Hoops

Brett Maher Court a "toxic" environment

All this 'toxic environment' talk is just an excuse or distraction, depending on who's driving it and why.

During games [any game] the crowd reacts to what is happening on the court, not the other way 'round.

I have never seen a crowd 'lift' a team, nor make it play worse. Have seen it work the other way 'round, though.

A crowd feeds off and interacts with the team, but that realtionship always begins with the team, or at least what is happening on the court, not in the seats.

Someone who knows a former team mate. Reckons he takes so many pills he rattles like a maraca.

I don't want to spoil your thunder....break it.

It doesn't involve a Richmond Tigers player does it Vespa?

Ballinger got supported even though he played for the tigers on Sunday. Many we're cheering for him when he hit shots and even when he blocked Petrie in the 4th, I was one of those many. Could we not be hostile enough towards opposition.
I'm a little dissapointed in his comments towards the fans as yes the arena can be hostile especially when you turn on the fans that used to support you, just ask Julius.

It shows mentally players need different things, Flynn loved the hostility towards him and even baited the crowd, may be we should have bood ballinger and he may not have hit 8 of 9 shots.

Sixers management need to ask the team what they like during a game as obviously everything needs reviewing..

BJF, You are correct with Marty. I think there a lot of people who think he is a good coach, in fact a great coach, but there is consensus that his big weakness seems to be his inability to make changes to his plan on game night and to react to his counterpart coach's changing plans. He is too rigid and too set in his ways. People have commented "it's his way or the highway" which is a good characteristic to have in a skills coach where weaknesses need to be identified and things done a particular way.

Marty would be well complimented with an assistant who is a sneaky thinker who can pick up on the subtle changes in a game on game night and change the strategy accordingly. Seems consensus is that between him and his current assistant, there is a massive black hole in this area.

Comparing Marty to Shane Heal, a lot of people would say that Marty is a much better coach than Heal, but Heal is more cunning and has the street smarts of a 14 yo runaway from Daveron Park. Heal is more successful (sadly) than Marty and so the need for street smarts is highlighted.

NZ Breakers. Lemanis seems to be more animated than most coaches, but Vickerman appears to be the emotional rudder that steers strategy on game night.



BJF, please tell me they are your initials and not " B Job Friday"

Can't polish a turd really... Getting 3500+ crowds to watch a team that has won one game from the last fourteen starts is epic and a credit to the true blue supporters of this club. I'm looking forward to next year (sans turd).
ps BOX OUT...!

@Anon404006, spot on.

@Anon404008, another unfortunate side-effect of being a fan. Blurring the lines of common sense and frustration. You're on the mark.

@Marcus Camby, While your comments are valid and many of them are good; labelling the entire Sixers fanbase as 'Bile and Venomous' is going over the top mate.

Some of us have and always will support the team through thick and thin. The unfortunate side effect of being a long-term fan of a sport allows us to understand the game just as must as the people playing it.

While people like myself aren't going to abuse the sh*t out of the talent or coaching staff via personal attacks; we are always going to critique some of the decisions that are made during and after the game. Sports fans tend to enjoy doing that. It's the unfortunate side effect of being a passionate basketball fan and a passionate sixers supporter.

" Who'd wanna play here ." I heard somebody shout !
It was a Sunday afternoon with a little bitta Guy Sebastion unplugged , Perth were introduced to 1 clap
and loud applause for the sixers intro .
Absolute silence for a Perth great play .
Cortez Groves came off the bench and we shot about 8 points in 4o seconds . I was hoping that the roof would stay on.
Catalini tunnelled Cortez who thought it was Schenscher and threw the ball at him . It was electric out there .

While the dancing girls did put off 1 or 2 free throws
this season , Jacob Holmes swished his in to take narrow win against us .

So, one major session of booing, and an apparent joke at the expense of Radford, and the crowd is "toxic"?

I was there on Sunday and heard absolutely no negativity or even jeering. Yes, the mood did change in the 3rd quarter, but can you honestly expect anything different from a supporter base that almost expects that capitulation in the 2nd half of games now? That being said, even with the mood change, there was still no booing or jeering. There was still chants of "defense" and "Sixers". There was still cheering at good plays. What would you like us to do? Suit up? Bring a sniper rifle and shoot Seth Scott?

Don't like being booed by your home fans? Don't ever play football at Old Trafford or Anfield then. If they lose, heck, even if they are down at half time sometimes, and played badly they will cop it!

I'm so over this blaming of the fans. Yes, it's our fault you can't execute in the 2nd half. It's our fault you can't hit open shots. It's our fault none of you will drive to the hole when the shots aren't dropping. It's our fault that you guys WON'T box out when your heads are down. It's our fault that not one of you will take the bull by the horn and make your team-mates better when the going gets tough. It's our fault that your coach won't call a momentum-stopping time out until the opposition has pulled back a 10 point lead. It's our fault that you started the season 5-2. It's our fault that you have lost 13 of 14. It's our fault that we are sick of this coach. It's our fault that we are frustrated. PLEASE, don't take any blame yourselves, and PLEASE, once you leave town bitterly, make sure you tell all players how HORRIBLE it is to play here in Adelaide. Ingrates.

Whatever. This "team" is dead to me until changes are made. "Toxic", huh?

I said it in the 'Radford Quote' thread, when you're the face of the organization, expect to cop all of the abuse.

Granted, there is a level of abuse which is downright over-the-top and shouldn't be uttered by anyone, but just accept the fact that it happens.

As a club, you can't influence the personality of your fans, you can only influence their support. That comes from winning games and proving your worth on the court and in public.

As for the 'Toxic' environment, why would anyone complain about how hard it is to play in Adelaide? If you can handle the pressure of playing at Perth Arena in front of 11,000 die-hard fans who are all against you, then clearly playing in front of 5000 Sixers fans who know their basketball should be a cakewalk right?

As a 'knowledgable fan', I am of this opinion: Regardless of what sport or league you are in, you as either a coach or a player are paid a huge amount of money to play a sport for six months of the year. The more you get paid, I would assume means you are actually skilled; not only in the fundamentals of said sport, but also capable of handling the pressure of close games, hostile crowds and public appearances.

When you're running a 2/3 zone against a perimeter shooting team for more than a half of basketball and wonder why you lost by 11 points, it shouldn't be a surprise.

When you're trying to rebound a ball and you aren't attempting to create a safety zone by boxing out to allow either you or another team-mate to get the ball; you shouldn't need to wonder why you were out-rebounded by 15-20 boards.

If players are upset about the fact that 'some' of us fans can actually see blatant holes in your team play and we call you out on it, here's two points to consider:

1) Don't ever consider playing in any league in Europe. I doubt you could handle the death threats and object throwing (knives, bottles etc.)

2) Don't pretend you support the coach. I understand the need to show the community that you're one big happy family; but it doesn't take a telepath to know that something isn't right in the Club as far as how you feel (and I'm not talking about the 'fans' here).

I got the impression of the 36ers fastest scorer being the most popular with the crowd , but limited minutes , while the league's worst player for the team's +/- plays the most minutes every game in a losing team .

I know the team would rather be on the Road and that’s not a good thing.
And i think while we sit back and let a few Tools yell out abuse at our own team we are part of the Problem, time to show some Ball's and tell these few clown to F##@ Off if they don’t like it.

Agree with all BJF said. My thoughts are that if you can take the good you can definately take the bad and we have been fortunate to experience fantastic times and whilst this is a tough period good times will come , I have no doubt.Unfortunately the armchair fans forget that players/coaches are humans and make errors and with social media they definately talk and could definately see it harm our prospects going forward with recruitment of players , coaches and the like so maybe what our assistant coach is spot on...

Actually, I disagree with these comments. Talk like that is just a self fulfilling prophecy. You talk about a toxic environment and you create what you desire and what you talk about. It's a good way to psych out your opponent and it's a clever wedge to put between the team and the supporters. I congratulate AB for his subtle plan to create division.

90% of professional sport is between the ears. Failure at a high level is not because you don't necessarily have the skills, most failure is because an athlete doesn't believe in themselves or has been psyched out by their opponent. They start doubting themselves instead of believing in themselves. They start focussing on the downside instead of the next opportunity. The missed shot is history, the most important thing is your next shot.

The comments are valid in so much as they expose the risk that doubt in the minds of players is toxic and gives the opposition an edge.

I have seen some fantastic basketball by the Sixers at home this season, and seen some shocking basketball. The difference that stands out between the good and the bad is that when the Sixers are playing good basketball, they are believing in themselves, keeping it simple and taking calculated risks. When they are playing bad basketball, it seems as though no-one is willing to take a risk or be aggressive, or believe in themselves. The cancer of doubt has taken over.

At the risk of firing the first shot in the Marty bash, when times are tough, inspirational words are needed, not complicated plans on a whteboard. The Sixers have been up at half time in most of their games this season, they have taken it to the best in the league and been the thorn in the side of teams. But, when the momentum starts to swing away, it's time for inspirational words in a timeout to keep the momentum on the right side. It's too late once the momentum has swung and the pendulum of doubt has whacked you in the guts, a lead has been lost, and they are now in the box seat. When that has happened, trying to get control back is like trying to catch a falling knive while balancing on a yoga ball. Panic sets in.

Is the Arena a toxic environment? For opposition teams it should be, for refs who make dud decisions it should be, for the Sixers? No, it should be a place where they are Kings of the World for 40 mins. There's one home game left this season, if it is a toxic environment, then let's make it a toxic environment for the Taipans.

Hahaha. Blame the fans - yes Mr. Ballinger, the fans are to blame for 5 years of lacklustre performances, suspect coaching, last quarter fadeouts (of which Mr. Ballinger was on the team for more than a couple).

I've been to 2 games this season (after being a season ticket holder for 5+ years), both early season games, 1 win and 1 frustrating, but acceptable loss where the team at least showed some fight. I have no idea what the crowd's been like since then; but if they're negative, then it's due to to years of poor performance from both players and coaches.

THe NEW dates have been decided & nominations have been sent out - HOPE TO SEE YOUR NOMINATION SOON
Port Pirie Senior Blitz Country Carnival Nomination Forms