Canada and Australia kick off their first games of the 2019 FIBA World Cup in what should be a relatively evenly matched showdown between two very solid basketball teams.
In the United States, the game starts at 3:30 a.m ET. You can watch the game live on ESPN+, the digital streaming service from ESPN that has exclusive coverage of dozens of live sports, all the 30-for-30 documentaries and other original content for $4.99 per month.
You can sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Canada vs Australia on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
Canada vs Australia Preview
Canada and Australia actually met up in a pair of FIBA World Cup exhibition matches with Canada surprisingly taking home the win over the more talented Australian team in the first showing. Australia rebounded with a nice win in the second matchup, making this matchup between familiar teams an interesting one to keep an eye on as the FIBA World Cup kicks off play.
Canada had an interesting leadup to the FIBA World Cup which was similar to the United States in that they saw the vast majority of their elite talent opt-out of the World Cup in order to stay healthy for the coming season. Coming off a brutal loss to the United States in each teams’ final exhibition game before the tournament, Canada showed they need a considerable amount of work to be able to realistically compete with teams like the US, Spain, Australia, and Serbia.
With only Corey Joseph, Khem Birch, and Kyle Wiltjer as the NBA players on the roster, Canada is missing a number of their NBA superstars initially expected to partake in the FIBA World Cup. With the likes of Andrew Wiggins, Jamal Murray, and Tristan Thompson all bowing out, the Canadian team instead is forced to rely heavily on international players and even one collegiate player (Andrew Nembhard). Guard Kevin Pangos has been mostly leading the charge for Canada and will likely be leaned on heavily once again throughout the World Cup.
Australia is riding high off their recent defeat of the United States in an exhibition match. the US hadn’t lost a basketball game, exhibition or otherwise, in 13 years and had just dominated the Boomers a few nights before. While they lack star power, the Boomers are a gritty bunch capable of making the game ugly and griding out surprise wins. Featuring NBA players like Matthew Dellavadova, Patty Mills, and Joe Ingles among others, Australia certainly isn’t short on talent and is more than capable of catching some of the star-studded teams in the tournament by surprise.
While the Boomers aren’t necessarily gold medal favorites, they’re expected to be a tough matchup for nearly every team in the tournament – as evidenced by their upset win over the United States. With strong guard play from Mills, a quality deep ball specialist on the wing in Joe Ingles, and reliable NBA big man Aron Baynes holding down the paint, Australia has an unassuming, yet dangerous roster from top to bottom.
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