Category: NBL

Adelaide 36ers vs. Sydney Kings
When: 7:30pm (AEDT), Saturday 2nd November
Where: Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide
Broadcast: NBL TV, SBS On Demand/Viceland, Twitch TV

Last times they’ve met:

Rd 2 2019/2020: Sydney Kings 102 (Newley 18, Tate, Kickert 16, Moller 12, Ware 10) defeated Adelaide 36ers 80 (D Johnson 26, Randle 16, Drmic, Moore 10) at Qudos Bank Arena (The Kingdome)

In Adelaide- 10 Nov 2018: Adelaide 36ers 81 (Froling 23) lost to Sydney Kings 93 (Newley 26, Randle 23) at Titanium Security Arena (The Fortress)

SIXERS SHOT BACK INTO HISTORY

January 20 2016: Randle reigns over Kings in “new” Fortress

January 20 2016 remains one of the most iconic games in Sixers modern history, the stranglehold over the Kings was under threat and they were planning to steal the match in the newly refurbished “Fortress of Sixers.” Enter the game where most Sixers fans fell in love with the “Ant-Man” himself Jerome Randle…

He produced a season-best and NBL career-high 41 points at 76 per cent, with 5-of-7 threes running down the Kings in a blistering final term. For almost three quarters the Adelaide 36ers played not very Sixers basketball with the Kings ahead 65-55 with 2:42 left in the third period, Sydney took control of the contest through a first half in which Adelaide seemed to be riding as passengers maybe knowing they’d just get over their bunny team at home yet again.

The Sixers through the dazzling display of Randle blew the Kings lead of 17 points at the final change to kingdom come romping home to a 96-89 finish. The biggest highlight of the quarter was when Randle put ex-Sixer defender Jason Cadee in the spin cycle bringing the crowd and the players to be merely spectators in the “handles” Randle show.

Adelaide 36ers 96 (Randle 41, Ere 19, Creek 15) defeated Sydney Kings 89 (Childress 27, Garlepp 16, Cadee 14, Prewster 10)

Key Match-Ups:

Jerome Randle vs. Casper Ware Jnr

Lets be honest, Casper Ware Jnr has had the wood over the Sixers for many years and rarely has a bad game against them, he averages a career 16 ppg against the Sixers. He is by far in the top three best 2-way guards in the league and that spells trouble for the Sixers however the match-up the Kings always dread as the above shot back in history shows is the Randle one. He averages for the Sixers a staggering 24 ppg against the Kings in his last 6 games prior to this season for them so this ensures to be a compelling match-up of not only which teams aggressive point guard can score but also which team’s defensive men in Kevin White and Sydney’s newly signed replacement player former Sixers import Deshon Taylor can put the stocks on them.

Daniel Johnson vs Andrew Bogut

While the above match-up is a case of King v King, in the chess game between the Sixers this match-up is always an intriguing one and one worth watching. They both play distinctively different styles of offence and defence and in the past DJ has always checkmated Bogut however the last few match-ups including the recent one in Round 2 has seen the points either split even or go to the Bogey man. He is much more fit and has better help side defence to support him this season. Now that he’s adjusted to the “NBL” style of officiating after a few years back, DJ won’t find it so easy and simple as dragging Bogut out to the perimeter on pick and pops, rolls and weak side cuts as he used to.

Harry Froling vs. Daniel Kickert

Froling has been a bit of a thorn in the side of the Kings last season and generally has good games playing against a much smaller bench front court for the Kings. This season they have a bit of extra coverage in that area but the main one that will give Froling a few headaches is Kickert. His offence has the potential to spread the Sixers defence allowing back up forward Craig Moller to crash the O-glass for boards and scores.

The Last Play

Its seems just when we finally reached a breath from the “Revenge of the Ex-Sixers” series, the Kings spring the surprise yesterday of signing Deshon Taylor to the line-up so guess that story line is up again in what is proving to be one of the richest NBL seasons for back-stories in a decade. His signing is a big one for the Kings as they look to start a new reign over the Sixers in Adelaide. The undefeated Kings are going to be one of the toughest match-ups Adelaide face all season and with the basketball IQ driven mind of Will Weaver at the helm, the Kings have all the pieces in place to cause the Sixers their first loss at home. I think this is going to be a really tight contest fought all the way to the finish and after all is said and done, its the Randle vs Ware match-up that will decide this one. History says Ware is the man in Adelaide and I think his 2-way play may be just the slight difference but I hope for the Sixers sake a bit of Randle magic can hoist the Royal blue colours up in the Ken-Cole-sseum.

Kings by 3pts

*This article is a duplicate of an article written for publishing for And The Foul.net and may appear before or after publishing

Jerome Randle led the scoring with 22 points at 52 percent from the field when his team most needed but was ably supported by five other Sixers in double figures with 22 of those points coming from the pine - Photo by ESPN

THE WRAP Q BY Q

Early favourite for Rookie of the Year Kouat Noi put up 10 points in the first five minutes in an explosive start for the Taipans, former Sixer Majok Deng opening his account with an alley-oop jam. Sixers star Jerome Randle was showing the handles though dragging the Sixers back into the game dominating dangerous guard Scott Machado early. Spark plug Jack McVeigh entered the game pulling up for a transition triple but The Taipans shooters and big Nate Jawai however were able to generally do as they pleased on offence putting up 22-30 at quarter time.

The second quarter belonged to the Sixers as they turned up the defensive heat on the Snakes and began to suffocate their shooters early. The Taipans however got out by as much 30-38 halfway through the quarter before the Sixers flicked the switch. Taipans kryptonite DJ and a masterful display of ball control, finishing under pressure and big shots from Randle lifted the Sixers to 25 points in a five minute blast led also by a highly efficient Anthony Drmic. The Taipans had however the last say with “Space” Cam-eron Oliver had lift off for a alley-oop jam to end the half with the Sixers taking a slim lead 55-49 after a slow start.

A quiet first half from Machado was alleviated from the Taipans early in the half as he lit up for 8 points for the quarter and was steadily fighting back to influence the match. The block machine in Eric Griffin began to set the tone defensively and Randle continued to push the score out for the Sixers. Despite the Taipans keeping the Sixers in more of a half-court game, the Sixers dominated the offensive glass creating opportunities for themselves to hold the Taipans 84-69 going into the final quarter.

The Taipans bit back hard at the start of the fourth with Deng and the “Cannon of Canberra” Mirko Djeric putting the Snakes on an 8-0 run to open the quarter. But it was Randle’s handles and the steady hand of DJ once again that held off a fast finishing Snakes despite a flurry of threes from Oliver and Djeric closed the margin back to four points. A final turnover as Drmic picked the pocket off money man DJ Newbill off the inbound with 20 seconds to go sealed it for the Sixers from the line.

COACH SPEAK

Sixers Coach Joey Wright highlighted the impact of Randle and the equally important minutes once again of McVeigh, “I thought Jerome was big tonight and that’s why we brought him here, that’s what we want from him. He (McVeigh) followed me around me like a bad smell this summer and bothered me all off season every day to practice and keep getting better and it’s paying off for him.”

Taipans Coach Mike Kelly spoke about his import Cameron Oliver and the teams positives on offence and some constructive criticism around his defence through four quarters, “It was good offensively early but we got on the back foot defensively in the second quarter and they just attacked and starting good about themselves and we couldn’t stop them. Cam is a really good player and can score the ball and I like the way he goes about it and it took some big shots to get us back in the last and Cam was right there.”

DO THE STATS LIE?

The Sixers setup the game as mentioned earlier in the second quarter in a 25 point burst in five minutes on the back of keeping the Taipans off the three point line and just to twelve field goal attempts. Six Sixers hit double figures and in the second half the Sixers got to the charity stripe to keep ahead in the game shooting 92 percent for the match from 28 attempts.

The Taipans had a mixed bag of plus and minus statistics sharing the ball around for 24 assists but also produced 16 turnovers. Their bench was also productive with 21 points and also shot just under 50 percent from the perimeter which kept them in the game. Kouat Noi scored all of his 10 points in the first quarter but only saw three more minutes in the game after his hot streak at the start.

WHATS NEXT FOR THE SIXERS

Its the “rise” of the Phoenix next up for Adelaide today as they play a team that can expose the weaknesses in Adelaide’s defence at the small forward spot. After being handed a basketball lesson by the Wildcats on Friday night, Mitch Creek and the men in charcoal and green will be very keen to light up the Sixers in the Firepit in another of the many “friend vs foe” matches this NBL season promises and that makes us “hungry” to know where the Sixers rank in the order of the Phoenix…

ADELAIDE 36ERS 101 (RANDLE 22, D JOHNSON 19, DRMIC, GRIFFIN 13, MOORE 12, MCVEIGH 10) DEFEATED CAIRNS TAIPANS 97 (OLIVER 21, NEWBILL 18, MACHADO 14, DENG 13, NOI 10)

*This article is a duplicate of an article written for publishing for And The Foul.net and may appear before or after publishing

Adelaide 36ers vs. Cairns Taipans
When: 7:00pm (AEDT), Friday 25th October
Where: Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide
Broadcast: NBL TV, SBS On Demand/Viceland, Twitch TV

Last times they’ve met:

Feb 2 2019: Cairns Taipans 91 (Trimble 21) lost to Adelaide 36ers 100 (D Johnson 24, Sobey 14) at Cairns Convention Centre (The Snakepit)

In Adelaide: Adelaide 36ers 87 (D Johnson 22) defeated Cairns Taipans 82 (Trimble, Jawai 18) at Titanium Security Arena (The Fortress)

SIXERS SHOT BACK INTO HISTORY

Quarter Final 2005/06: Anthony Orchestrates a Heartbreaker

The most famous encounter of the 36ers/Taipans history ended with an absolute heart-breaker of a shot. The Taipans had finally rolled into playoff contention after a few years of missing the playoffs and had plenty of inside knowledge about our club in dual championship players Martin Cattalini and Darnell Mee. The Taipans flew out of the blocks with import centre Chris Burgess looking ominous early and defensive maestro Aaron Grabau doing a job on Willie Farley. Dusty Rychart started to turn the game back in Adelaide’s favour 30-26 at quarter time. Maher got the 36ers underway with some triples before Cairns brought the margin back to a basket mid-way through 13 to tenacious guard Nathan Croswell. Dusty leading all scorers with 16 and the 36ers up 55-51 at the half.

The game had closed up with nothing splitting the two teams and both teams making big plays through their role players such as Mark Nash and Melvin Thomas. Veteran shooter Anthony Stewart ignited the Taipans with an 8-0 run before 36ers veteran centre Paul Rees found a crucial basket prior to three quarter time, 36ers down 71-70. Farley and Maher came to the party but so did Grabau who eventually produced a season high 20 as the 36ers once again took the lead in the see-sawing affair 82-80. Mee eventually scored 11 crucial points in the quarter, but then produced an explicable turnover from the ball into Cattalini, but the Cat then put Cairns back in front 93-92. Mee then scored again before Rychart then missed a shot and the 36ers fouled Mee. Mee made one from two then Oscar Forman found the ball in the key then went up strong for the two and the game was going to overtime 96-96.

OT began with scores from Mee and Nash then Grabau hit his fourth triple to take it out to 101-98. Jacob Holmes then made two from the stripe for the 36ers, then Cattalini hit back, then Rychart scored his 25th point, Forman missed an open triple before Farley was fouled by a hand that looked clean from Mee. Farley made one of two and it was 103-103 and coach Alan Black of the Taipans called time-out. Gary Boodnikoff missed the three-point shot but the ball was tipped out of bounds, four seconds to go. Anthony Stewart was subbed in for the Taipans and they found him in the north-west corner and the Taipans had defeated Adelaide 106-103.

Cairns Taipans 106 (Grabau, Boodnikoff 20, Mee 16) defeated Adelaide 36ers 103 (Rychart 25, Farley 24, Maher 17) in Overtime at the Distinctive Homes Dome

Key Match-Ups:

Jerome Randle vs. Scott Machado

Its another case of a master versus an apprentice but new Taipans import Machado seems to be the real deal and has a more experienced and all-round game than his predecessor at the point in Melo Trimble. Machado is already averaging a healthy 15.3ppg at 47 percent from the field and 7.8 assists per game. The handles of Randle were back in the last two games but I loved how he inserted himself into the game in many different ways. While his points per game may be down by six in his career average to 14.7 ppg his assists are up to 4 per game and has covered his man better defensively. Sixers coach Joey Wright also has the option of going to his two captains Brendan Teys or the “lockdown” man in Kevin White if Machado starts to get hot from the field ala Aaron Brooks Monday night.

Daniel Johnson vs Majok Deng

The stats do not lie, DJ has his highest career average against the Taipans both here and at home. He averages 17.28 against the Taipans since the start of 2012 hence the Taipans never seemed to have the match up to counter DJ until now. Enter ex-Sixers player Majok Deng who has started extremely well including lighting up his favourite Wildcats team with a career high 22 points last Friday night. The extra playing time and clearly the work Deng has done has made him an even more challenging player defensively and offensively. No doubt we’ll see some of the scrimmage moves and plays they orchestrated on each at past trainings but unlike before Deng may have the key to DJ’s kryptonite the Taipans finally need to keep him from single-handily skinning them.

Jack McVeigh vs. Mirko Djeric

Don’t want to put pressure on “Jumpin” Jack McVeigh but his start to the season off the bench is exactly what the Sixers have needed in games since Mitch Creek left the club. He reminds me of him circa 2014-16 seasons with much potential but can he take it to the next level? He’s started the season well averaging 10ppg, 50 percent from beyond the perimeter in an average of 18 minutes per game. If he keeps this up he’s in the conversation for most improved player. The “Cannon from Canberra” Mirko Djeric is back in the NBL and has been a thorn in Sixers side of past including that infamous loss to the Townsville Crocodiles in 2015. Djeric actually averages 9ppg off the pine against the Sixers since 2015 and since his return to the Taipans has been an extremely handy acquisition. His international experience will be a key when the Taipans scorers take their rest and the Sixers including McVeigh will need to be aware of how dangerous Djeric can be.

The Last Play

Another game with more sub-plots including the return of Deng and although I don’t expect the Taipans to finish in the top four they are already going to be remarkably improved this season. It all comes down to whether the Taipans can stop DJ and honestly history suggests they can’t but they do have more options defensively than previously.

The Taipans were mighty impressive against the Wildcats in Perth but I wonder if new imports Cameron Oliver, rookie sensation Kouat Noi, Deng and veteran big man Nate Jawai can handle a more mobile Sixers front court of Eric Griffin, DJ, Froling and Kyei. The Taipans last few wins in Adelaide have been on the back of hanging around in the game and slithering over the line right at the finish so if the Sixers get off to a fast start, they should be able to hold them to a double figure margin.

As Scotty Cam would say, it should be another 11 out of 10 performance from the teams on “The Block” and Taipans should have “tools down” by end of Friday night’s episode…

36ers by 11pts

*This article is a duplicate of an article written for publishing for And The Foul.net and may appear before or after publishing