Canadian basketball is having a busy day
Steve Nash eyes the NBA final four as national teams prep for Olympics
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It's a busy day for Canadian basketball
Three things going on:
The women's national team has a playoff game. Its quarter-final vs. the Dominican Republic at the FIBA AmeriCup in Puerto Rico tipped off just after 3 p.m. ET. Canada should win it and advance to tomorrow night's semifinals, where it would meet the winner of tonight's Colombia vs. Puerto Rico game. The most likely matchup for the final on Saturday night is Canada vs. the United States. They were the only undefeated teams in the group stage, where they outscored their opponents by an average of 41 points. The four semifinalists in this event win a spot in the Women's Basketball World Cup qualifying tournaments in February. The AmeriCup is also a tuneup for this summer's Olympic tournament in Tokyo, where fourth-ranked Canada will have a shot at winning its first medal in Olympic women's basketball.
The men's national team is ramping up for its last-chance Olympic qualifier. Training camp opened yesterday at Canadian basketball's home away from home — Tampa, Fla., where the Toronto Raptors played their home games this season, the women's national team held its pre-AmeriCup camp, and now the men's squad has moved in to prepare for its June 29-July 4 qualifying tournament in Victoria. Of the 21 players who initially committed to the camp, 14 play in the NBA. But it looks like head coach Nick Nurse will have a little less than that to work with. Brandon Clarke, Kelly Olynyk, Khem Birch and Tristan Thompson are no longer on Canada's 24-man roster for the qualifier. Dillon Brooks and Oshae Brissett are, but they've reportedly decided to not play in Victoria. Still, the Canadian team has far more NBA players than any of its opponents in the qualifier. They include Andrew Wiggins (18.6 points per game for Golden State this season), RJ Barrett (17.6 for the Knicks), Lu Dort (14.0 for Oklahoma City) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (11.0 for New Orleans). Read more about the Canadian roster and what's happening at camp in this story by CBC Sports' Myles Dichter.
Steve Nash can advance to the NBA conference finals — which might not be the best for the national team. The man responsible for Canada's last appearance in the Olympic men's tournament (Nash dragged the 2000 team to the quarter-finals in Sydney) is now a rookie head coach with the Brooklyn Nets. Thanks to Kevin Durant's masterpiece on Tuesday, Brooklyn can finish off Milwaukee tonight in Game 6 and move on to the final four. That would end Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo's season, making it more likely the two-time NBA MVP plays for Greece in the Victoria qualifier. It might be a moot point because Giannis hasn't given any public indication that he intends to play in the tournament, but winning the series vs. Brooklyn would definitely rule him out.
Quickly...
Naomi Osaka is skipping Wimbledon, but will play in the Olympics. That's according to her agent, who said today that the world's No. 2 women's tennis player "is taking some personal time with friends and family. She will be ready for the Olympics and is excited to play in front of her home fans." Osaka, 23, was born in Japan and raised in the United States. She withdrew from the French Open last month after clashing with organizers over her refusal to do press conferences, saying she needed some time off to care for her mental health. Wimbledon begins June 28. Olympic tennis starts July 24. Read more about Osaka's extended break here.
Rafael Nadal pulled out of Wimbledon and the Olympics. Coming off a loss to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the French Open, his signature event, the 35-year-old Spaniard said he's "listening to his body" and taking a break to help "prolong my career." Nadal, who has won the French Open a record 13 times and is tied with Roger Federer for the all-time men's record with 20 Grand Slam titles (one ahead of Djokovic) also owns a pair of Olympic gold medals. He won the men's singles event in 2008, and men's doubles in 2016. He won Wimbledon in 2008 and '10. Read more about Nadal's decision to take a vacation here.
Canada named its gymnastics team for the Tokyo Olympics. Individual all-around medal contender Ellie Black headlines the group of five. She'll be joined in the women's team event by Olympic veteran Shallon Olsen and rookies Brooklyn Moors and Ava Stewart. Black, 25, won silver in the all-around at the 2017 world championships in Montreal and finished fourth at the most recent worlds, in 2019. On the men's side, Canada's lone Olympian will be René Cournoyer, who qualified with a 43rd-place finish at the 2019 worlds. Read more about Canada's Olympic gymnasts here.
The Montreal Canadiens showed they belong in the final four. It might be time to stop doubting them. Hardly anyone gave the Canadiens a chance in the first round against Toronto, and they beat them in seven. Then they swept Winnipeg — less surprising, but still, no one had Habs in 4. The consensus heading into the Stanley Cup semifinals was that Montreal would struggle stepping up in class against a Vegas team that tied for the most points in the regular season. That suspicion seemed to be confirmed by the Golden Knights' 4-1 win in Game 1. But Montreal raced out to a 3-0 lead last night and held on for a 3-2 victory that gave them a split in Vegas' building, which was very full and very loud. Game 3 is Friday night in Montreal, where 3,500 fans will be allowed in. That's about 15,000 fewer than they had in Vegas, but 1,000 more than the Quebec government previously permitted. The other semifinal series is also tied 1-1, with defending champion Tampa Bay visiting the New York Islanders tonight at 8 p.m. ET. You can watch Game 3 on the CBC TV network, CBCSports.ca and the CBC Sports app.
The NBA's top seeds are in trouble. Western Conference No. 1 Utah squandered Kawhi Leonard's absence due to a knee injury, losing to the Clippers 119-111 last night to fall behind 3-2 in their second-round series. Paul George picked up the slack for L.A. with 37 points. Meanwhile, Eastern No. 1 Philadelphia is also trailing 3-2 and in full panic mode after blowing a 26-point lead and losing to Atlanta 109-106. Philly's Ben Simmons scored only eight points and went just 4-for-14 from the foul line. He's shooting 33 per cent from the line in the playoffs, which is astoundingly awful for any NBA player — never mind a supposed star point guard. Read more about last night's games here.
Coming up on CBC Sports
Volleyball: Watch the Canadian women's team play Italy in Nations League action Friday at 12:45 p.m. ET here.
You're up to speed. Talk to you tomorrow.
