Hoops

Wildcats v Breakers 13/11

Nonanon the ball only advances in the last 2 mins of the 4th or the last 2 mins of any overtime period if the team entitled to the ball calls a time out in the backcourt.

So if Perth called a timeout the ball would have been inbound from where JJ threw it out

Wroe was a completely bizarre choice to inbound. Having the center guard the inbound, in order to provide maximum pressure, is a frequently-used tactic. Entirely foreseeable.

Johnson obviously wasn't the place the inbound was supposed to go, but I have no idea what the primary shot options were. One backscreen isn't going to cut it.

But could you give them a better play starting from the backcourt baseline instead of the frontcourt throw-in line, without a timeout to draw it up?

As opposed to the brilliant play he drafted with one second on the clock???

In all honesty, I reckon I could have given them a better one.
I mean its a bit hard to improve on "throw, catch, shoot," but I wouldn't have had Wroe inbounding, and I'd have tried to hit somebody who was actually shooting well.

Though in retrospect, perhaps I'm a bit harsh on Trev for not anticipating that the players would completely bollocks up that last 20 seconds.

Calling a TO before the last NZ possession also means not having one if they do score.

"Melbourne 3-7 LOL"

Gosh how original. I wish I had your wit.

The Melbourne SEABL All Stars might be 3-7 but it will be a different ballgame once Melbourne United is playing again. I have a feeling Ware will suit DD like Holt before him.

Seriously Dazz?

"Do anonytrolls even begin to realise how stupid they often appear?"

Do you?

Time to draw up a play, too.

When JJ turned it over? Wouldn't that have given NZ the ball in their front court? That isn't smart.

What I don't get about those last 20 secs is that Perth had 0 fouls in OT. Why didn't they give up a foul before Webster got anywhere near the paint.

"Melbourne 10-18 LOL."

Melbourne 3-7 ..... LOL

What I don't get about those last 20 secs is that Perth had 0 fouls in OT. Why didn't they give up a foul before Webster got anywhere near the paint.

Cairns have missed Trice, or Jawai for the majority of their games. They have played 3 at home. Have played Sydney 3 times.

Melbourne 10-18 LOL.

Trevor Gleeson's refusal to put him on the court probably helps there.

Gleeson's stated reason was apparently that we needed Wagstaff's three-point shooting, despite McKay being a better three-point shooter than Wagstaff is.

#959, either respond to something I have said telling me why you don't agree, or shut the fuck up. Saying "unfortunately you found hoops" and "everything you say is wrong" ruins the forum for everyone. You're a dickhead.

Dazz, how does any of what you said conflict with Anon's claims that the team is currently 'in deep shit'? It seems to back that point up rather well, in fact.

So that leaves McKay.
I gotta say I was unimpressed again yesterday.

A Kober, I mostly agree with what you say about an Import PG. There's clearly a lot more choice out there, than trying to find a quality Aussie not otherwise engaged. Ideally we'd get somebody who could also score, which would take a bit of pressure off.

Even with Kenny back, our backcourt rotation is Kenny, JJ, DKD, and Wroe. FMD

Problem is, who do we cut?
Logic says we cut the SG who can't play as a guard, but I just don't think we can go down that path again.
So that leaves McKay.
I gotta say I was unimpressed again yesterday.
I'd need to do a lot more analysis to confirm, but I suspect that part of his problem is that he spent the pre-season practising with Martin & Kenny. As I remarked early on, he looks good when he's getting fed.

Haha, my thoughts exactly! You know a team is in real deep shit when there's an eager countdown to the return of Jarrod Kenny!

#wroehastogo

Kenny is far from a Superstar or Perth's savior but he sure did a pretty dam good job last year when Martin was out. The team with Kenny running the point is certainly a lot better than the team with a development player running the point.

Good luck to you Koberulz, but those kinds of predictions are just futile at this point of the season

If your system allows 110 wins and 114 losses in a season then your system is badly broken

Good luck to you Koberulz, but those kinds of predictions are just futile at this point of the season

Kenny is a solid backup I do agree but there is still a huge hole left by Martin that Kenny can only partly fill even once he is back to 100%

If your system allows 110 wins and 114 losses in a season then your system is badly broken

"You know a team is in real deep shit when there's an eager countdown to the return of Jarrod Kenny!"

Its not saying Kenny is a superstar, although I think he is a handy backup PG, probably one of the better ones in the league.

Its saying that the team currently has NO point guard. Its the most important position in the game and there was many examples in the past game and a half where not having one really showed. Having one back is going to be an improvement, no question.

After plugging in yesterday's games:
Sydney 19-9
Perth 16-12
NZ 16-12
Brisbane 15-13

Illawarra 13-15
Cairns 12-16
Melbourne 10-18
Adelaide 9-19

Haha, my thoughts exactly! You know a team is in real deep shit when there's an eager countdown to the return of Jarrod Kenny!

That metric is meaningless.

As of yesterday morning, Cairns were 4-4, average margin -0.75. Exactly the same as Brisbane. Illawarra 4-5, but average margin 0.4 actually puts them slightly ahead of both. Cairns will drop and Brisbane will climb after yesterday.

Sydney are way out in front, 7-3 with 5.2. Perth 5-2 with 1.9.

NZ are stronger than their record suggests; 4-4 but an average margin of 3.0. They're actually about half way between Perth/Sydney and the pack down below.

If kenny is your answer you are already in trouble.

Thus far Sydney is ahead of the pack.

I would put Cairns second, to date.

Cairns have had 3 home games and 6 away. Yet stand 4-5, so you could put that as +1. Perth are 5-3 and have had 5 home, 3 away so I call that evens.

On this metric, Melbourne waaaay down on the bottom on their lonesome. But they have upside, with Ware playing this week and Goulding likely to return.

Thus far, Sydney and Perth are well clear of the pack. Melbourne and Adelaide are clear in the other direction.

Perth are going to drop off significantly without Martin, even after Kenny comes back.

He nailed the Mannequin Challenge by the way.

See if Sydney defeat Perth twice and NZ split with Illawarra next weekend then it could be

Perth 9-3
NZ 6-5

I'd say a 2.5 win advantage, whilst still in the second month of the season would count as daylight at this stage. But again, let's see what happens. It is true that Sydney have struggled through their last 4 games. If they keep playing like they have been, then Perth could well beat them twice!

According to sources, Earvin Magic Johnson may be signed soon under the allocated Senior Citizen rule. He was spotted at the game yesterday.

Enjoying an afternoon troll, LV?

Well the ladder currently reads..

Sydney 7-3
Perth 5-3
NZ 5-4
Brisbane 5-4

And by the end of next weekend it could well be

Sydney 9-3
??
Perth 5-5

In which case you could actually say it's Sydney and daylight.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves- Corban Wroe might do a good enough job on Kevin Lisch to prevent that from eventuating.

Worried about Sydney.....the team that just dropped 2 out of 3 games? Oh wait it is Sydney then daylight isn't it?

The threat of not making the 4 is real but I think that threat is real for any team at the moment. There's not too much separating 1st and 7th right now.

Hopefully we get Kenny back for this Thursday because not having an NBL standard PG is seriously hurting Cats right now.

Kenny's not going to play 40 minutes when he does come back. We need in import point guard, or we're going to continue to exist in this bizarre universe where the Cubs are World Series Champions, the Bulldogs are AFL Premiers, and Donald Trump is US President.

The plays we ran at the end of regulation and the end of OT were awful. We had an isolation for the worst ball-handler in NBL history and a contested half-court shot.

Johnson shouldn't have even been on the floor, much less playing the point, but the alternatives were Bragg or Hussey.

I started following the Cats in year one of their streak. I guess I'm the biggest bandwagon supporter out there.

I'm definitely not confident of making the 4 at this point, but I'm pretty happy with the way the team has played so far under the circumstances.
Martin's injury could well be the difference in making or missing the playoffs. It's an unfortunate injury to a key player, but that's just sport sometimes.

Serious test coming up now with Sydney twice this round. If we can steal one of them I'd be stoked, but also surprised.

Pretty sure the average Perth fan is still a lot happier than your average MU fan!

Thursday can't come quick enough for JJ..

Better score 40 and break Lischs ankles.

Oh and another thing- they havent even played Sydney yet. So of their remaining 20 games, 12 of them will be away from Perth Arena and 4 of them will be against Sydney. And 3 vs Melbourne United, probably by that stage a Melbourne United with Casper Ware settled in, and a healthy Goulding.

Two of their three losses, (and the second half of the Sixers win) they were without an NBL standard point guard. I'll at least give them a chance to get Kenny back before writing them off.

No doubt missing Martin hurts but missing a true point guard is the real issue here.

And you mention Kenny, don't forget NZ were missing a point guard yesterday themselves. David Stockton is no slouch. There are no easy wins in this comp, and without Damian Martin Perth will find it difficult.

You think?

They've only played 3 away games to date. They're 5-3, and the wins over NZ, Melbourne, and Adelaide all went down to the last play of the game, and they beat Cairns in OT.

So of 5 super close games, they've won 4 and lost 1. 8 games, and only one win that you would call convincing- at homeagainst Illawarra, a team who have been awful this season- and have copped beatings almost every time they've played someone with more than half their team in uniform.

Not really. This team knows how to win, despite what Jaron Johnson would have you think. Once Kenny returns, things will be fine.

At this point, even hardcore optimists amongst the Perth faithful must be getting worried that the long standing streak of playoff appearances is coming to an end.

Why do our guys persist with attempting allyoop plays?
Since the start of the season, they have attempted several, and at most 1 or 2 have come off. Last night they tried it about 3 or 4 times, and didn't even get close.