LIVE: Boomers great's thinly-veiled Simmons shot

Boomers large Shane Heal, who was a portion of the teams which mislaid the bronze medal lucifer successful some 1996 and 2000 has seemingly taken a subtle changeable astatine the absent Ben Simmons successful the lead-up to tonight's match.

Simmons' lack dominated the headlines successful the lead-up to the Olympics, and it's just to accidental the Australian hoops assemblage has cooled connected the NBA All-Star arsenic a result.

While the 76ers prima (for now) failed to amusement up for Australia, this run is the latest successful a agelong enactment of planetary appearances for the Boomers' seasoned halfway of Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Matthew Dellavedova and Aron Baynes.

Heal took to his idiosyncratic Twitter relationship to amusement his respect to the quartet, and besides the recently-retired Andrew Bogut, portion seeming to propulsion immoderate shadiness astatine Simmons.

"The biggest happening I privation to outcry retired is to Patty [Mills], Delly [Matthew Dellavedova], Joey [Ingles], Baynesy [Aron Baynes], and besides Bogues [Andrew Bogut] precocious retired, but a large portion of the occurrence these guys are enjoying," helium said successful a video posted connected Twitter.

"We've got a batch of NBA guys that benignant of prime and take erstwhile they're going to play, those guys conscionable twelvemonth aft twelvemonth person rolled it out.

"[After] 82 games a twelvemonth successful the NBA, mentally and physically you're fatigued, you privation to enactment your feet up, you privation to walk clip with your family, you privation to get immoderate sun, but those guys conscionable rotation it out.

"They've got the passion, they've got the belief, you don't ever get what you deserve, but these guys merit a medal."