Hoops

Which team has the biggest potential?

I think at this point of the season we've seen what every team's potential is, with the possible exception of Cairns with Mitchell fully-integrated into the line-up.

Adelaide, Illawarra and Melbourne are the teams that have looked the most dangerous at their best, while Perth is always a chance because of their D and rebounding. The same would be true of NZ if they ever stop turning the ball over.

36ers are having a bad run, if they drop another one on the approach to the finals who knows where their heads will be at. Obviously they have played at the highest level the longest but doubt is a sportsmen's worst enemy.

Skull - i'm about 3m away from the bench, there was no stoush.

Don't think the flow offence is very good for Nate who has a limited set of offensive options.
Also heard fearne and Trice had a verbal stoush during the game tonight.

But then again, what is "potential"?
If all the Cats played the equivalent of their best game of the year, that would be one awesome team.
But to some extent the same is true of most teams, and besides the problem with a few of these guys is inconsistency, so saying "potential" is wishful thinking.

Personally, I reckon its United.

Ware, Goulding and Moore would have been the best scoring backcourt hands down. Majok and Boone are as good as any defensive/rebounding center tandem this season and offensively well complimented by Andersen, Wesley, Barlow and Blanchfield. Unsurprisingly, they are probably the most expensive unit in the NBL, owned by the league boss who is yet to reveal how much he paid them...

I originally thought Perth also, but its hard to determine if I'm be objective or not lol
Taking off my Cats goggles though, I think United could have the biggest potential.

Might be a bit bias, but imo the Cats. I wonder where they'd be if they had their current line up for an entire season and had enough time to gel together properly like Adelaide. Also think Melbourne and Kings have a pretty good list, but like the Cats, just hasn't all clicked together properly yet. I think that's the big advantage Adelaide have is they've been one of the only teams to remain pretty healthy and not make any major changes, if another playoffs contender clicks in the next couple of weeks though, 36ers should look out.

I should add also that I'm talking about current rosters without injuries - excluding departed players ie Beal, Johnson, Blake.

@Dazz - I guess that adds a whole new element to the discussion. If the Kings had a more experienced coach and didn't run the shuffle - where would they be right now?

Do you factor in the coaches?
Sydney looked the best, and Drewie has coached them into the ground.
With everyone healthy, MU should a force to be reckoned with, especially now with Ware. But again, DD has failed to maximise their potential.

Counterintuitive, I know, but hear me out.

The latest dramas with Majok at the Wildcats had me thinking of Steve Leven and I came to a realisation. Leven and the 'Cats parting set the stage for his full roster spot to be filled by the then Wildcat development player, one Brad Robbins.

Would the eyesore that is Robbins game never have been unleashed on the NBL had Leven toed the line? In hindsight, would Leven's (Mod: Removed at the request of Steve Leven.) been an acceptable hit to the NBL if it meant preventing Robbins from ever setting foot on an NBL court? Or is Robbins the lesser of the two evils?

I open the floor to you fellow hoopsters.

(Mod: Steve Leven has contacted me and asked for the removal of a number of posts he believes are legally problematic. I have removed a term above that he has questioned but so there is context for readers, I will refer to this article from the NBL and Wildcats about the Cats and Leven parting ways: Wildcats and Leven part.)