Sixers square simmering question filled contest (NBL Grand Final Week Two)

The former King Josh Childress maybe "dead" in this series but the Prince Majok Deng has arose to take his place. Photo by Zimbio

In what is shaping as one of the greatest NBL Grand Final series of all time with fast scoring, memorable (and not so) moments, scrutinising of officials, new stars emerging and ones proving they cut the cloth in the big time, fan involvement and coaches going for memorable one liners to avoid being fined.

Game three went to another level as with most of the games both teams traded buckets early and felt each other out but clearly the Sixers did miss some of the Childress punch in the first half. Enter the star Casper Ware Jnr who took the Sixers to task with a 10 point opening quarter and perhaps felt a little point to prove with Shannon Shorter’s pre game talk. May I suggest this worked in Adelaide’s favour starving the star of his three point range kind of the lesser of two evils as Ware was only one of five for the night from that area and was damaging in game one. Was this game tactics from the Sixers coaching staff???

I don’t know…

Sobey quiet offensively in the first two games launched the comeback (despite unfairly being headbutted behind the play by Tai Wesley in the first quarter) with 9 first half points and was playing with the solid head the team needed and then it happened. At the halftime break after Casey Prather had made a crucial triple to level the scores 53-53 all, he initiated head to head contact with Sobey to which Sobey pulled away. The last time I looked in the dictionary that doesn’t constitute a headbutt but as is the case with science, the reaction gets more noticed than the reactant and Sobey was ejected for the remainder of the game. Why didn’t the officials observe the tape more closely and also eject the initiator Prather and first quarter offender Wesley???

I don’t know…

The third quarter belonged to the prince in waiting as Majok Deng stepped up at both ends (when I was watching this I was sitting next to a relative of his who claimed and I believed him he’d step up in J-Chill’s absence) as he made some huge triples in third to close the margin to 77-81.

In the fourth quarter,  desperado Shorter turned up with his biggest contribution of the series as he poured in a multitude of massive shots while Deng was pulling off some defensive diamonds and Moore was spinning his opponents to the bucket as the Sixers fought the odds. It came down to the last shot with Deng getting a wonderful look to send it to OT but it rimmed and United were leading 2-1. Were the Sixers stung out of the game by elements beyond their control???

I’m not sure…

United arrived at the loudest Adelaide venue since the 1994 Grand Final series and after missing an entire half (which in hindsight resulted in a bunch of fines so all weapons were primed for game four) Sobey sizzled at both ends and Creek lifted the roof early blocking Boone on the fast break. United’s offensive guns were blanketed shooting at lower than 35 percent with the Sixers leading the contest 29-21.

Then it happened, DJ looked like after a quiet first half of game three, grabbed himself a invincibility star from a Mario game and began to run United’s bigs (and smalls) off their feet and put in a first half where if the Sixers snatch it in game five, it will be this performance that set it up in game four. It resulted in a 26-8 run in ten minutes of basketball that probably changed the momentum of the series. It was such a series changing quarter that even literally fans were putting their bodies on the line for the club as Creek bowled over a corporate that would’ve been on the DRS system three reds. By the end of the half the Sixers had a staggering 33 to 1 free throw attempts and it was all legit. The Sixers leading United 55-31 at the half but no sure thing to square it still you felt.

United launch their comeback in the third quarter slowly chipping away 16-27 through Casey Prather and a Craig Moller cameo that pushed the game back for them. If it wasn’t for Deng dropping dimes then it would’ve been much closer than the 58-71 scoreline at three quarter time, with a few nerves starting to show.

Ware then started the fourth with fire and a few of the other guns started to catch some fire and the Sixers began to miss a couple of crucial shots and those nerves were really starting to pulse as you could feel the nervous tension in the building. Some clutch plays from Ramone Moore and a procession of fouled out players including Wesley, Boone and Barlow saw the Sixers with opportunities to close the game but continued to miss a couple of free throws that could’ve closed the door. With 55 seconds left, a narrow five point lead and a barnstorming United looking to seal it, DJ dropped a dagger in front of Brendan Fevola and the United bandwagon to send it to 8 points. That sent the fans into raptures as they realised the dream was still alive.

Out of the timeout Goulding hit a rare triple for the night but then the cardinal sin was committed as Barlow for all his experience held onto the splashed ball for too long and he was pinged for the delay of game technical foul. Had David Barlow really thrown away the NBL championship with such a big time mistake???

I don’t know…

Creek made the two free throws, Ware missed the answering triple as the Sixers 90-81 forced it to game 5 and a 2-2 series. United despite getting within three points in the final quarter only led the game once in the first quarter a minute and a bit in and that is a huge stat to consider. Take this scenario imagine if the Sixers had hit the front in game three in the fourth quarter, the silverware would’ve probably been theirs.

As it turns out we head to Melbourne for the fifth of this epic Grand Final series and what a series it has been. So will United continue the “home court” trend or did the last game reveal the softer underbelly of their depth? Can the Sixers stun the competition and come from 2-1 down to create another famous chapter in the clubs championship history?

I don’t know…

But I do know this, I want to be on that plane or bus and to write my final article of the season live at this game so here’s hoping it happens and if they win…

I think I know what I might do…

GAME THREE: MELBOURNE UNITED 101 (WARE 25, PRATHER 23, GOULDING 15, BOONE 10) DEFEATED ADELAIDE 36ERS 98 (JOHNSON 20, MOORE 18, DENG 16, SHORTER 15, CREEK 14)

GAME FOUR: ADELAIDE 36ERS 90 (JOHNSON 21, SOBEY 16, SHORTER 14, DENG 13, MOORE 12, CREEK 10) DEFEATED MELBOURNE UNITED 81 (PRATHER 23, GOULDING 15, WARE 13, BOONE 10)

SERIES 2-2

NEXT GAME: GAME FIVE – SATURDAY 31 MARCH AT HISENSE ARENA