Patty Mills and Jock Landale have at times in the past few years found themselves in a similar boat; both part of the Boomers’ plans but struggling for consistent playing time in the NBA.

Now it looks like the pair could see some much-needed time on the court ahead of the national team’s next bid for a medal at the Paris Games, with injuries to their respective NBA teams opening up opportunities for the Australian pair.

In the case of Mills, he has seen around 15 minutes per game since being snapped up by the Miami Heat, who will be without guard Josh Richardson for the rest of the season.

Watch an average of 9 NBA Regular Season games per week LIVE on ESPN, available via Kayo. New to Kayo? Start Your Free Trial Today >

Tyler Herro (foot) is also still unavailable, meaning Mills will be leaned on off the bench having averaged 7.3 points since making the move.

Mills will likely see his minutes reduced when Herro returns but if he continues to perform the way he did against the Thunder, going 3-for-4 from downtown on his way to a season-high 13 points, coach Erik Spoelstra will have no hesitation calling on the Australian guard when needed.

As for Landale, there were suggestions he could be moved ahead of the NBA trade deadline as Houston looked to bolster its frontcourt.

The Rockets did end up trading for Steven Adams and although Landale was not included in the deal, the move did only further bury the Australian on Houston’s depth chart should he even remain there next season.

An opportunity, however, has presented itself for Landale with starting big man Alperen Sengun going down with an ankle sprain and bruised knee earlier in the week.

The injury is not as bad as first feared, although The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported it is a grade three ankle sprain and therefore likely to keep Sengun sidelined for the remainder of this season.

Sengun’s absence saw Landale play 26 minutes in Houston’s 103-101 win over the Spurs on Wednesday, the first time he has seen over 20 minutes on the court all season.

The ankle injury Landale suffered in the summer and a concussion setback in the Rockets’ season-opener delayed the Australian’s hopes of carving out a consistent role at Houston.

Now, however, Landale is healthy and coming off his best game of the season that ended with the 28-year-old being “the most popular man in a Rockets uniform tonight” according to Houston commentator Craig Ackerman.

Landale had 11 points, four rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block to go with a team-high plus-minus of +15 in Houston’s 103-101 win over San Antonio.

Former Rockets big man turned colour commentator Ryan Hollins described it as an “unbelievable” performance from Landale, paying particular credit to the “spectacular screens” the Australian was setting.

“Energy and the pace he plays with,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said post-game when asked what it was that made Landale stand out on Wednesday.

“It’s really different, all the screening and dirty work [and] all the little things that don’t show up. Setting great screens, getting on the glass, finding the right spot. His pace is really good.

“[He is] a guy who has to spread the court, run up in the pick-and-roll, hard dive, if they don’t have anything he has to run up and do it again. It takes a lot of effort and energy but that’s kind of what he made his name for doing and it’s been really good the last five, six games.”

Landale was mobbed by teammates after the game including fellow big man Jeff Green, who helped fill the void left by Sengun along with Jabari Smith Jr, who started at center in the win.

“Someone’s got to pick up the slack for Al but I’m never going to fill those shoes,” Landale said on the Rockets’ broadcast post-game.

“I just knew that Jeff and myself and Jabari, we kind of all had to pick up where the big fella left over and try do it as a team because we can’t do it individually so I just kind of had that in mind and a little bit of extra fire playing against the former team.”

Elsewhere, on the injury front both Ben Simmons and Dyson Daniels are sidelined with the former out for the season due to a lower-back nerve impingement.

The Nets announced on Friday that Simmons had a microscopic partial discectomy to deal with the issue.

Bernie Lee, Simmons’ agent, told Ian Begley on SNY that he was “the one to blame” for the Australian’s inability to stay on the court, having only managed 15 games for the Nets this season.

“We continue to try and find non-surgical options to allow Ben to move forward on a permanent basis and that is where this is my responsibility and I am (the) one to blame,” Lee said.

“When I began working with Ben I made a commitment to him that I would do everything I could to find the right answers and specialists for him to work with (in order) to move forward from the issues he has been having. Clearly it hasn’t happened, and that’s my responsibility.

“In the year I have worked with Ben he has taken less than seven days off. In my almost 20 years doing this (it) isn’t something I’ve seen. So the thought that he is doing everything asked of him but not getting the results is something that in no way shape or form sits right with me, and I am committed to finding him the right people and the right answers and we will.”

As for Daniels, he is slowly working his way back into the picture for a return to the court after meniscectomy surgery on his left knee.

Daniels was recently spotted doing on-court activity by The Athletic’s Pelicans beat writer Will Guillory, although there is no definitive timeline at this point as to when he could be back in action.

In other news, Josh Giddey was looking at more on-ball action with Oklahoma City so long as Jalen Williams remained sidelined with an ankle injury he suffered earlier in the week.

Williams though was not included in the Thunder’s latest injury report ahead of their game against Dallas, indicating he is on track to return.

Giddey played 28 minutes in OKC’s recent loss to Indiana and put up 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the loss, which doubled as the Thunder’s first game without Williams.

While Giddey is likely to only be challenged to find ways to make an impact off the ball in the playoffs he has at least continued to gain confidence doing so, telling reporters the key for him is not going into any game with a definitive idea of how he is going to play.

“I think it’s just taking what the game gives you,” Giddey said on Wednesday after the Thunder’s win over Memphis.

“If you go in with a plan of doing this or that it can be easily disrupted by what the defences does. So, you can’t plan for what the defence is going to do to you. The same as tonight, I just took what I had and what they gave me and early on it was at the rim and I was finding cuts and layups but it’s not always going to be like that.

“Defences will play you in different ways. Just continuing to be active off the ball — cutting, floating around that dunker area — has been good lately.

“Also being a screener, if a team puts a five on me and they’re not a traditionally great defender just being able to be a screener for guys like Shai and Dub and setting them free and they can attack downhill and maybe sitting in the pocket a little bit. Just finding different ways to make an impact.”

Meanwhile in Dallas, both Dante Exum and Josh Green are featuring off the bench with Mavericks coach Jason Kidd opting to start Derrick Jones Jr. instead.

Exum made an immediate impact off the bench in that 114-108 win over the Heat, scoring 13 points to go with four rebounds and five assists, earning praise from Kidd post-game.

“He doesn’t panic,” the Mavericks coach said.

“He came in and helped Luka not have to bring the ball up, but also found Luka and also his teammates easy [for] shots. The trust that Kai and Luka have late in the game with the double teams and being able to knock down a three and a jump shot and the most important part of all that was being able to make the free throws.

“He was good on both ends and we missed him.”

Exum, of course, has battled injuries lately having eventually earned a starting role with the Mavs before missing over a month with foot and knee injuries.

It resulted in Kidd opting to ease Exum into the rotation, although more performances like the one against the Heat may give the Dallas coach a bit to think about.

Exum went on to score just four points in his next two games against the Bulls and Pistons, although scoring isn’t always what the Mavericks need from him off the bench anyway.

It is more the consistent effort on defence and playmaking that makes Exum a valuable piece for Dallas.

Most recently, Exum had nine points and six assists in a win over the Warriors and will only take on a greater role with Luka Doncic (hamstring) unavailable on Friday against OKC.

Green, meanwhile, has had a tough start to the month when it comes to his 3-point shooting, going 25 per cent from deep having previously shown considerable growth as an outside shooter.

At Portland, Deandre Ayton’s return from a hand injury has seen Duop Reath pushed back to the bench alongside fellow Australian Matisse Thybulle.

Not much has changed for either player at the Trail Blazers this year, with Reath signing a new three-year deal last month as a well-deserved reward for his form since joining Portland on a two-way contract.

Reath made the most of his big minutes earlier in the month with Ayton sidelined, hitting double figures in five straight games, including a career-high 26-point haul against the Timberwolves.

Having shot 42.4 per cent from downtown this month, Reath continues to prove an excellent spacing option for the Blazers offence given his threat as an outside shooter.

Thybulle has also enjoyed a strong start to March, shooting 45.0 per cent from deep as a valuable 3-and-D player for Portland.

The 27-year-old has 13 steals in just six games this month and only trails Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (133) for the most steals in the NBA with 109.

Oh and also, if you enjoy wholesome content, watch this interview where Thybulle describes a birthday present he received from a member of the Blazers broadcasting crew.

Elsewhere in Orlando, Joe Ingles’ playmaking and veteran presence will only be even more important for the Magic as the young group turns their attention towards the post-season.

While Ingles has often being targeted on defence he boasts 50 career playoff games with the kind of experience that will be crucial for an Orlando team that came up short against fellow Eastern Conference rivals the Knicks and Pacers in the past week.

Ingles had some important words of advice after those losses too.

“This is probably not the worst thing,” Joe Ingles said after the 111-97 loss to the Pacers.

“This is how teams are going to play us the rest of the season. A couple of defences have had success blowing stuff up and taking us out of it. I still think for a lot of the game, we got some good looks.”

Finally, there is a new Australian added to the NBA mix after Jaylin Galloway signed with the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this month on a two-way deal.

Galloway made his G League debut this week off the bench for the Wisconsin Herd against the Salt Lake City Star, recording six points, five rebounds, two assists and a block.

The two-time NBL champion’s biggest highlight came in a fourth-quarter fast break opportunity as he put a Salt Lake City defender on a poster.