Gone in 20 minutes: The Sixers had their opportunities to control their destiny but 20 crucial minutes of self-inflicted wounds has taken away from them where they finish in the finals race - Photo credit to news.com/NBL
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4-Minute Read
NBL ROUND 16
Adelaide 36ers vs Melbourne United
When: 7:30pm (ACDT), Saturday 21st January
Where: Adelaide Entertainment Centre – The Ken Cole-seum
Broadcast: Kayo Freebies, ESPN, www.nbl.com.au
LTTM: Melbourne United 86 (Tucker 23, Rathan-Mayes 15, Peatling 11, Goulding 10, L Barker 9, Humphries 8) defeated by Adelaide 36ers 91 (Drmic, Franks 21, Cleveland 15, McCarron 12, Dech, Sotto 8) at John Cain Arena
SWOOP BACK IN HISTORY
Game 2 Grand Final Series 1998: The Ultimate Team of all-time!!!
It’s heritage round in NBL23 and the Sixers are paying tribute to their 1998 championship team that swept the South East Melbourne Magic 2-0 – highly regarded by many as the greatest team of all time assembled in the NBL.
That was until Phil Smyth’s men including Brett Maher, two-way superstar import Darnell Mee, the enigmatic but brilliant Kevin Brooks, the hardened duo of Martin Cattalini and Paul Rees and the support cast of Rupert Sapwell and John Rillie along with veterans Scott Ninnis and Mark Davis -took them down.
Brian Goorjan’s group was stacked with an import star guard in Clint McDaniel, hard-nosed gun guard Mike Kelly, young rising star of the time and possible NBA draftee Sam McKinnon, sharp shooting defence menace like his brother Frank Drmic, Tony “The Bear” Ronaldson and big man Brett Wheeler. Add some quality off the bench including veterans Andrew Parkinson and the ever reliable John Dorge.
Checkout the story below from the club documentary created over a decade ago which paints the picture…
Full credit to the video below to NBAussie Films
Key Matchups
Antonius Cleveland vs Rayjon Tucker
“He sets the tone for this team” is a phrase I’ve heard echoed through the season about AC – that won’t be any different tonight. The alarming thing is in the Sixers crucial games his usage percentage has been low compared to his season average. That means the number of times the player was used while on the floor to contribute to the statistics. In the last six losses prior to the game against Brisbane on Thursday – 23 percent of ball usage went through AC compared to in wins 25.5 percent. He needs these numbers of usage these last four games if the Sixers are going to be any chance of winning.
Tucker meanwhile has transformed into as advertised by himself at the start of the season. Tucker in United’s run of seven wins of the last eight games is putting up 22.63 points per game, 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 59.9 field goal effectiveness. Its given United the edge on the floor having that contribution in place and again is the type of player the Sixers need to keep the ball out of the hands of.
Daniel Johnson vs Marcus Lee
DJ has to fire this one against United as if he can be aggressive in close against United and draw fouls – then perhaps their front court isn’t as strong without Humphries as back-up. The Sixers defensive rating for their front court has been poor in recent losses to add and it needs to raise its intensity. At the moment DJ, Sotto, Franks and Galloway average 111.25 points allowed per 100 possessions compared to one of the best defensive front court combinations in the Taipan’s Pinder, Hogg, Waardenburg and Majok Deng of 101.63 per 100 possesions.
Lee has lifted in Humphries absence in the starting five – since coming into it he’s at 10.6 points per game and 8.3 rebounds lifting by a couple in each area. He’s also in the top echelon for points conceded per 100 possessions with 100.1. Thats clearly resulted in United’s lift of fifth in the league in that category. We’ve all known its been the missing piece and to find it when the free agency market pickings were slim is credit to United and their mid-season decision making.
Anthony Drmic vs Xavier Rathan-Mayes
While Drmic is on the floor the Sixers still have their heartbeat – a 13 point average and some gritty diving on balls, boxing out for rebounds and playing hard he’s rarely failed at that this season. He’s a key part of the second unit for this group and against United needs to provide similar impact to his likely direct opponent off the pine in Rathan-Mayes.
That’s because Mayes return to the pine has ballooned his contribution yet again. He may be pigeon holing himself again as a sixth man but my goodness he is so good at it. He’s produced 58 points and 16 assists in the last four games from the pine and complements the United starting five.
THREE QUESTIONS TO SWOOP ON
Where has it gone wrong to take it out of the hands of the Sixers?
Four five minute patches have shaped the fate of the Sixers and where they are at right now
- The overtime against the South East Melbourne Phoenix in Round 5
- The Round 10 home game last five minutes versus Perth Wildcats
- The last five minutes against Cairns on new years eve in Round 13
- Thursday night’s last five minutes of game against the Bullets
These four patches cost the Sixers four wins they should’ve gotten and didn’t because they were in winning positions at these stages of the game – that could have them in the six and creating their own fate.
But now its not…
Who is more desperate right now United or the Sixers?
United have less wriggle room and have shown they are desperate under Vickerman. They’ve won their last four and are looking like they have their full squad minus Humphries on the floor at the moment.
We can only judge on what we’ve seen so far so United have the edge in the desperation stakes if it comes down to a sprint to the finish tonight…
Its early but what changes will the Sixers need in NBL24 to avoid this scenario again?
Sometimes when you change things you have to start again and as much as the fans and the club no doubt have been disappointed with where they are – this is a situation where I’m going the opposite way and I’m keeping continuity in place for at least one more season simply cause I can’t see how change will benefit this team and coaching staff.
A few other teams are approaching the end of their “window” and my sources tell me the Sixers already have locked in for NBL24 Cleveland, Franks, McCarron, Dech, Marshall, Galloway with Sotto on a team option and Drmic on a mutual option (which I think he’ll take). Add Daniel Johnson back in and Hyrum Harris and that gives you ten if the Sixers persist with Sotto but your third import needs to be a back-up guard to McCarron and a big that can defend so if he’s avaliable a Marcus Lee type or Yanni Wetzell – local is better but I’m thinking putting the ball in Marshall’s hands off the bench means they can go get that big for NBL24.
So who wins?
Again its all about the start for the Sixers who have lost the first quarter in their last four games – and about smart offensive execution. I went through the Bullets game with a tooth comb and counted twenty plus times the Sixers had a one on one where someone like Clark, Cleveland, Franks or Drmic were going to have an open lane to the hoop as they already had the mismatch on about the second or third pass. They however took that extra couple of seconds to make a decision – and the Bullets closed the gap. That forced the Sixers into taking contested and rushed three point shots with pressure which in resulting trips down the floor saw them jack up three point attempts in transition with no flow in movement – a product of frustration no doubt.
To close the last bit of a season full of expectation – which unfortunately has not delivered on just that…
Expectation…
COD Prediction: United by 9 points
Catch all the action tonight at the arena on Cluch Radio with Tristan “TP” Prentice and our special comments guest whether you’re at the game or watching from home
CROSS OVER DRIBBLE 