Hoops

36ers: Champions or Pretenders?

Isaac, if I was rating that 2008 Dragons team, the scoring would probably go as follows:

Cortez: 8
Holmes: 8
Burston: 4 (injured)
Herbert: 3
Hill: 1 (injured)
Heal: -3,642 (no excuses)

;-)

One thing Adelaide and Cairns (and maybe Perth) have shown, you can drastically cut spending and get just as good a team.

With the Cortez signing, the team looks like the following:

C: Matt Burston; David Cooper;
PF: Adam Ballinger; Jacob Holmes;
SF: Brad Hill; Nathan Herbert;
SG: Cortez Groves*; Darren Ng;
PG: John Gilchrist*; Under 23 player (to be signed).

*import

Not a bad looking lineup. Brett Maher is impossible to replace, but we essentially have three imports with Ballinger now qualifying as a local.

Just an aside, does this mean we have picked up 5 players from the wooden spooners of two years ago? I seem to recall that Burston was injured most of that year, Hill on the long term injury comeback and Herbert a rookie (or DP player?). Jacob was captain and team MVP. Was Cortez with the Dragons or Hawks that year?

I am not sure that it is a championship winning combination, but with luck we will be right up at the pointy end. Looking forward to the season kicking off!

Agreed. Undersized isnt always the end of the world!

Hill is undersized for a small forward. There is more to consider than listed height. But I think he has an advantage at the other end, and I suspect Gilchrist and Groves will be able to cover some defensive situations too.

Cooper had a poor year last year, but look at his 5 season prior to that – a consistent 6-7ppg, 5-6rpg and 1.5-2bpg – good numbers for a backup centre. I don’t think he should be ruled out after one poor year, especially a year when the Sixers guard play was poor.

Darden and Grizzard have done nothing to suggest they are even comparable to Groves. Yes, Groves and Hill be lack in size at the three spot defensively, but they will have a speed advantage at the other end.

Darden was a good solid defender, rebounder, team player, perfect for the Dragons but the Sixers need more.

In top form, Groves is certainly at a similar level to D Smith, Ere and Hodge, and well above Darden, Grizzard etc.

I understand concerns about him because he had a poor year under Heal at the Dragons, and then had average numbers and a season-ending injury under Goorjian.

But as someone who saw a bit of him play last year, he looked really good. In excellent shape, playing really good d, and sacrificing his game for the team. With a bigger role with Adelaide, and the new tricks he learned under Goorjian, he and Gilchrist could be a real, athletic handful for opposition teams.

I don't think I can recall seeing Groves play, though I remember seeing he had some good numbers with the Hawks awhile back. Can anyone give me an idea of his ability to shoot from long range? Also, is he tall enough to play the SF at a pinch?

Since we have Gilchrist, Hill and Ng, I'd much prefer an athletic, 3 point shooting SF. If Groves is only a 2 guard and more of a slasher than a shooter, we're really crowding our backcourt and making it difficult to develop Hill and Ng.

I think our team would be much better balanced if we found a guy who can start at SF, defend opposing athletic SFs and hit the open three. In that sense, if Grizzard can shoot better than Groves, he is probably a better fit. But I don't know if that is the case, and Griz may be off to Japan as someone said above.

Obviously there may not be the type of player I'm thinking of still available for the right price. If that is the case, and Groves is not a great shooter and too short to play SF, I reckon the Sixers might be better off just saving their money and giving Hill, NG and Herbert a chance to shine this year.

LMAO Isaac, that is gold!
Best pic for a while..

Burston hard to get round in D - Ballinger finding it tough going and Burston also providing good scoring now.
You'd think Davo,JR or Darnell could be better than U23 player - I'd prefer NBL to be open age .

What did we win away last season - 3 games.. You'd think this team would improve on that.

It is too early to call and I don't believe it is all doom and gloom.

We have lost a lot of talent from last year's team, but I remain upbeat with our chances this season. Defence is the key and we need to fire up with our 3's!!

Last season, I saw the major deficiencies as being:
* Failure to score off set plays
* Too many turnovers due to fancy passes
* Defensive plays not effective
* No real enforcer on the team to drive fear into the opposition
* Lack of three point attempts
* Subs were made at what appeared to be the wrong times

We should be aiming for great things. I wouldn't write the Sixers off just yet