Creek called upon his team to "grow some balls" and his team responded in game two against Melbourne United, highlighted by this double block on Craig Moller from Sobey (#20) and Deng (#13). Photo by The North West Star
The first match was met with a raucous (often still having to be called upon by the announcer) Melbourne crowd. United started the better with Casper Ware Jnr drilling a triple off his first possession and looking ominous early as they got on 7-0 run. The Sixers hit back through DJ as they reversed it with a 6-1 run. It was bucket for bucket early before the key moment came halfway through the first when Ware went up for a rebound against Matt “I’m in beast mode tonight” Hodgson who then fell accidentally on Ware. Ware’s hip began to flare as he ended up sitting on the bench which brought a key player in United’s first up victory, Adelaide’s Concordia College alumni Peter Hooley.
Hooley played with the class and composure of a veteran as he made smart plays and added to United’s scoring power with an enormous appetite for team basketball. The Sixers hit back however with Ramone Moore in a mood to prove United made a mistake letting him go and Mitch Creek was kicking into NBA form halfway through the second as Sixers opened up a 38-32 lead. The game turned from there as the Sixers gave up far too many offensive rebounds which created opportunities for veteran David Andersen and boom big man Josh Boone. Casey Prather then showed some class and poise as United led 53-47.
The third quarter although marking the return of a clearly hampered Ware Jnr belonged to Chris Goulding. Goulding was allowed more space than a dog on an early morning beach walk at Brighton (my local crew you know this is true) and he put the Sixers to his sweeping sword. The three point guarding in the quarter was disgusting as the Sixers switched instead of staying with their man. Goulding took advantage dropping 15 points in the quarter including two triples including a ridiculous step back. It was still United by 6 at the end of three before Ware drained 8 straight points to blow it open and although the Sixers charged again, United took game one comfortably 107-96. Some serious headaches emerged out of the first one for Wright as he tried to explain about the lack of boxing out, energy and poor defence of the perimeter United’s strength.
In game two, Mitch Creek called on the Sixers to “grow some balls” and as the title of my article suggested, they certainly did. The Sixers came out with an aggressive mindset especially DJ who traditionally hasn’t played well at home. He attacked Boone early and wound himself up for his best home finals performance since game two of 2014 Grand Finals Series. It was again basket for basket but the Sixers were rolling with more vigour and purpose on offense. Ware got a couple early and Wright called upon Ramone “the glove” Moore to shut him down. Moore then saw Ware to the bench with early foul trouble before then taking on United’s guards and beating them handsomely, Sixers up 27-19 after one.
The second started with some baskets that you just shake your head at with last second makes and fade away jumpers with the Sixers reeking of swagger but Tai Wesley got on a 6-0 run for United before Moore re-entered the game and went back to work. The Sixers put United into foul trouble as Ware, Goulding and a few others sat with three in the first half before Moore put the freezing cold white jerseys on ice through his mixer. Sixers up 57-41 with Goulding at half-time interviewed talking about what he was having for dinner but it can’t have been too healthy as it did sound rather salty…
Sobey opened up his account in the third with a triple and although Creek picked up a third foul, Majok Deng was having the breakout final bringing it at both ends just as he needed to as the Sixers broke beyond 20 points. DJ then dropped two triples either side of the timeout as the Sixers continued to push United away leading by as many as 26 points as United struggled to keep the rotations from foul trouble. United called on their veteran duo of Andersen and Barlow who slipped back into it before the Sixers steadied to lead 82-64 at the end of three.
A Creek save resulted in Ware getting into the back of DJ which saw him sit down nice and early fouling out for the second time in the season. Goulding then sparked a mini-comeback to bring it back to 14 points before the Sixers steadied through the bash brigade down low. Barlow then caught fire to come up with his 13th point and bring it back to that margin. Leading by 17 the Sixers used the clock wisely as they ended up sealing the match with a Creek rim rattler running out and squaring the series 110-95.
The key in this series is clearly depth and this will be defined by a couple of key injury concerns in Ware, Boone and Childress. It is clear however out of the two games that the Sixers have the slightly lengthier bench and when the Sixers shut out United on the perimeter, they look a different ball club. Clearly United’s streak of 5-0 matters little now as we head to game three and four. For both teams need the win this Friday night but if the Sixers sneak that one in Hisense, it could be over by Sunday night in front of a huge homecoming crowd.
One things for sure, this one has the makings of a classic series…
GAME ONE: MELBOURNE UNITED 107 (GOULDING 26, WARE 20, BOONE 17, PRATHER 13, WESLEY 11) DEFEATED ADELAIDE 36ERS (JOHNSON 18, SHORTER 16, CREEK 14, CHILDRESS 12, HODGSON, MOORE 10)
GAME TWO: ADELAIDE 36ERS 110 (DENG 18, CREEK, MOORE 17, JOHNSON 15, SOBEY 14, CHILDRESS 13, SHORTER 10) DEFEATED MELBOURNE UNITED 95 (PRATHER 20, GOULDING 19, BARLOW 13, WESLEY 12)
CROSS OVER DRIBBLE 