Hoops

Breakers vs 36ers, March 30

At this game , of our 4 point guards , I liked Bruce.
Somebody said, ' I'd like to mention that Aaron Bruce, another great point guard that Australia keeps producing, is doing a wonderful job at guarding Penney.'

Isaac, the anonymous poster who was complaining about language did swear twice in that very same post. That is just hypocritical.

Not to derail this thread further, but there's a significant disparity between the language and grammar levels of people reasonably discussing all options in an intelligent and objective manner and those verbally berating Isaac as apparently being unquestionably completely incorrect for espousing a differing view from main stream opinion.

Just sayin'.

Since when was Oscar not wanted here, anyway? IIRC, he left at the same time as the club was up for sale, or when Mal had just bought it. Either way, the club's ongoing existence was looking pretty shaky at the time and you couldn't blame anyone for looking for a more-secure position.

Isaac is correct.

Ballinger minus a proper support cast (defenders / leadership) = the last few season's results.

Ballinger with a proper support cast would be awesome.

With back to back horrendous years, no one should be off limits.

Once people calm down and look at things objectively, they may eventually come around.

I'm not saying cut him, I'm saying without the right pieces around him, strap in for more of what we're currently experiencing.

And complaining about language when you are the worst offender in the thread is just hypocritical.

Isaac can defend himself, but honestly anon, I can't see anywhere where he hasn't been moderate in his views and supported his views (however misconceived you may think they are) with some reasoning. You are free to disagree (as many do) but if you want any credibility attack the arguments not the person.

Balls is a very capable ball player, but he clearly has substantial weaknesses, one of which unfortunately is to keep being associated with losing teams. Is that his fault? Maybe, maybe not. But surely he is big enough a person to take some constructive criticism, and if not, then that is his problem.

As for +/-, at the end of the day it is just an interesting stat (like EFF) that only tells part of a story. Its main weakness is that in a losing, dysfunctional team, statistically the biggest minuses should go to those players who have spent the most time on court. The corollary applies to winning, successful teams, where the greatest plusses should go to those players who spent the most time on court. I personally think a +/- per 40 mins would be a better statistic, but that still relies on overall team performance.

So Ball's +/- stat is likely skewed because he is a starting 5 player who spent a lot of time on court on, lets face it, a shite team. It does not necessarily mean that Balls (-122) is a worse player than Penney (plus 200 something). But it does tell you something about the respective teams they are on.

Every statistic is only as good as the way you use it.

Anon #313719,

Try looking more than 1-dimensional when it comes to gameplay and players.

Unfortunately the +/- statistic is useful in determing what sets are your most productive and who aren't. It doesn't take away anything from players as individuals, but certainly helps determine who should run on court with another.

I thought the same as you about +/-; but you need to look past it an realize the that the value is their rating when playing as a team, and doesn't necessarily explain how good or bad they actually are.

And for the record, Analytics is becoming a bigger tool across all sports, better get used to it; cause every code will be using this sort of stat soon.

You can have someone like DJ come on during at 10pt surge in one quarter, then have him play the final where the opposition run 12 unanswered points. The team may still win in and DJ will finish with -2 +/- but it doesn't mean he was a bad defender nor a burden on the team.

Bruce came on , swished a three , some nice feeds to Dowdell, looked pretty good.
Put the jets on CJ, but missed the lay up.
The fourth was anticlimactic.
We looked so very tired, physically, couldn't get lay-ups in.
Clarke's training is very tough.

(But, I remembered , last season , the team fade outs in the fourth (many) and our players thought they were pretty fit but said it was a mental thing, not being able to finish.)

Let me put it this way .. Harris still looks very raw.
There's a bit there with the dunks, blocks and blocking the lane. Hill has no hope driving on him.
That's funny to watch.
But then he does a few silly things as well , and he's about 27.. looks a lot younger.. been around for awhile but still raw.
Might be worth trying him up in the forward goal square, to see if he can kick a few or a bitta rucking.

The Breakers are a good example of a team that can still get boards without been too reliant on a 'genuine center'. Sure they have Pledger but the key is that they can get rebounds from their guards and small forwards..

Boucher, Vukona (exceptional rebounder for 6"5/6"6), Abercrombie, Wilkinson, BJ Anthony.

Creek has a bright future..Im not doubting that..He has freakish athleticism and strength you cannot teach.
However, there are quite big holes in his game and one major issue that could hinder his career..(What position will he play?)

Obviously he is too small to play the 4 spot, but yet he does not possess the shooting abilities to play the 3 spot. Obviously, he needs to get alot of shots up over the off-season and develop his perimeter game.

For the Emus, he has played the 4 spot and excelled because he was able to use his speed and athleticism to exploit 'mismatches'(e.g. Albert Schweitzer). This is a professional mens league though, so that is unacheiveable here.

He actually reminds me of a young Tom Abercrombie..When he was 18, he was a terrible shooter and nothing more than a "volleyballer playing basketball"..He has improved unbelievably since then on his shooting, penetration (1st step quickness), shooting off the dribble and his handle

Agreed Anon but we'll never know. He's a head strong coach with a stubborn ego & he showed it again tonight. It was like an ABA side with Balls, similar to Kazoo & Sydney. Injuries impact all clubs & the back up must be solid. Imports - atrocious! If i were a pro baller i would not want to go to Adelaide!

I think every sixer missed their lay-ups in the teams usual fade out in the fourth.
Didn't really look like scoring .
Bruce fed a few underneath and shannon eventually broke the duck.
Ball carrier, Bruce ,called twice for pushing off the guard ! Haven't seen that for a very long time.
As you mention , PeterJohn.
I don't believe they called a lot, the last time he was here , playing NBL , a few seasons ago.

Isaac & Kingjames i understand both your points but i think this is where Clarke gets in trouble. I remember Brett Brown put the best 1 2 3 4 5 combo together in Sydney & they fell short of the playoffs (Woodberry got injured as well). You can read too much into that sometimes. Playing Balls & DJ would be worth knowing the result but give it a chance to work. They are grown men (not AIS students) & sometimes the coach needs 2 remember its a game & enjoying it is important. I would hate Clareke as a coach, just like i hated Brett Brown! Shut up & let us play.....

We did look out of gas in the fourth and that's disappointing. Its not like any of these guys are being expected to play for 38 mins plus as stars commonly did when we played 48 min games.

We need to have a much fitter squad next season and to that end, it'd be nice if the injury bug copped a solid dose of Mortein.

I know there is a lot of things wrong with this team, but please, for the love of god Marty, get some guys who can shoot next season!

Poor Hill. absolute nothing went right for him.

The Breakers lead stays at 5 at the end of the 3rd.

For the Sixers:

DJ with 24 points, 12 rebounds
Dowdell with 11 points

For the Breakers:

Abercrombie with 23 points, 5 rebounds
Penney with 11 points

3 points in 4 minutes..............must be the 3rd quarter

Anon - The camera showed the ref turning to the score bench and signalling a 'T' on #14, so I would assume that means a tech was called....

Breakers lead the Sixers by 5 at the half: 50 - 45

Eddie Shannon picked up a technical on a Breakers inbounds pass (1.2 secs on the clock) for stepping over the line.

gee i cant watch game up here but DJ must be doin good again,pity he got splinters for most of the season.

Big Ads smirks at the comments from "Earth quake" and then questions the appropriateness of the pseudonym

Decent game so far, with the Sixers clearly looking to pump it inside to DJ, and use quick ball movement to create open shots.

Breakers leading 30 - 22 at the end of the first.

On a side note, I have already seen Penney slip on the court decal in the key, as well as Bruce slipping over just over mid-court.

Is the court surface an issue? Should the league be looking into this to ensure no injuries can occur to the players??

2 fouls on Rhys Carter in the first quarter...
That could be big down the stretch

Wilkinson is OUT (Flu) for tonight's game, and Penney apparently went through a rigorous fitness test before the game.

Hoping the Sixers can pull off a win, would definitely be helpful for my bank account...

Cheers Anon!!!

Is this game on onehd tonight or tomorrow night? I'm getting conflicting stories...

The stars have somewhat aligned for a possible sixers win. Lets not talk winning form prior to finals blah, blah, blah, why would the Breakers care about this game. I expect plenty of time from their bench players which might be inspiration enough for the Breakers. But.......I'd like to believe the Sixers starters are better than the Breaker's second unit.

I'm not a betting man but I am tempted to spill some cash on this one as I believe the sixers will win.

Yes, I am thinking a wise coach would protect the big guns for the final series. The result means nothing to the Breakers per se, and so I am thinking we could see them do just the bare minimum to be competitive rather than risk an injury that limits their chances of a flag.

No nothing like that mate, just letting others have their say!

Mal will be on at half time during the game tonight that is being audio streamed on www.abc.net.au/adelaide from 1900

An lengthy interview with Phil will be posted on the same web site on Friday afternoon.

Lets hope for a win tonight!!!