Hoops

NBL Ladder prediction

If the Kiwi team wins four in a row, does that mean they're allowed to rename it the ANBL?

I concur about Caddee, love the potential the bloke has and would love to see him succeed but if he doesn't blossom this season then you wonder if he ever will

#366

Dont mean to nitpick but you forgot C.Webster.;)

I think he will be their 3rd leading scorer this year maybe 2nd.
After the Ocenia series there should be no doubt about his scoring ability.
Just hope Vickerman plays him the minutes he deserves.

I think he should be first cab off the rank ahead of Bruton. He can play 1 or 2

"Surely Geordie's magic will run out one day"

Not so sure its magic or luck.

I think he has done what he has done in the past due to his coaching ability, hands down.

You can say he has had some really good imports and you can call that luck, but really recruitment is all part of the ability to coach.

He has picked up gems usually/guys that fit well with Forman, Davidson, Martin etc. purely because he is a good recruiter.

I agree with you Re: NZ. I could see them coming 3rd or 4th, but not top 2.

Don't think it will be because of not been used to Vickerman's style though, because he was AC and he will run all the same stuff and they will still play up-tempo.
Don't think it will be because of a lack of depth.

I can see them having a few bad offensive nights, and that's probably not a good thing because there is a lot of teams out there that will be quite high scoring. Don't think we will out-shoot as many teams as we have in the past. Especially given the offensive power of teams like ADE, MEL and PER

36ers, should win it all this Year!!
cant wait!!

NZ go more than 7 deep.

They have Webster, Bruton, Te Rangi, Lazare and Trueman on the bench.

So 1 NBL legend, 2 Tall Blacks, a player who knew his role at Perth and an import PF who is of starting quality or thereabouts.

NZ is just as deep as Adelaide.

Cadee v Bruton
Teys v Webster
Te Rangi v Creek
Lazare v BJ
Trueman v Schensher

Webster beats out Teys and Lazare beats out BJ.
Schensher probably beats out Trueman.
Creek and Te Rangi cancel themselevs out IMO.

I'm going with...

Perth
Cairns
Melbourne
Wollongong

Adelaide
New Zealand
Sydney
Townsville

The biggest question for me is who will finish 2nd between taipans and snakes and if Wollongong can rebound then I think they will make the playoffs but if they struggle on the boards again then I expect to see an Adelaide vs. Perth finals series to begin playoffs.
I think NZ are shot ducks and need a massive season from Abercrombie, which he just may give and Sydney and Townsville will be painful to watch for the most part unless they have injuries and are able to replace with better players... I'm expecting Kevin White to come close to Most Improved Player and Cairns to be on top of the table going into the all-star break. I won't make any predictions as to MVP maybe Goulding, Abercrombie or Rotnei Clarke

Adelaide
Perth
NZ
Cairns

Melbourne
Wollongong
Sydney
Townsville


Top 4 have got good lineups ,esp adelaide and perthwith new imports and coaches and players.going to be an even season.

Blitz next week will tell by results .dunno if some teams are just testing players in positions or taking it seriously.

Adelaide go down to 8-9 player dept
Perth can go 7 deep providing ennis stay whole season .
Nz will depends on imports performances can go 7 deep.
Cairns same as Nz 7 deep

Other teams weak bench rely on staring 5 players.

NZ won't be top 2, but the road trip will still be hard. They might win say 20% on road, but 70% at home? Meaning they could end up 5th or 6th.

My money is Townsville to get the spoon.

1. Melbourne.
2. Perth.
3. Adelaide.
4. NZ
5. Cairns
6. Wollongong
7. Townsville
8. Sydney

Think this season will be more even this year. Cairns, Adelaide and Melbourne have clearly improved but both have their flaws like everyone else. Only teams I can't see making the four are Townsville and Sydney.
Townsville just aren't talented enough I think and Madgen will miss too much time for Sydney.
Breakers have regressed slightly I think though and Wollongong it comes down to their imports.
All speculation though. Lets just wait and see!

Sydney have lost several key players including Ian Crosswhite, Corin Henry and Darnell Lazare, Charles Carmouche projects to be a role player, Madgen is out with injury for the start of the season and you predicted that Jesse Sanders will be the biggest import bust... what about this offseason puts Sydney ahead of New Zealand, Wollongong or Cairns?

Don't you have homework to do?