t surprise me one bit. Because the “Boomers” are an absolute feast for the eyes and are equipped with more than twice as many NBA stars as the DBB selection.
The Germans have a chance to win if both Wagner brothers are fit and play their qualitative advantages in the half court.
Although the Australians have a much better team in terms of width, the center position with Nick Kay and Duop Reath is a weak point.
These two players are among only three Australian players who do not play in the NBA – and even though Reath measures 2.11, he lacks the mobility to take on a strong opponent.
Should DBB show up in top form, expect a 50-50 affair. However, I don’t expect the Germans to have a better day than the Boomers.
Because Australia just impressed me way too much against Finland. Mills and Giddey combined for 39 points and the contribution from the bench was also more acceptable than that of the DBB reservists against Japan.
Conclusion: I’ll put my money on the boomers from down under. Especially since there is a big question mark hanging over Franz Wagner.
In addition, AUS already won against GER at the 2021 Olympics with 89:76 as well as in the previous two must-win games.
The Oceaniacs simply start with a lot more talented NBA players and will also prevail in the end, unless the DBB selection manages to exploit the mismatch on the five in their favor.
My Australia Germany tip: Victory AUS.
