MEXICO CITY

‘Next man up’ is a phrase coaches and players love to use, but it usually refers to someone stepping into a spot following an injury.

In the case of Canada’s men’s basketball team, it refers to the team’s enviable depth.

If someone gets into foul trouble, or can’t get a shot to fall, someone else on the roster is capable of contributing.

With other teams relying heavily on only two or three players (such as Argentina with Luis Scola, Facundo Campazzo and Andres Nocioni, and Puerto Rico with J.J. Barea and Renaldo Balkman) it’s a nice benefit for Canadian head coach Jay Triano.

“The one advantage we have is our depth. If someone doesn’t have it going, I showed it at the Tuto Marchand, I showed at the Pan Am, that it doesn’t matter who you are or what position you are, we have no time to wait around to find if you can get your game going on a certain night,” Triano said after practice on Sunday.

“You build a team by having other guys step up when someone else is having an off night.”

Triano was asked specifically about the need to get power forward Andrew Nicholson, who had a rough Tuto Marchand Cup in Puerto Rico, averaging just 4.8 points per game, going.

Nicholson had led Canada in scoring at 18.2 a game at the Pan Am Games and averaged 15 points at both the FIBA Americas tournament and Tuto Marchand Cup back in 2013.

“I think he’s been doing fine,” Triano said of Nicholson, who is from Mississauga and plays for the Orlando Magic. “I think everybody understands that we’re a team that is going to try to play 12 players. Over a tournament like this I think our depth can be an advantage for us. Andrew understands that and he knows that he’s a big that can stretch the floor. I thought he played well in the last game in Puerto Rico which allowed us to spread the floor,” Triano said.

“Kelly (Olynyk) missed three games and (Nicholson) was able to step into a starting role. We just need him, but along with everybody else, to continue to get better as the summer (goes) on. I don’t think anybody can feel really good about where we are right now, individually, or as a team. We have to keep making a progression.”

Nicholson, a man of few words, was asked if his slow start was bothering him.

“No, we’re 4-0, that’s all that matters,” he said.

Nicholson was also quizzed on whether his new role as the first big man off of the bench (when Olynyk returns and slots in beside Anthony Bennett) and no longer being the primary scorer was an adjustment or difficult.

“I just play the same, I just go out there and contribute the best I can and just hope for the best,” Nicholson said. “Whatever it takes for us to be successful as a team as a whole. People remember the wins of the team, not the individual stats and stuff, so, as long as we keep winning, we’re good.”

Canada’s winning streak will be on the line on Tuesday when this Olympic qualifying tournament kicks off against Argentina.

STAUSKAS TRYING TO GET GOING

Andrew Nicholson isn’t the only Canadian player from Mississauga trying to get rolling.

Nik Stauskas also slumped at the recent Tuto Marchand Cup in Puerto Rico, shooting just 28.6% from the field.

Stauskas, usually a dead-eye shooter, thinks he has a handle on the problem and has been working hard to find his form.

“For me, it’s really just about balance and using my legs and if those two things are on point then I’m normally making shots,” Stauskas said recently. “When I’m coming short (on his jumpers), that normally means I’m not using my legs, so, that’s probably got to be the focus for me moving forward.”

To his credit, Stauskas, who will reboot his NBA career this year in Philadelphia, has found other ways to help, such as rebounding well and defending.

“I’ve been trying to be really active on defence. My jump shot hasn’t been falling but I’m glad that I’ve been able to make a difference in other ways and I know that eventually things are going to start going my way.”