Franks goodness for that: The money man of the Sixers Robert Franks is starting to find his groove posting impressive numbers the last month - Photo credit to Code Sports
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The Cross-Over-Dribble Dossier
Adelaide 36ers vs. New Zealand Breakers
The Rundown
Sixers were looking good through the first half despite trailing at half-time and looked poised to claim the Breakers in the second half. In a change of historical trending – that didn’t happen and the Breakers broke the Sixers junky offensive sets in clinical fashion.
What the numbers said
The stats for the home side was worse reading than figures in the red on a spreadsheet. The Sixers were at a loss with 19 turnovers conceding 38 points from each of those. The Breakers third quarter of 12-28 the magnifying glass over those numbers – capped off with 5 of 7 beyond the arc to finish with 50 percent.
That highlighted the amount of space and freedom the Breakers shooters got and the drop off in intensity in this one.
What the coach said
“It’s not like we’ve been together three months, and we’re working it out.”
“We’ve played less than five games. So it’s early days for us and we need to continue to get better and keep improving.” CJ Bruton said.
Adelaide 36ers 70 (Sotto 16, Cleveland 14, Franks, Randall 11, McCarron 9) defeated by New Zealand Breakers 99 (Brown Jr, Jar Brantley 22, Le’Afa 15, McDowell-White 10, Rupert 9) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre
South East Melbourne Phoenix vs Adelaide 36ers
The Rundown
Similar to the Kings game both teams put on a very good display of basketball with quality at both ends. The Sixers looked like they found their groove but clearly got to overtime with a bit of luck (which in fairness you do need in this league). Phoenix showed their class in the extended period particularly the impact their import trio can have.
What the numbers said
The Sixers went away from what made them successful in the preseason again with just the 13 assists and produced 17 turnovers. The 11-2 run from the homeside in OT was telling and eventually broke the deadlock.
What the coach said
“I thought our guys responded from taking a butt-kicking at home, to playing this one all the way out to the end which sent us to overtime, and we had every chance to win that game. I thought it was a great response from us.”
“We know where we sit and we need to continue to get better and keep improving on certain situations, but it’s a team game.”
“It’s not one individual it’s a team, and we have to plug up a few things as we keep moving forward.”
South East Melbourne Phoenix 103 (Kell 24, Williams 18, Broekhoff 17, Creek 16, Browne 14) defeated Adelaide 36ers 98 (Randall 28, Johnson 16, Drmic 13, Dech, Franks 11, McCarron 8) at John Cain Arena
Illawarra Hawks vs Adelaide 36ers
The Rundown
Despite the struggle of the Hawks – normally the Sixers would drop this one and they didn’t without Randall. That clearly foreshadowed his release as we saw the Sixers minus him look pretty good.
What the numbers said
Franks needed to provide some more inside touches and paint presence for the Sixers compared to recent matches. We got that against the Hawks as he dropped 25 points at 73 percent with 10 of 11 made inside the paint and only took the four three point shots. That’s a better balance for the team and worked beautifully in combination with DJ as they combined for 53 of the Sixers 96 points.
What the coach said
“How we shared the ball and played defence tonight was good. We got into our second and third actions by moving the ball, and we needed to do that.
“That gave us opportunities to score even though our turnover count is still high. That’s sad and we need to continue to get better in that area as we move forward.”
Illawarra Hawks 80 (Harvey 25, Swaka Lo-Buluk 12, Siva 11, Mathiang 10, Deng 8) defeated by Adelaide 36ers 96 (Johnson 28, Franks 25, Drmic 16, Dech 11, McCarron 10) at WIN Entertainment Centre
Adelaide 36ers vs. Perth Wildcats
The Rundown
It was a chance to make a home statement – and it was missed.
The Sixers let the wounded Wildcats jump out of the blocks trying to turn around history – playing some out of form players back into touch.
It looked like the Sixers had stolen back momentum in the second quarter then were holding firm in the third but a 0-14 run from the Wildcats led by Bryce Cotton’s last quarter of 12 points – put that comeback to bed…
What the numbers said
Tashawn Thomas season average – 9 points and less than 3 rebounds
12 points and 9 rebounds…
Corey Webster season average – 7.7
18 points…
Brady Manek season average – 8.4
25 points with 6/8 beyond the arc…
Hmm – you tell me that doesn’t tell the story
What the coach said
“Everyone wants to play well at home and we are excited to be at home, but playing from behind hurts.”
“But we did a nice job of crawling back in the game and tying it back up at half-time even though we didn’t have a lead for very long. But I liked the energy to get back into it and to share the ball, and to play with that passion on the back of the energy from the crowd giving us a little bit of a punch too.”
Adelaide 36ers 89 (Franks 24, Cleveland 22, Randall 13, Sotto 8) defeated by Perth Wildcats 94 (Manek 25, Webster 18, Cotton 15, Thomas 12, Wagstaff 9) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Catch all the action Friday night December 2 as the 36ers take on the Cairns Taipans at the AEC on Cluch Radio with Tristan “TP” Prentice and our special comments guest whether you’re at the game or watching from home
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