Mitch Creek is going to be a tough cover for the purple and gold at the offensive end - Photo by SMH
When: 5:00pm (ACDT), Saturday, 21st October
Where: Titanium Security Arena, Adelaide
Broadcast: NBL TV, Fox Sports, Sky Sports, SBS Viceland
Last time they met:
Rd 1: Adelaide 36ers 105 (Moore 22, Johnson 16, Creek 15, Shorter 14, Deng 12, Drmic, Sobey 11) defeated Sydney Kings 96 (Newley 24, Lisch, Cadee 16, Ellis 13, Leslie 12) at Qudos Bank Arena
CROSS-OVER-DRIBBLE FLASHBACK
ROUND NINE 2006/07: ADELAIDE 36ERS VS WEST SYDNEY RAZORBACKS
This week we turn-back the clock to when the current Kings assistant late in his career donned the colours of the blue, red and gold. Lanard Copeland had a night out in this match against the West Sydney Razorbacks which also featured a former Kings star in James Harvey and journeyman Graeme Dann. The Razorbacks led the way early with a 32-27 lead at quarter time with boards master and one of the best “names” the NBL has ever seen in Cheikh Ya Ya Dia dining out on David Cooper and Brett Wheeler early.
The Sixers trailing by 12 at half time 47-59 thanks to the hot shooting Harvey then were sparked in the third quarter by the tandem of showman Willie Farley and Copeland. The Sixers produced a 35-point quarter to blast their way back into the game 81-83 at three quarter time. In the final quarter the skipper Maher came to life and the Sixers gained the ascendancy as they rode the home crowd to victory 110-102 as the Razorbacks ran out of scoring power. The win was one of the best in a struggling season for the Sixers in a season of course where a future Sixers coach in Joey Wright was leading the Brisbane Bullets to some of their own club history.
Adelaide 36ers 110 (Farley 33, Copeland 20, Maher 19, Horvath 12) defeated West Sydney Razorbacks 102 (Harvey 23, Dann 19, McGregor 13, Carter 12, Ya Ya Dia 11) at the Distinctive Homes Dome
Key Match-Ups:
Mitch Creek vs. Brad Newley
Creek had an excellent all-round game against the Kings in Sydney in round One and will once again prove a threat to the King’s crown. Wright may look to play him in the four spot and expose the size of Brad Newley and Todd Blanchfield while also testing the speed and reaction of Perry Ellis and Isaac Humphries, he is the toughest cover for Gaze’s men no doubt.
Newley on the flip side is the toughest cover for the Sixers. His ability to attack the rim but also be a three-point threat makes him a hard man to lock-down for someone traditionally in the Sixers power forward spot like Daniel Johnson. It could end up being a match-up because of this between Newley and Creek that both coaches sacrifice the efficiency of either with probably Gaze less reluctant to have his veteran’s influence quelled.
Anthony Drmic vs. Todd Blanchfield
Drmic has had a blistering start to the NBL season but even he’d admit he hasn’t reached the peak of his powers yet. The consistency from Drmic has been most pleasing for supporters and basketball purists as his shot out of the hand continues to be a pleasure to watch. Most worth silent applause for Drmic is the defensive end that has improved over the local premier league season with hustle and pure will to win each contest at both ends.
Blanchfield looks like already he is back to his most improved player form he showed in his final season at the Townsville Crocodiles. After those lean years with United, he is not wasting time cashing triples and making plays at both ends of the floor highlighted by his top five block shot last week. Whichever of these two makes their triples at a high percentage and make their key defensive plays are going to sway the contest heavily in their club’s favour.
Majok Deng vs Dane Pineau
Sometimes for some reason you have a team that’s your bunny and Majok Deng seems to have the Kings measure. In four games, Deng averages a handy 8 points per game off the pine for the Sixers perhaps with his size and stretch difficult to guard for the defence of the Kings on his jumpers.
Pineau is obviously new in our league but the Kings need a spark from a not incredibly deep bench minus of course now Jason Cadee who’ll probably start for the injured star Kevin Lisch. Although it’s early in the young man’s career, the college returned Australian needs to be expected to contribute much more now after a few games to settle into the NBL.
The Last Play
Coach Joey Wright can be forgiven for feeling déjà vu as the Sixers play two opponents in their first three weeks of the season. The area the Sixers lack in depth currently luckily is not the Kings strength but after two home losses, the Sixers will not be taking their chances lightly. It’s a big opportunity for the Sixers to show they are a top four side early and perhaps consign the Kings to one for the bottom four positions even this early in the season.
Probably for the first time in his coaching career, Andrew Gaze is under some serious heat after dropping another one to the New Zealand Breakers, losing star play maker Kevin Lisch, flying into a primed Sixers outfit and with questions about why former leader Tom Garlepp is playing “very” limited minutes. Gaze has issues with the depth of his team and it’s starting to show compared to other loaded line-ups of the league.
So how will the champion respond in the coaching capacity? I guess we’ll have to tune in, same basketball time, same basketball channel but I have to warn the Kings, the worse might be yet to come.
36ers by 15 points
Written by Tristan Prentice
CROSS OVER DRIBBLE 