Hoops

Boti grades the NBL teams

Don't have much to disagree about with Boti's team ratings.

Can't say anything bad about Adelaide at all, perfect at home and respectable on the road, massive improvement across the outfit.

Kings grade for the second half of the year will depend entirely on what Heal can come up with to solve their playmaking weakness, but a C/C- seems to fit for the moment. Definitely feel like they have underachieved in this last few rounds.

Crocs have done well on the court with their limited budget, Dennis is looking good as a coach.

Cairns may have turned a corner, but the hole they've already dug is very serious.

Wollongong were never going to be world beaters, but Gordie has them plugging along, embarrassing people here and there. Already reached the number of wins that the Pythagorean expectations Lobpass to Abercrombie ran earlier in the year predicted, so that's a plus.

Breakers, well, I don't think anyone is going to stand up for the 4-9 record. Not a great return on talent. The gap between is and should be is too large for anything but a D score at best.

As for the Wildcats ... well, don't think they could have reasonably performed any better. Much stronger squad than last year with a beautiful chemistry. That squad means expectations have to be high, but I think they've exceeded them, 6-0 at home and 6-1 on the road is as good as it gets.

I want to stand up for Mitch Norton, I think he has a brought future and if he wasn't playing for Townsville then I think he could easily find a roster spot in Perth, Cairns, Sydney or Melbourne... But as for the rest of Townsville's squad they will be better when Djeric and PC can understand their roles better within the Dennis system and who could knock back Julian Khazzouh playing up there... It would be great and hopefully Mick and 5000 other Crocs fans would enjoy it too (each game)

Lastly we haven't had Perth vs. Townsville so far this season (only preseason) so that makes it hard to judge the Crocs just yet but them wins over the breakers were lovely

Last two posters nailed it.

Crocs B-
Tigers C+ (taking into account they lost Dennis in the preseason)

Last point was me. Apologies

With the Sixers players, tend to agree with most points:

BJ Anthony (B) Solid off the bench, great hustle, not really doing much wrong and getting better than career stats. Agree with the B.

Jason Cadee (B-) Tend to agree with the casual comment a bit. A B- seems a bit harse....needs to prove Uncle Boti wrong.

Mitch Creek (B) Not doing much wrong. Needs minutes, but from whom? B+

Gary Ervin (A) Definitely the glue that holds the team together and his performances have been why the Sixers are where they area. A+

Jarrid Frye (C+) Ouch! Much better than that. Must work on his FT's and general shooting. Can't complain about his hustle or defence. I'ld give him a B- only because the Western Magic U23 girls can shoot better FTs

Adam Gibson (A-) Woking well with Gary Ervin. A-.

Daniel Johnson (A) Agree with that. A

Anthony Petrie (A) Does a lot of the little 1 percenters that don't show up on the stat sheet that helps the team. A.

Luke Schenscher (B+) Certainly better under Joey and making most of the minutes. Only a B though.

Brendan Teys (U) He's the 10th man in a nine man roster. Would like to see more minutes, but when he is on court he is following instructions and seems to be doing it well.


Joey Wright (A) A breath of fresh air. I think him and KB make a really good match and balance - a real yin/yan. Mark him down as an A (close to an A+ if he gets the flag) and KB as a B+


I would also rate GM Dean Parker and his team with a A as well. He has done a lot of things right off the court and that translates to on-court success.

lets not forget the Team Manager -anyone who picks up one of Gibbo's smelly jock straps definitely gets an A+

I think the league ratings are fine, maybe a bit higher for Crocs. The Adl ratings seem a bit high, especially Cadee and Schenscher.

The Breakers have been out of sorts and an F would be appropriate considering the talent they have. Similarly with Cairns. Each Cairns player on paper looks good, but the sum of the whole is worth less than the sum of the parts.

Crocs deserve a B, The Hawks have been a train wreck with injuries etc, but continue to punch above their weight so a B- is warranted considering the team's talent and challenges faced.

Sydney seem to be a bit like that bright kid that's lazy. You expect them to set the world on fire, but just seem to do enough to pass. The lazy student's adage "If you got 51%, you overstudied"

Tigers are the odd ones out. Hard to grade because some performances have been A+, others a D.

Perth rate hotter than a step-sister in a skimpy bikini after a few cruisers. Just seem to be doing all the things right and have momentum.

BJ should get a B+/A- rating.

In terms of doing exactly what he was brought in to do, he has been better than a B IMO.



Also, Crocs deserve better than a C..much better.

With that lineup, a 4-7 record is exceptional.

Beat the 36ers, Breakers twice and thumped the Tigers.

And even in their losses they have lost by 2 points, 5 points, 7 points and 4 points.

Really competitive. I would be inclined to give them an A rating to be honest!