NBL - Round 3

Sydney v Cairns

Both teams look to extend their winning streaks this season as Cairns visits Sydney at the Kingdome as the second part of their road trip.

Sydney was all class in their second victory of the season, picking off the depleted Crocs in Townsville. It was a surgeon like performance as they toyed with the Crocs early, before drilling some clutch jumpers late in the match. They have just arrived home from a 4 game tour of China where they competed against three world class opponents. They barely made it to the first encounter, an exhibition against Yao and the Chinese national team, so tight was the schedule and went into the game without a pre game warm up. The Kings actually lead at halftime before fatigue kicked in during the second half and they were eventually mowed down. The tournament began against the best club over the last 3 years outside of the NBA, in CSKA Moscow. They acquitted themselves well and going into the last minute it was just a 3 point game. The Kings launched a 3 pointer to tie but unfortunately it rimmed out, and they eventually went on to lose by 9. They bounced back with a win over Italian club Benetton after being down by as many as 14 points in the second half, then in the last match against China it was an exciting 80 all draw. It was a valuable experience for the Kings that should give them some confidence heading into this match.

Cairns are back to back here after their nail biting win over the Hawks last night. Stephen Black was crucial in the clutch in the final 2 minutes, scoring 7 of his 21 points to give his club the edge. Jawai once again was a menace inside shooting 9/12 for 18 points. Cairns again trailed at halftime, making it now 3 out the 4 games they have done so. They will not want to give the Kings too much of a lead in this match.

The Kingdome hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for Stephen Black with just one victory from 8 visits. His last two efforts there have been 4 point nights for a total of 3/22 shooting, so he will need to do much better in this area without Cattalini and Mee. I think the Kings will gain a lot of confidence from their trip to China and should be too good at home. Cairns do not have the best road record over the years, winning just 5 last year. They have improved this year winning both against inferior opposition but this is definitely a step up in class for them.

Selection :

Under 189 1 unit (Under 190.5 1.70 TAB, Under 188.5 1.90 Sports Acumen)

Townsville v Brisbane

Brisbane arrives in Townsville to face the down and out Crocs as the second leg of a back to back road trip.

The Crocs cannot take a trick lately. They have lost 3 in a row and have lost their star import Rosell Ellis for the season. They have recruited U.S street baller Corey ‘Homicide’ Williams into the squad but he will be watching courtside for this match, as he waits clearance of his visa. They have done well to find someone so quickly and hopefully Immigration will approve his paperwork in time for the Sixers game next week.

I’m not sure about the recruitment of a point guard however. They are loaded in the backcourt and now very small if you take Ben Pepper out of the line up, so question marks will remain about how they can hang with teams consistently enough without another big man. The same old story has plagued the Crocs through their first 4 games and cannot finish their great early work as the fade late through fatigue. Against the Slingers they were leading by scores in the mid-teens before being eventually run down by 15, a turnaround of 30 points which is really unforgivable in this league. Rillie had a woeful night from behind the arc and was 1/9 from downtown. Pepper led the way with 17 points and 9 boards but he didn’t get enough support. There were too many turnovers as the Slingers scored 27 points on the break, most off costly errors. Galen Young shot 5/15 ,33%, on his way to 14 points and 10 boards and apart from Kelvin Robertson I just don’t know where they are going to get their scoring punch from.

Coach Joey Wright will be confident enough here to run their bench for extended periods giving the likes of Gibson, Boutcher, Bradshaw, Williamson and Hill key minutes, especially after playing last night against the Cats. If things look like they are getting out of hand they have plenty of explosive weapons to call upon. The Bullets were impressive last night beating the Cats by 9 and Ebi Ere has been on fire this season. He torched the Cats for 27 points, CJ drained in 23 and the ever reliable Dusty Rychart had 18 points and 10 boards. Good all round performances to take them to 3-0 this season. Any early question marks about them have been answered emphatically and I think they will have way too many options for the Crocs to handle. The only issue would be complacency but there has been no evidence of that to date.

Selection :

Brisbane -10.5 (-10.5 1.85 TAB)

Gold Coast v Melbourne

It’s home sweet home for the Blaze, who have played their last 3 games away, as they take on the powerhouse Melbourne Tigers.

This will be an interesting match as the Blaze were impressive in loses against the Bullets and Kings before recording their first ever win in Singapore. The team must have been fatigued or perhaps just partied too hard, because they were no match for the Taipans in Cairns a few days later. NBL player of the week, captain James Harvey, looks to be in career best form, averaging 25.5 points in his last two matches.
Melbourne have been all business this season recording 3 double digit wins in a row. The twin towers combination of Anstey and Muursepp has teams trembling in their sneakers while Dave Barlow had his best game as a Tiger, firing 19 points against the Sixers in Adelaide. Al Westover also has a 6-1 advantage over Brendan Joyce.

Melbourne face Cairns on Wednesday night in a nationally televised game so its important they can knuckle down and focus on the job required otherwise the Blaze might take advantage of any complacency. We saw in the Blaze’s first match of the season that Brisbane treated them lightly and were given a rude awakening when they were trailed by more then 10 after the first period. But 2nd quarters have been the home team’s achilles and they need to apply themselves for the full 48 minutes against the best clubs. The Blaze are more then capable of matching the visitors on the glass, with the like of Melmeth, Frank and McGregor all quality front liners. Melbourne on the other hand have a history of coasting in games, but when the key plays are needed late, they usually provide. It’s a completely different attitude this season as evidenced by the 3 consecutive blow out wins. They were disappointed with last year’s Grand Final loss to Brisbane and seem to be on mission to atone.

I have been impressed with Gold Coasts defencive efforts in their last three games, keeping their opponents under 100 points. Coach Joyce has done well in this area so early in the year and it will ensure the Coast are competitive in enough games. Once they figure out how to score more frequently the wins will follow. Against the Tigers tough defence and experience it’s hard to see the Coast winning, but I’m confident they can be in the game for extended periods.

Adelaide v Dragons

Both teams are coming off very disappointing performances as Souths head to the city of churches to tackle the Sixers.

Souths took the game to the Wildcats early in their encounter in Melbourne but they didn’t have any energy after halftime, as Perth raced away to win convincingly. That made it two home losses in a row for the Dragons as they simply were not physical enough against the bigger Cats and were stifled into their lowest ever score in competition history. They haven’t established their inside game and seem too reliant on the outside shooters to get the job done, and that hasn’t been happening.

Adelaide were embarrassed last week by Melbourne on their home court to the tune of 16 points. Ballinger scored 19 and guards Maher and Davidson scored 13 apiece but it wasn’t enough, along with another disappointing effort from import Mike Chappell who tallied 1/7 for 3 points and 5 boards. They did win in some areas against the Tigers but in the area which matters the most, rebounding, they were totally outclassed. They will be much better suited in this area against the Dragons, who have shown no interior life what so ever. It must be remembered that last start’s 85 points was the lowest point production from a Sixers outfit on their home court for 38 matches.

The last time these two clubs faced off it was a good ole fashioned shootout. The game was played in Geelong and the Dragons prevailed 149-147 in overtime. This game marks Brett Maher’s 482nd game as a Sixer, the most of any player, at any club in the history of the league. So I am sure the Sixers will be primed for a special effort for their greatest ever player, especially after their disappointing effort last start.

For the Dragons Joe Ingles is trying to improve his defence to cmplement his scoring prowess, but he is clearly struggling and having a case of second year blues. So far he has only tallied around 20 for the year which is a poor return. His match up with an out of form Chappell will be deciding factor in who prevails here. Cortez Groves shot the ball an amazing 20 times against Perth for 24 points while both Horvath and Burston were in foul trouble as they struggled with the Wildcats size. Holmes grabbed 9 boards but had a frustrating shooting night as he was not able to find the bottom of the net from the field. They also got no production from their bench. They have won the last two against the Sixers so they will be confident of competing, but Adelaide are traditionally tough to beat at home.