Hoops

36ers Vs Hawks Game 2 At The Dome

Agree with you guys defending Groves. He looks like he is progressing nicely at this stage and lets not forget that AWESOME DUNK in Darwin someone so kindly posted here a few days back. He must have some speed, hops and a decent crossover still to pull that off!

Reading Boti's articles are the only non Crow articles in the paper.

At least we get coverage!

Yeah nice answer Isaac, obviously something you have thought about before..

I am critical of Boti, but mainly because in the past I have thought where the 36ers needed good coverage, it received negative and it was hurting the team and the game IMO..

Boti can put pressure on the club anytime he wants, but if at the time they did not have the means to pay out and recruit again...what does his pressure do really? Put a negative feel into the camp..

In all seriousness, who listens to Boti in an organisation like the 36ers?

I spoke to RH last season, and the word from him was they feed Boti what they want as he is the only print media in town...otherwise they keep it to themselves, they need the exposure and so hence they need to give him something, when Boti gets a shut out, he has to run stories to keep himself going as it is his job too..

If the 36ers wanted to get to the fans they would do what te US do and get twitter and facebook and the likes going and run everything thru there, but only hard core fans would read it so they have to get stuff out via print...

i prefer the guy that fills in when Boti is away on elave anyway, better stories with less personal preferences..

I think 1 shot might have been off balance close to time clock and another close to time clock, with not much hope. I think.

I have to agree with you X, Holmes showed some great leadership out there from what i could see!

Don't recall him taking a 2point attempt, now that you mention it.
I didn't really see him at the Dragons, but played pretty good yesterday and looks alright at training.

Coops was under the basket with the ball but instead of taking the shot, bounce passed it to Balls and we lost possesion.
Holmes on the bench walked past Ninnis and said I'm ready to go back on, but Ninnis told him to sit down.
(Anyways- don't blame Jacob for trying to get back out there as he had 18points , at that stage and close to our best player)

For mine, Herbert could be one of the most valuable signings they got - he played very good D, has a great shot and got some very nice looks.

I agree about Ng, I'd like to see him attack the D a little but it was more that he had many looks that for a shooter like him, are basically wide open looks. It doesn't have to always be a 3 ball; a good look from 15 feet is still a good shot to take for someone like him. Brett Maher used to be automatic with those shots - Ng, with practice, can be too.

One thing that annoys me though is the under usage of Cooper - he has the height to be a really good finisher down low, and the Sixers offence could really benefit from having an extra target in the low post. I find that the Sixers offense, as effective as it is, is often extremely predictable; the ball gets passed around until someone has an open look, and while it does get inside sometimes, they can also get into trouble when the shot clock gets low and an open shot can't be found.

I'd love to see some plays run for Cooper and Burston to get into the low post and play with their back to the basket, with Holmes and Ballinger as rebounding threats I think it could work.

I thought that would have been a no-brainer too Issac.
Would expect to see us start the season with
Gilchrist, Grooves, Herbert, Holmes, Ballinger due to Burstons lack of pre-season and injury concerns/recovery. Even if he was 100% fit I would rather bring him in off the bench even early after a few minutes.

There arn't alot fo BIG teams this season (except Perth HUGE!).

I hope we aren't forced to start the season still nursing Burston's knee! I was under the impression they were just taking things easy with him while it was pre-season, but that he would be ready to go for game one.

??? Isaac, what are you suggesting?

Do you mean start for Burston?

Or play him at guard?

The first one is bad, because it would mean Burston's injury is still a problem.

The second one is worse, because it means Ninnis is crazy and wants to start a forward who can't shoot threes or drive to the basket instead of one of our imports!

You're baking my noodle here Isaac! I don't see how Holmes could start anywhere BUT SF!

Jonno, I think you're right, there is a very good chance Holmes now starts the season at SF. Its basically between him and Herbert, while Hill now has his work cut out to earn some decent minutes I reckon.

The main reason I always worry about Holmes starting at SF is his inability to hit outside shots. But it Groves, Gilchrist and Balls all shoot consistently from long range, then Holmes shooting may not be as big an issue as it has been in the past.

We are in a better situation this year whichever way it goes though, because if Holmes shooting is hurting us, Herbert is looking like a solid long range shooter based on pre-season.

Hoping that the Sixers finally turn the corner this year and can challenge for the top 4!

With Hill not playing in the pre season matches, would Holmes now have taken back the starting SF spot? i think i remember there been talk of Hill likely to be the starting SF earlier in the pre season.
Glad to hear people are happy with Groves and Gilchrist, i think (on paper) they are in the top couple of back courts in the league along with CJ and Penney in NZ, and with Ballinger being the best PF, Burston would be in the top 3-5 Centres and Holmes is a solid and proven starter i think our team is looking good and i like the balance.

Yeah, Groves was putting up bricks in the warmup but produced some good 3 pointers in the game usually after a left hand move.

Both Groves and Gilchrest are quick and with good vision and gave some great assists i.e. they keep the ball alive, but give the ball off when appropriate.

Ng did'nt look the same player as I see in ABA where he dribbles/keeps the ball alive etc. In the first half I can't recall him putting the ball to the floor once or taking anyone on (team instructions?) , in the second he got some good shots mostly on the move. He also played pretty good defence.

Jacob played are very good game and I've finally figured out why some of his open shots look so awkward and unreliable - he starts his release from way in front of his face (most good shooters have it close to the forehead). This results in a pretty straight shot, but relatively flat and hard to have consistent air and length. He actually shot really well with a left turnaround jumper which coincidently resulted in a much closer to the head/eyes shot.
Come on Balls give Jacob some hints, if he could hit 3's consistently ALA Catalini at his prime he would be a complete player.

A: Yes!!! So far i like the Man!

Yes

Gillespie's ability to break a press was another pleasing thing to see.

Thanks for the tip on Garlepp

I noticed Gilchrist Gets pretty mad at himself if his shot doesn't drop or he get a silly foul...

Saw the game and below is my assessment of the playing personell.

Jacob Homes and Adam Ballinger outstanding.
Cortes Groves, Nathan Herbert, Tom Garlepp and John Gillespie well above average.
Darren Ng and David Cooper gave average performances.

We will be a good side provided AB stays fit. Burston hopefully will add the X factor that will take some of the load off his shoulders.

We seemed to have the devil's own job against a zone defence and our foul shooting has not improved. I liked the look of Garlepp's game and maybe it would be fortuitous if Dave Cooper suddenly lost interest in playing at NBL level.

Something got under Gilchrist's skin in the third which he took extremely personally. It provided an excellent few minutes of play.

Bring on the new season.

How am I supposed to know what kind of sound system the Dome has? alls I know is that today, it sounded terrible.

Why should I "not expect anything more" when I don't know what the Dome has to begin with? Why is it too much to expect a decently configured sound system, when in 3 weeks the season starts proper?

Give Skip a break, it was just a pre-season game...although I will say, regardless of the actual songs, the sound system sounded terrible and was up way too loud...during timeouts, 'Twist and Shout' and 'Nothing but a Hound Dog' were overbearing and annoying. Hopefully some more comprehensive sound checks are done before the season commences.

What's the story with Molly? Looks like he warmed the bench for the game.

It's good to get a pre-season win and to get the team plays down pat, but I am just concerned that we haven't heard about the U23 spot and now is the time for those guys to get some court time and impress

Word from my man in the West league was that Garlepp was a gun last season and very difficult to beat. Considering he got some minutes, should we expect an announcement this week?

Hawks also looked impressive so it was heartening to see our guys step up and get the win.

Gilchrist is lightning quick, I'm going to be watching all season for him getting into passing lanes and making steals.

About a thousand there. Gilchrist lit it up in the third with some wonderful steals,rebounds,pace and skills. Ballinger 20,Holmes 18 played great.
Groves with his 3pointers as well as a few from Ng and Herbert. They look pretty good to me.

Man that was a good game, and Gilchrist is impressive (lightning speeds) Cortez was on point and Balls was his usual self (dominant) and i thought Jacob played an awesome game too, all round good win by the boys...

Good one. Thanks for the updates.

Johnny G - 1 assist and 2 boards off a triple double!

Nice win by the 36ers. 92 - 78

We are down 42-39 at halftime

Thanks Skip

I'll try and give score updates.

Hill and Burston arent playing

Who is playing?

Oh and does anyone know if Hill is playing? i gather Burston's still out?