Hoops

R2: Adelaide v Melbourne

With Creek out it really is make or break time for Johnson in my opinion. The guy is the senior local player and so needs to step up and take a major leadership role. If not he's bench material and cut at the end of the season [probably can't do it mid season, sadly] in my opinion.

I hope he comes through - grows up and accepts the responsibility he must assume if the team is to be competitive, but I'm not holding my breath.

The guy presents as physically and mentally weak. Really looks to me like he needs to be doing a lot of really focused skills work and tough 1-on-1 stuff to toughen him up [big challenge!] and improve his shooting technique, particularly inside, where he seems to almost invariably lose possession; probably because he seems more interested in dropping the ball and throwing his hands in the air with the aim of drawing a foul [which seldom happens] than completing the shot.

Not sure if the problem is with his hands or his head - perhaps both - but quite apart from his propensity for simply dropping the ball, there are some noticeable technique issues with his close-in shooting - wrist action and point of release are obvious starting points - which I would hope the coaches would be able to address. The mental stuff, which is possibly the real issue - is obviously much harder to deal with.

All that said - Creek's enforced absence leaves a big leadership gap that needs to be filled. There is also a scoring need but the leadership is more important,in my opinion. This unfortunate situation presents a significant opportunity for Johnson to step up and lead as well as perform, if he's up to it.

Minimum salary would suit him just fine until he performs

Creek on instagram says he could be 6-8 weeks out

Yep what zodiac said. It's a high number for a non performer. This missed free throws were brutal on the eye.

I don't know the figure but I dare say he would be on more than $60K as it was considered a real coup to lure him over here.

Tom he is on much $100kish, $60k you wish and yes that would be more appropriate.

^^^ the word in the Croatian community is he's on $110g.

Drmic is not on 100k a year, he'd be around the 60k mark along with Deng. Randle needs to be paired with another offensive creator like how Gibbo was last season. Ferguson definitely needs more minutes, Teys should not be playing starters minutes, for someone who has the ball that much should actually do something with it, Sobey should start ahead of him IMO. Getting as much time into Majok Deng as well so he can eventually replace DJ will be very important for our future.

Mosquito fleet won't be getting it done this year.

Yep yep ya know it.

Bottom as predicted

Either way, with Creek potentially injured for a short time, they really lack size. Please don't say BJ Anthony short term, and please don't say Walker short term.

If creek is gone can they put him on injury waivers or something of that ilk.

Is there a source for the Creek diagnosis/prognosis?

Its not so much over faith in Drmic, im not saying he will be a superstar, i just think the lack of ball movement, plays run for shooters, etc makes it hard for him to succeed, and im confident given his pedigree that he could fill atleast a Darren Ng type role if used correctly, like look at his junior/college career, you dont just forget to play, but if a shooter doesnt get shots he gonna look bad.

Yes the challenge is on Drmic to evolve and more round his game to contribute anyway, but yea would help if you got your shooters a couple of looks, i feel the same with Ferguson, they dont do a great job of getting him looks, but he is able to create more for himself with his atheticism and skill. It reminds me how Marty Clarke miss used guys like Howard, who was a very skilled offensive player and scorer, but he just stood him in the corner and made him a jump shooter, and wondered why he didnt succeed. Just like that situation im sure Joey could get more out of Ferguson and Drmic, and even Randle and DJ if the ball moved more fluently.,

I hope Drmic isnt on 100k tho, but i guess he could be, he had a strong junior and college career so may have had a few teams looking at him.

I agree Teys is rock solid and needs to play and Sobey is decent sg prospect and very athletic, a bit of a mini mitch creek/Goulding type, but i dont think he is a pg, which is something the team lacks, not really his fault

My frustration i guess is more with Joeys team selection and the way he using some of these guys than the players themselves.

Creek broken foot? Joey just found his scapegoat... time to get some business based decisions made. 6 weeks without creek is the season gone. Someone has to be cut to make room for a decent replacement. Drimics 100k could come in handy

Captain Jack, each to their own, but your faith in Drmic is unfounded. Teys is solid and Drmic is not! It's as simple as that. Not sure where your getting the love for Drmic from based on current form. Sobey is a constant threat that is great in the 2, but can push to the one for some mins also. What erratic plays did he make last night? One play I thought he could have taken Ced Jackson to the basket instead of pull up, which would have brought the game to three, but other than that?

Drmic is not a great defender, not fast, not athletic, but can shoot....well, sometimes, but not in the last three months anyway.

I dont trust Sobey as a pg for large minutes just yet,

I think he would be better as a sg along side a steady point guard

he is very athletic, can play, but very erratic

He makes some brilliant plays, but also some costly plays which cancel out or over come his brilliant plays

Drmic passed the ball off when not in a position to shoot, Sobey forced a few up, yes even some went in but overall some were not good shots

I see Teys, Sobey, Doyle as the 3 that should be playing the least, but given Teys is our best defender and a steady hand Joey needs to play him more, ie why i think we need a steady, pass first, defensive pg on the team, as close to Darnell Mee as possible,

Captain Jack, I think it's clear that with minutes, Sobey can produce. Drmic had his chance last night too. He is simply not fast enough.

Damm thats a huge loss

Creek was shaping for a good season and to be our best player,

He was already our most important imo.

This should open up more minutes and shots for Deng, Drmic, Ferguson, please joey dont just play Teys and Sobey more.

Creek broken foot. Out six weeks

Those attributes were also present during the successful Smyth days too.

Not coincidence imo.

Yep im happy with 1-1 v melbourne

the concerns i said have nothing to do with wins and losses for this season so far, just want to see some processes that we are building to grow the team moving forward.

Im not even anti DJ and Randle, but we do need to combine them with the right players and structures if we are going to build around them

Its no secret why Perth have been sooo good the past few decades

Have a team that plays defense, some strong big bodies up front who control the paint, guards that defend, a scorer or 2, and in recent years a dynamic versatile swingman who plays both ends and scores well.

Captain Jack- Thank you !

I agree re the lack of ball movement and defense, and alot of this would have to be Joeys responsibility to fix.

Unfortunately these things are not the biggest strengths of Randle and DJ who are our big money players, so to cover this they have to score heavily, like 50 points between them for us to have much chance to win games, Randle also has to get around the 5 assist mark, so there is at least some ball movement, imo in his better games last season he moved the ball more

I think we need to use Randle as the Maher type SG and get a Darnell Mee type pg who defends and moves the ball, would give us more offensive flow imo.

I think Drmic can play, but how is he going to get any rhythm or score much when he gets zero offense run for him and only gets like 2 shots, he isnt selfish so doesnt force it, which is good, he competes hard imo, so im ok with him, i always wonder how good he would look in a offense similar to how Smyth used to use Darren Bg, i think we would think a lot more of him in that case.

Ferguson too, he would look even better with more ball movement, i personally think we should play him 30+ minutes a game, treat him like he is our chris goulding ie get him the ball and plenty of shots and see what he can do, he can flat out shoot, and seems to have a decent basketball iq and not a ball hog, so i think this would help us win more, not the other way round and be fun to watch the kid play.

Majok Deng needs to play too, see if we can develop him to the NBL's Garnett or something.

If we are not going to make the playoffs these things would make the season worth while and fun to watch imo.

Im not down on these guys as a result of the losses, its the lack of structure and utilizing some guys strengths that concerns me more.

If we had all the processes going well and could see the structure they were trying to achieve at both ends then id be fine with it win/lose, cos we have one of the youngest and cheapest rosters in the NBL, given the value and depth of Melbournes roster they should beat us, so not concerned by that, the lack of ball movement and obvious structures is a bit concerning imo, that is what i want joey to fix, and if these guys cant get it done, then he needs to recruit some different mold of players, ie a bigger bodied, pass first pg, a centre who is a big body, controls the paint at both ends, even if its a Jervis/Brandt type if the Ogilvy/Jawai types are not gettable. Given the money we are said to be paying Randle and DJ, i dont think it would have been completely impossible to sign someone like Ced Jackson and have a crack at someone like Ogilvy or Brandt or Jervis. As score first pg/c who are not strong and not good defenders dont typically win championships no matter how good at offense they are.

Only 3 games in, so things will likely get better, in 6 weeks they will look twice as good, but many of these issues are not new to the 36ers.

Adelaide are apparently broke but the money I keep hearing some of these guys are on is astounding. Drimic especially for his out put.

#602138 - Cairns signed Weeks (probably on less money then what Brisbane offered Bruce).

I'd agree Joey isn't a very good coach. Adelaide have regressed every year he has been here. Without the already solidified talent he has issues with the fundamentals. Just calls sub after sub and stamps his foot like he is in a coach carter type movie. Sooner we have a new voice the better.

Anonymous, what do you mean by that ? He's signed for two years isn't he ?

What are they going to do if he continues to struggle a bit ? Release him ?

He just needs a go and something to get him going. i don't like Joey's rotations. Guys like Drmic need more than just aimless spurts off the bench. They need to try and give him some kind of role. Either way it's too early for anyone to doubt Drmic in the same way its too early for me to question if he's being properly used after just three games. Let's see how we go first.

I want too see more penetration and dish from Randle. I liked the way he found Deng in the final part of the game. Is the coaching properly harnessing his ability to create ? I like him as a more balanced playmaker as opposed to someone who is just instructed to pull up and get hot. We should have a better system for shooters with a guy like Randle coupled with TF, AD, and DJ spacing the floor.

I would think drmic would be on pretty good dollars, otherwise would've gone to play in Croatia, it's ok to say give him time but at present hasn't shown anything so not certain how much time is required.

Agree with you Master Chief.
Drmic will prove himself. He showed leadership last night when our defence was
failing again. He was directing defence to try and cover the perimeter where we
are very weak.
It was also good to see him give DJ a spray when he showed lack of commitment
in getting into position to take a pass.
So sad to see DJ go missing at crucial times last night.
This very young group will get better with experience.
I expect the second half of the year to be better but hope the horse hasn't bolted.

Just be patient with Drmic. He's clearly just down on confidence and doesn't appear to have a clear role. He can play.

Adelaide isn't a great system for shooters. They don't move the ball or try to generate anything for guys like Drmic or Ferguson. There needs to be more screening and much better spacing for these two guys to be effective. I also think the paint is too crowded for the bigs to properly operate.

Defensively we CAN'T keep surrendering easy looks from range. Adelaide are seriously poor at the defensive end and it doesn't look like they've learnt much from previous seasons.

Did anyone who doubted EJ after five minutes notice his value last night? The hustle, rebounding and effort. You can easily notice the difference in the way he can defend the post without fouling and alter shots at the same time. It's great to finally have someone like that.

Speaking of not being able to coach, Cairns didn't retain Bruce and signed top knot, great choice!

Adelaide are really going to struggle in games where they are not up by a big margin late in the th, because they 4have a young team and Joey cannot coach.All he does is bitch and whine.

In Cairns, we have a mantra for Joey. "Shut up, Joey."" I don't think he appreciates the dedication it takes for us to gently repeat this mantra every time he bitches or whines to the refs that they won't turn the game his way (because he can't). He still gets a tech most times the 36ers play in Cairns, because he can't coach basketball.

one thing we are all missing here is how bad basic fundamentals were in this game!
6ers 68% from the ft line Melb 52%
and some of the turn overs (from both teams)
I understand this isnt the NBA but jeez guys practice a jump stop and a free throw every now and then

And onto DJ maybe he needs a change of scenery, dude should try again in Europe, he has played for the 6ers for 6 years now. Change might be a good thing for him

Jacobsen played well in the 4th stuffing stats! but in the 3rd he looked tired as, not getting over the half on some offensive breaks

If Sobey had consistent minutes, not spurratic 1-2 min bursts, he could be a great energy guy. I read someone's comment saying if he has his 'head checked' he'd be good. I feel that, although that point holds some weight, any player that gets rotated in and out after small errors on a consistent basis, starts to overthink things. IMO, let him loose on the wings, attack the rim, get to the line, and stick J's! Can be a huge asset!

Dr-mic, doesn't seem to have the strength or athleticism to get his shot off properly, or even use the skills he has. He played tonight like he did all pre-season, and many people think he is not at the level. I feel he could be eventually at the level, but needed to be a DP, rather than a highly paid guy.

DJ started the game well, then went missing. I feel that with a distributing point guard import (that can score a bit too) he would shine again. JHR, overdribbles and freezes guys out, so that offten when the opportunity arises, guys don't look ready. Analitically, JHR takes some of the worst shots in basketball, long 2's over a hand without ball movement. This takes away a little something called momentum, not just because of makes or misses (that's important too), but because others start watching, and the energy level becomes low! I'd like an Adris Deleon type player for my money. With that, you could spend more on the 5man import!

They will be up and down all season, but will have patches of greatness. Mitch's return will be crucial!

And you can sit there with a straight face and suggest that a) he doesn't have a go at the refs all that often and b) when he does,he's teched immediately?

Yep, every game. Your point

Have you ever seen Joey Wright coach before?

On another point. Shame on Melbourne and Demopolous. With that roster talent and experience they should have wiped the floor against a Creekless Sixers. I have to wonder if the first quarter interesting calls and inconsistency between refs and ends was to protect D's job. How he got away with barking face to face at the ref twice and not given a tech is beyond me.. Joey would have just approached them looking sideways and received a double in rapid fire and an eviction. Highly suspicious.

No 1 issue is we lack a pure PG with a calm head. Underestimate Gibbos value. Only see Doyle and Johns as PG's, rest are SG's or lack maturity, small 3's. We need some weight in the post and boxouts. Is BJ available. Release Drimic, just not cutting it and we have enough to cover what he can offer. Balance and chemistry is not quite there. Loved Jacobsen with Deng tonight. Unfortunately Joey pulled them when they were on a defensive roll and the momentum was lost. Why coaches feel they need to change it up when a group has chemistry at that moment and on a roll I'll never know. That last few minutes felt like Marty was back at the helm.. Just didn't want the win and it was there to take. Disappointed and a coaches loss.

Adelaide were really bad tonight. Erratic, panicked and lacked any poise. Joey is out of his depth in some areas of coaching, and with such a young group, he will need to get some structure in place because these guys looked like they had never played together before. Drimic is a bust, Ferguson has no idea what he is meant to be doing, Randle is always a potential liability if its not dropping and DJ is not the guy from years gone. As for Jacobsen nothing special either. Long season ahead. Crowd were great though, really into it great atmosphere.

Yep. Ferguaen needs more minutes. Better tonight with DJ/Randle benched. It's what they don't do and the defensive issues that puts a hole in the team.. More Teys as well as a mature leader on court to settle the youth in the clutch moments. Sobey got a little too excited and Teys at point would have settled the team.

Can someone tell me why we did not try to run fergerson off some screens.

Poorly coached tonight. You have to play for the win, but at some stage you have to play finals basketball. Last 3 fouls was making us bleed, not closing the margin. Could have forced Melbourne to protect the win and go down by 5-7. Instead we are now 1-1 and are behind in the series.

Great inspiration and lift by Sobey. Needs to have a head check and his game would be valuable. EJ great hustle all game, those around the basket misses will reduce, but you can teach a desire for the ball, creek out was the difference because he woul,d have filled the little bits we were missing all night.

DJ -22. Majok + 11. Plus/minus is an imperfect stat, and small sample size, but DJ always shrinks in the moment. We have seen enough of him to know that. Not sure why Joey has so much faith in him.

Our second highest paid player plays no D, flops around looking for calls and is soft as butter. Only so much Randle and Mitch can do.

Maric and Anderson = Busted. Still happy to take the money.

Goulding doesn't appear to have great footwork, and on a lot of his missed threes he appears a little flat-footed. Maybe he should try instituting the 'hop' into his shot: (courtesy of bballbreakdown)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDOQZJHecng

Creek didn't train today so is either ill or was carrying an injury

Coaches loss sorry.. The chemistry with Drmic and DJ is just not there.. Should have left it alone.. And only interchange Doyle. Should have recognised issuanwith Randle earlier