CROSS OVER DRIBBLE

Normally Wiley Coyote (pictured against the NBA a few months ago) doesn't get the bird but this time he blew away the Hawks. Photo by Adelaide 36ers

Wiley found another level we knew he had stepping it up for a double double of 16 points and 12 rebounds in 24 explosive minutes.

THE WRAP Q BY Q

The first quarter despite the final result belonged to the Hawks as Ced “X” Jackson and Toddy Blanchfield dominated the Sixers early gifting them a 2-11 start. It took the injection of new import Demitrius Conger to spark the Sixers with a triple that lit the flame. Majok Deng obviously needing to lift looked the player of the latter part of last season got on a four point run before Wiley threw down the first of his emphatic dunks. Despite the dunk the Hawks had it all going leading 21-30 and the Sixers copped a Joey Wright mid-court spray.

With ears ringing Anthony Drmic lit the fuse to an explosive turnaround with five straight points of his 10 crucial second quarter points closing the gap to all level halfway through the second. Even bench player Jack McVeigh got in on the act finishing a bucket and getting up in Blanchfield’s face like your local Thursday night social player thinking he’d just won a ring after getting a score but considering some passion had been lacking it was great to see the young man show off his emotions about it. The Sixers stealing the lead by two points 48-46 at the break.

As has been the case in most Sixers game, young Harry Froling has set the tone when they’ve needed it but none was more telling at the four minutes in the third to go mark than a flat footed screen that knocked Jordair “Judge Dreads” Jett off his feet. Nathan Sobey drained a triple off the bone-shaking screen that could be heard all the way down to Wayville for Saturday church-ball and timeout was burned by a hot Beveridge. That set Jett off in the next couple of plays as him and his dreads became entangled with Froling as Deng also got in with some lip syncing. Leading 67-57 towards the end of the third, the Sixers blew the game open with Wiley, Conger and a DJ slam pushing them out to a 79-62 lead.

The Sixers were never headed in the the fourth as Drmic closed the game with a half a quarter to go with another pair of triples and Froling a rim shaking two handed big man dunk gifting some court time to the rookies even Adam Doyle got an open triple to go as the Sixers cooked the Hawks 104-79 in the close.

COACH SPEAK

Sixers Coach Joey Wright was relieved his team found the formula they’d been lacking in their game losing streak, “My job is to try and figure it out and their job is to carry it out. Tonight we got both of those right, we picked it up defensively after the first quarter.”

Hawks Coach Rob Beveridge was pleased with the start but cited other distractions got in the way of their mission during the game, “Out of the eight games we’ve had six really bad ones and tonight we were very good in the first quarter but we got distracted with too many things going on that we can’t worry about and we are struggling in those areas right now.”

DO THE STATS LIE?

The Sixers run and gun was back in the form of 24 fast break points and 21 points from  turnovers. The Sixers also dominated the rebounds with 57 including a season high 17 offensive boards in their commitment to the glass. The most telling stat though was after quarter time the score was 83-49 in the home side’s favour in the second biggest win of the NBL season.

The Hawks shot 57 percent from the free throw line which given their inside paint game plan has some serial offenders, but certainly not if you’re the home side wanting some delicious cheeseburgers. As Beveridge hinted the Hawks had 19 turnovers for the match and made more than 10 field goals in the opening quarter but were not able to sustain that through the match.

WHATS NEXT FOR THE SIXERS

News flash ladies and gentleman as J-Chill rolled into town last season, they are back and have a solid run against the Taipans, Hawks in the Gong, Hawks, Bullets in the Ammo Depot and Taipans again before Christmas. The next month with Conger in the lineup shapes as moving time for the Sixers as they look to hunt their way up the ladder to the Wildcats, United and the Kings. All the teams coming up are on a sliding streak making it either the ideal time or the perhaps the wrong time to meet them. The Hawks at the Gong seems the toughest of these match-ups.

The Taipan as a creature as we know is dangerous and after losing seven games in a row, we either are going to see a pre-Christmas present or a repeat of the nightmare before Christmas 2017.

So will the good, bad or ugly Sixers show up this week???

ADELAIDE 36ERS 104 (WILEY, DRMIC, JOHNSON, SOBEY 16, DENG 10) DEFEATED ILLAWARRA HAWKS (BLANCHFIELD 22, CONKLIN 13, ANDERSEN 11, JETT 10)

 

Sporting a pre-game taped head, SA player Brad Newley took to the Sixers like Rambo to the Jungle. Photo by Flipboard

Newley’s 26 points and Randle’s 23 points broke an eleven game losing streak and consigned the Sixers to their fourth loss in a row in a carefully orchestrated master plan from the “Gaze realm of the East.”

THE WRAP Q BY Q

The first quarter started with a desperate Deleon (despite already knowing it would be his final game) leaving it all on the floor early. The Kings however got the jump early through Newley and Randle jumping out by 15 points in a shocking unlikely slow start for the Sixers. Gaze was controlling the game like a maestro from the bench setting Andrew Bogut on Jacob Wiley and Anthony Drmic while David was “wearing” DJ like a tight fitting glove. Nathan Sobey “Wan Kenobi” called upon his force to grab 6 of the last few minute points to close it to 15-27 but the Sixers looked way off it early.

Kevin “Delisch” stole it early in the second but a spark came from the Sixers when young beast Harry Froling got the Sixers rollin in the second as he dropped 15 points in the quarter to breathe them back to life before “Wild” Kyle Adnam awoke nightmares of the first game last season to give the Kings a solid lead at the half 43-49.

The Kings and Sixers traded buckets through the early part of the third quarter with Froling putting the Sixers within 7 points but on this afternoon, the Kings would not allow the Sixers to get any closer like a Sultan realising he’s been under mind control from his Grand Vizier (tickets on sale now Adelaide crew). The Kings master plan was unfolding as Newley taped head and all wrapped the Sixers heading into the fourth as the Kings held a 10 point lead, 63-73.

Newley and Randle continued the dagger beyond perimeter show with another splash of revenge triples before Froling and Deleon launched a last hurrah to try and reclaim the throne that had once been their’s but as is the case in most finishes this plan from the K-Team was not gonna fail as they emphatically closed an unwanted chapter in their history with a Bogut dunk.

COACH SPEAK

Sixers Coach Joey Wright described the loss and the outcomes from the match as “Collateral Damage” as the Sixers shortly after the match announced they had mutually departed with veteran import Adris Deleon. “It’s disappointing that we came out in a game where we should have been fired up and ready to go, giving up a 22 point lead head start is way too much leeway.”

Kings Coach Andrew Gaze despite the adversity said the Kings didn’t talk about the streak but relied on executing it in the planning. “We exposed them early and set our defence up early, we got really good production out of our guys offensively and played much smarter, we’ve felt like we’ve been close to beating them for some time but our offence tonight was more systematic with some motion and that really helped us.”

DO THE STATS LIE?

After two players shot 9 of 12 from the perimeter last time they met, the Sixers shot 18 percent on 3 of 16 attempts all three makes by one of the biggest men off the bench in Froling. The Sixers had 14 turnovers of which the Kings scored 16 of their points while in the opening 7 minutes when the Kings took their ascendancy DJ and Sobey had only 2 points between them of the Sixers 7 points.

The Kings stuck 5 triples in the opening quarter emphasising their quality ball movement and the Sixers lack of energy in the opening quarter. They also recorded 22 assists for the match and had three 20 plus point scorers for the first time since Shane Heal was coaching them.

WHATS NEXT FOR THE SIXERS

I would like to introduce a new terminology for the NBL which I think every club would’ve done in its history at least once that I can recall

Fillimport (noun fi-ll-import)

Def: Under the current contractual guidelines of the NBL, an import that is recruited for low cost and subject to the teams needs in terms of filling either a role in the short term over the preseason and first few months of the season or serves a purpose until an out of contract import of need becomes avaliable.  

Our case in question is the departing Adris Deleon, this is not a criticism but merely an observation and what coach Wright pointed out the last couple of days is absolutely spot on, your third import spot is a game changer but also must be filled by a particular type of player. Some clubs do not use it (i.e Perth Wildcats) and some have already triggered it (take the Brisbane Bullets and Alonzo Gee). As Wright said it would be very interesting to see if non-import players came under the same scrutiny as I believe along with many experts if all players were under the criteria our imports were, Deleon would be one of the last to be cut so far this season. However as the cookie crumbles Deleon has “filled” his role to a tee (hence the term I’ve coined above). He has performed his role, won a game off his own hand and given Wright time to find out about his team without breaking the club’s budget. Certainly Deleon’s impact will go down as not one of the worst in the Sixers history (Scott Christopherson fighting for that mantle with Kym Taylor) and if he was about five years younger would’ve have no doubt been around longer. However now the Sixers know what they really need, what has gone with the departure of Mitch Creek and Josh Childress and have triggered the change. The question is who will lineup against the much improved Hawks this coming Saturday in the outgoing import’s place???

My guess is everybody get your cameras out Saturday, strong sources say its Conger time… TT (Drums emoji)

ADELAIDE 36ERS 81 (FROLING 23, JOHNSON 14, DELEON 11, SOBEY 10) LOST TO SYDNEY KINGS 93 (NEWLEY 26, RANDLE 23, LISCH 20)

 

Cam "Cannon" Gliddon once again dropping triples against the Sixers in the Fortress in consecutive away games for his team. Photo by Zimbio

While Gliddon dropped the winning triple, it was the work and basketball IQ through the majority of the game through the ex’s in Jason Cadee, Adam Gibson but particularly the most recent departure of Matt Hodgson that did the majority of the infiltrate and destroy mission of the Bullets.

THE WRAP Q BY Q

The first quarter saw Jacob Wiley show of his energy and prowess early as he exposed the “bear” Cam Bairstow at different times but matching his was Hodgson on the O boards as well who came out with a fired up energy and renewed beast mode thriving under Coach Andre Lemanis’s system. Gliddon got himself going early with two triples with the two teams trading bucket for bucket. A string of Majok Deng points saw the Sixers leading this one early 31-24 however at quarter time.

The second quarter belonged early to Wiley Coyote as he ate up the O boards like a late night Hungry Jacks burger run (sponsors can thank me later on for the plug…) as he picked up a string of points in the process. The cameraman got an offensive foul from a desperate Brendan Teys with the Sixers determined to test new Bullets import Lamar Patterson as he sat down with four personal fouls in the first half and no “Kobe”. An 8-0 run launched through Daniel Johnson forced the timeout from Brisbane who then turned the game. The Bullets getting on an 11-4 run to close the quarter on the back of Cadee and Hodgson closing the gap to 55-50 at the half.

The Bullets launched a 7-0 run to start the third quarter with Gliddon and Te Rangi, with the Sixers not scoring 3 minutes into the third quarter ended through a patchy Adris Deleon. Gibson then hit a triple pushing the Bullets out to a 61-69 causing Coach Joey Wright to insert rookie Bijan Johnson into the game before Gibson dropped another triple. The Sixers trailing by 12 points then quick as a flash started their run through the big young giant Harry Froling, BJ, Doyle, Teys, DJ and Nathan Sobey. Bullets young centre Will Magnay missed a couple of free throws but not only did the crowd erupt in delight of free cheeseburgers but also slammed it down with a rim-shaking dunk from Sobey. The scores level amazingly at three quarter time on the back of another famous playing of the tune “Moskau”.

Gliddon opened the final quarter with a triple, Sobey followed with a deuce as the teams traded bucket for bucket through the quarter. Te Rangi tried to go around Wiley with some dance steps to which Wiley then denied his request to tango before Gliddon continued the rain making show hitting another triple and looking like the potential match winner. Hodgson slammed one down off a beautiful curling under bucket pass from Bairstow. Gliddon nailed another one but with 2 minutes to go the Sixers went on a 7-0 run through Deleon with a great dribble move and penetration. DJ then finished the and1 and Sobey with the head fake and drive finishing with the left over the two biggest defenders all after a Deleon charging foul at the other end from Cadee. With 0.6 seconds to go Gliddon drilled the dagger from the corner for a career high of 30 points as the Bullets won consecutive games against the Sixers for the first time since 2007 silencing the entire arena for a rare time in the finish.

COACH SPEAK

Sixers Coach Joey Wright lamented his teams lack of consistent defence which ultimately cost his team the victory in the final seconds but also was positive as he described what needs fixing. “The positive is we lost the same way, that’s a positive so if we stop doing that then we might win. Right now we haven’t stopped doing it. We have the capabilities but right now we haven’t hurt enough.”

Bullets Coach Andre Lemanis with no timeouts left, literally left it up to the players to draw up the “AIS” style play for the win. “That was purely discussed and players took up with that on their own. They took the advantage of the delay getting the ball in and discussed one and came up with another one (play).”

DO THE STATS LIE?

The Sixers had a rare match where they smashed the points in the paint 58-40 but also only hit 25 percent from the three point line. The Sixers had only four scorers in double figures but three other players were close with 6 points or more but the Sixers are clearly missing Ramone Moore and his double figure contributions in these key stats.

The Bullets Cam Gliddon has now won 11 of 12 games when scoring 20 points or more for his side while the team shot 38 percent from beyond the arc (from 34 attempts) and apart from one game have won all their games when they have shot 38 percent or more. This was also Matt Hodgson’s second game for double figures and is now averaging 4 points more than the championship runner-up season he had with the Sixers.

WHATS NEXT FOR THE SIXERS

The Sixers next up have the best possible scenario to get back on the horse in continuing their conquering run against the Kings, or is it? Right now the Sixers can’t afford to underestimate their next opponent and drop their intensity for the next game so I’m worried about playing a team we have a exceptional record against. A number of things could happen before Saturday that will determine how the Sixers approach the Kings. Will Ramone Moore come up and will Adris Deleon silence the critics? Can the Sixers get back to their style of up tempo defence and create more fast break baskets which they have seriously lacked in each of their losses? This is a good indicator of the Sixers defensive intensity in a reward for effort kind of way.

There is one threat that can snap this streak and no its not the Bogey man, or De-Lisch and Newls. It’s Randle, if the Sixers are remotely off Jerome like a shark will smell blood in the water and snap the Sixers single-handedly from his play and if there’s one thing about winning streaks, the more they stretch the closer they are to ending and an end this weekend coming will cause the Sixers fans and NBL media to start circling.

Du Duh … Du Duh … Du Duh Duh Duh …

ADELAIDE 36ERS 90 (D JOHNSON 19, SOBEY 18, DRMIC, WILEY 13) LOST TO BRISBANE BULLETS 93 (GLIDDON 30, HODGSON 15, TE RANGI 13)