Hoops

Adelaide @ Gold Coast Game Thread

billo, I am definitely not changing my tune. I am basically saying that the controversial call has had an affect on the game in one way or another. How did I say that it doesn't matter that Hodge got his 6th but it was the missed 3 from Darren that mattered. Getting his 6th was a direct result of Darren missing the 3 opportunity. Its all relevant and it all matters.

"If it was a 50/50 call that happened to not go our way then what's your problem?" billo, where's your passion. Does it not matter to you that a game could be lost on an incorrect call? Perhaps not, perhaps I assumed you are a 36ers fan. Also I wasn't talking about playing so many games in a week, I was talking about playing on consecutive nights when the soreness of the previous night has not been relieved. Ballinger a classic example.

Also hate to point it out to you but there is no Brisbane fan equivalent to me, I am also a Brisbane fan. I was thrilled that the 36ers got the win on Saturday because I considered that game to be the hardest one of the 4 to get and winning that would give us a good chance of making playoffs. In view of last night's game, I now wish we had not taken away the opportunity from Brisbane to get closer to 2nd spot.

Does anyone know what the record is for 'charge' calls in an NBL game? There must have been nearly 10 last night. Which is really funny because the discussion would suggest there was one one.

Tough game to watch with way too much whistle.

Agree with Statman, Copeland was on fire in the second half. He should have been on the court way sooner than a last minute sub for Hodge foul-out.

Blaze foul shooting disgraceful and one of the reasons the 36ers were able to stay in the game. 36er rebounding pretty average which suggests fatigue and probably the main reason for loss.

The Blaze courtside announcer calls out the remaining shot clock time just about every time it gets to 3 seconds with Blaze in possession. This has been happeneing all season. Unfortunately last night he decided to start razzing the 36er free throw shooters again, rather than letting just the crowd do it. Didn't have that much effect (Hodge 13/13 wow), but never-the-less not good form.

Crowd was one of the smallest this season, but Sunday night games are really a wasted exercise. Lots of rain on the Gold Coast all afternoon plus first day-nighter on live TV would also keep a few away.

As established on my thread on scheduling, Bullets game was probably originally supposed to be in Brisbane on Saturday but had to be swapped to Adelaide because of Brisbane Motor Show at the Convention Centre.

I'm sure Statman and other Blaze readers would agree with me that we'd be happy to welcome any 36er fans as 'honourary' Blaze followers for the playoffs. (Hey Isaac how's 'HOOPS GC' coming along??)

Finally, the 36ers must lead the NBL in the category shortest average hair length, coaching staff included!!!

Isaac, you still didn't answer the question about Perth and Singapore's schedule. I am happy to stand corrected if you have the answers.

My criticisms ARE for the things you can't control, but should not be thrown at you unless they are accurate. The 36ers made a huge game of it considering the deficencies they were facing. This is also the reason that Hodge being left in the game until the end could have made the difference. He was playing well enough to have made it a possibility. I was not at the game, but I am not the one who referred to calls as 50/50. 50/50 suggests it could go either way, or in one case in Saturday's game against the Bullets, an indecisive decision from the refs resulted in a jump ball. Why would you have 50/50 calls when the jump ball option is there and treats both teams equally? I will tell you why, and that is because it makes the refs look incompetent.

But Hodge would still have been in the game. Call me stubborn if you wish, but I have strong opinions on what happened no matter how you look at it.

Isaac, if Hodge hadn't reacted earlier and got a tech foul, he would still have been in the game but the foul still had an affect that Ng who received the pass could not score on it. This is the difference between being 5 down and 2 down with 50 seconds left to go. Also without having checked the schedules this season, can you point out any games where Perth have had to travel to Brisbane or Cairns the same day they play after having played the night before. Same applies with Singapore. The distance in travel is nothing when you have a day of rest before a game. My complaints are specific to playing one night and then again the next with travel involved. Twice in 2 weeks for the 36ers, both resulting in losses. In the Brisbane game 2 weeks ago, they looked exhausted before they even started. I don't care about scheduling on a whole except that this type of scheduling is far too gruelling and a little one sided. And this is also after here in Adelaide, we do not contribute to the scheduling problems.

I suggested nothing about being the best player on court. What I said is that when a call is 50/50 it can go either way.

oops, 50/50 not 80/50.

XY, show me your degree in Psychiatry and then be the judge on whether I am paranoid or not. Not a single person has confirmed that the call against Hodge was an accurate one and coming at the point in time that it did and fouling out the main player for the team equals controversy to me. If it was 80/50 why not give the benefit of the doubt? This whole season has been full of 50/50 calls going against the 36ers. Statman, you criticized my comment on scheduling and yet you yourself said that the 36ers put up a good effort but ran out of legs in the 2nd half. Wonder if that had anything to do with the fact that they played the night before and travelled the next day to play again? Statman, you also say every team has had issues with the umpires this season. Does that mean every team does not know what they are talking about and just want to whinge, or does it tell you something about the quality of umpiring this season? If the umpires had been consistently accurate all this season, then the results could have been different. Dont get me wrong, the 36ers have not done enough this season to deserve a spot in the top 8, but under the NBL rules, could possibly have made it if so much beyond their control did not go against them. I am only talking about numbers, not the effort to prove worthiness of getting there.

Statman, I didn't follow the basketball in the 80's and 90's. Whether the Sixers have been good enough to make the playoffs is a matter of opinion. If you fit into the best 8 you make the playoffs regardless of your win/loss record. The number of Sixers games needed for them to make the playoffs amount to just as many as the controversial ones that would have seen them winning a game. These are the ones that have made the difference. Another controversial call came with just 50 seconds left in this game where Hodge was fouled out after knocking over Pero Cameron and being called for a charge. We are talking about a man who is half the weight of Cameron. Its like bashing into a rock, the rock should just not move, yet Cameron was knocked over. Was he knocked over or flopped to the ground to make it look that way? A ref with half a brain would know that it could not happen realistically. 50 seconds left into the game, 5 points down, a perfect pass to Ng who was open just outside the arc. One would have to assume there was a strong possibility he would have made that shot and only been down by 2 with 50 seconds to go. Don't you need to ask what if questions? This is the sort of rubbish calling that has been happening throughout the season.

Yes you are right in saying that a team with that sort of win/loss record does not deserve to make playoffs, but then the NBL would have to change it to make it the best of 6. Only that way you can guarantee that the teams making playoffs have done it by winning more games than losing. If you have a chance of making the best of 8, there should never be any unfair disadvantages thrown at you so you don't succeed. And if there are, you have every right to be angry about it.

Statman, if that was a violation to the rules, the courtside announcer will only get a slap on the wrist but the results do not change. Doesn't matter how much other teams cheat and the 36ers are disadvantaged by it, nothing changes. It has absolutely pissed me off this season all the crap we have had to endure. The refs, the scheduling, the rough play by other teams causing injury to our players. The scheduling especially pisses me off because in Adelaide we have a purpose built stadium that the 36ers would get priority over, yet we put up with schedules made up to fit in with bookings of entertainment and convention centres. Its twice in 2 weeks the team have played one night and travelled the next day for a game that same night. How you recover so quickly is beyond me, but not beyond the NBL. The should not even consider scheduling a team to play 2 consecutive nights and especially when there is travel involved. The schedules have been tough for other teams also, I admit that, but I don't think it has been as bad. Believe it not, we have been absolutely screwed this season. I have not noticed it in previous years but this year has been shocking.

On a positive note, Hodge had another great game tonight, unfortunately he didn't get enough help from the rest of the team. He should still be a certainty for POTW again even though tonight's game was a loss. His personal performances this weekend have been outstanding.

woohoo zone dosnt even last a minute and we get scorched. back to man to man at least phil recognised that!

Oh YAY Phil going back to the zone defence.

Why are GC a 'team of dicks'? Kobe.

I think they have done a great job up there.

Do agree however that we need to start lifting and it's our D is where it needs to start!

Scoreboard has kicked into action.

Radio working fine. Live scores doing nothing atm :-|