Hoops

Utah Jazz vs Sydney Kings, Tuesday 3rd Oct

The majority of the facebook comments were very positive and supportive with only a sprinkling of negativity from some jealous or clueless rival fans.

Oh Facebook and retarded comments makes sense. Thanks.

"NBL pages"?

It was an admirable effort by the Kings against a good defensive team like Jazz.

On Perry Ellis I'm not as sold on him as some not saying he won't be a good NBL import but not much chance of cracking the NBA from what little I've seen so far from him not just this game.

He doesn't appear to be much of a rebounder which with the way this Kings team is set up will really hurt them, he lacks too much athleticism for the next level some of his shots around the basket yesterday were punted into that stands by Jazz defenders and he shot the Kings out of any remote chance they had too.

Angus Westbrook is out for the Utd game.

"NBL pages"?

Hopefully OKC's 'big three' are in uniform for the United game, but I can't wait to watch Adnam matched up on Westbrook...

There are some trolls on the NBL pages saying that Sydney sucks for being beaten that much. When I read comments like that it is clear these people know little about basketball. A 25 point loss to an NBA team when playing with rules and court dimensions you're not used to and against guys with size you don't have is actually a commendable result, especially considering the length of the game and the fact that Sydney stuck around until some time in the fourth quarter. But those dudes who know nothing will always chime in - the Clint Doggs of the universe.

Based on what I've seen so far, I expect Perry Ellis to be in the NBA next season to be honest. Kinda surprised he isn't there already. I guess he's a bit of a tweener at the NBA level, but that doesn't seem as much of a big deal any more.

Agree on Lisch too - we need him scoring 16-20 points a game, and not going a whole half with 1 or 2 shot attempts. Hard to see it happening unless we can do more to get him looks other than give it to him with 6 seconds left on the shot clock, which still seems to be the case this preseason.

Kings better hope (MVP Level) Lisch stays healthy. Otherwise seriously underwhelming at PG
Ellis could be really good in the NBL

It was along the lines of them performing admirably.

Were the news talking about it like a competitive game or a drubbing?

I saw the Kings/Jazz game featured on prime-time, mainstream news last night, so I'd say it's a success so far.

The NBL seems to be trending towards small ball, which is entertaining, but I can't help but think it is going to be a big big problem if we keep matching up on NBA sides. It could happen that the league could develop and get better and more skillful in its own niche but get blown out harder and harder by NBA teams as time progresses just on the fact that we wont have a center with the size to restrict a Gobert.

The result is about as you would expect, it's good to see the Kings keep some respectability in the final score line.

In 2015 Fenerbache Istanbul (this years Euroleague champs) beat the Brooklyn Nets in a preseason game, by 5 points from memory. Fenerbache had a number of NBA level players such as Jan Vesely, Udoh and Bogdanovich along with other great internationals/ imports. They could match up size wise and shooting wise with Brooklyn. Then Fenerbache had the advantage of the best offensive coach on eartht Obradovic who used pick and roll literally 80+ times and ran it to perfection in getting the open or high percentage shot. They beat Brooklyn with amazing efficiency on offense (Brooklyn couldn't zone or Bogdanovic would bag too many triples) with being able to compete defensively, on the glass and athletically.

We aren't at that level size wise or athletically in the NBL yet but it is great to see we can compete for short spurts here and there. Internationally the NBL is a small league size wise at all positions but especially 3 through to 5.

Angus is on the money

I think the lack of a PG showed more than the lack of size - I don't think any 4/5 combination in the NBL is going to be able to defend Gobert on the pick and roll. Rubio ate Lisch and Cadee alive in the first quarter.

I think you can chalk up most of that scoreline to a woeful first quarter where the Kings were absolutely shellshocked. However, when they finally adapted they were very competitive, winning the second quarter and only losing the last two quarters by a combined margin of eight.

I think we need to also bare in mind that even by NBL standards the Sydney Kings are weak inside, as they've placed a massive bet on the backs of a promising rookie and their little diversity pet project Amritpal Singh, who was woeful and should really go back to playing in a lesser league. Another NBL team may have been more competitive again than the Kings were.

But overall, I think the Kings can hold their heads high about this game. They were outmatched in size, length, athleticism, and they were also playing with rules and court dimensions they weren't used to, and they still managed to stick around and not get absolutely embarrassed. They showed a lot of character and I think they've done the case for bringing NBL teams to the USA to play NBA teams a lot of good. I mean, if you wanted a preseason game where you can run your bench, get everyone minutes and get some confidence while also have just a little bit of a test, why not invite the NBL back?

All in all, pretty happy. Let's hope Melbourne United doesn't take a quarter to acclimatize on Saturday.

Wildcats also beat the Kings by 20 odd in the Kings last game of the season.

7th or 8th place for Sydney I reckon.

They did well IMHO, surpassed my expectations. Managed to win the 2nd quarter and hung tough for about 3 quarters. Didn't raise too much eyebrows over there but didn't embarrass either.

NBL Facts on twitter mentioned that Jazz beat opponents by 25 pts 7 times last season. In fact the other Kings (Sacramento) got hammered by 30 pts (112-82). Atlanta Hawks in a 27 pts loss only managed to score 68, just to give you an idea what a tough defensive team the Jazz is.

Maybe a stretch but that scoreline didn't look too out of place ;p.

These NBA v NBL games I think will be shown on 12 hour delay on NBL TV.

108-84 according to nba.com.

Just caught the replay on NBA.tv... that wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. Gobert killed them inside and Bolomby probably would've had a 20-20 game with more mins, but overall the Kings did respectably.

UTAH 108-83 SYD

How ugly are NBL players from the NBA three point line? Ewwww!

reddit.com/r/nbastreams if anyone's interested

Kings look to be flatlining now.

I'd venture to say that there are a few different factors between this and that old game. Houston were without Olajuwon, in a foreign country, in a less important phase of the off-season and Perth was the NBL champ.

This time around, its a full Utah team, at home, more important pre-season mode, Kings not the champ and enough pre-game banter to give the Jazz motivation to blow the Kings out of the water. I was expecting down by at least 25 at the half.

Apaprently Westbrook is out for their first preseason game for knee injections. Hopefully not out for the NBL game.

What else can the NBL do to generate hype then? They are playing NBA teams yet still there is radio silence. I don't get it, everyone is on the A-League vs. EPL when those games are played. The A-League teams are also way less competitive vs. Euro teams compared to what we've seen in the first half of this game.

Perth were hungover though.

Not even half time yet but I have to say I'm surprised the Kings are still within a respectable margin.

There seems to be have been zero talk of the other games. Odd...

#648399 yes NBA players are monsters, was always going to be an issue.

Not even half time yet but I have to say I'm surprised the Kings are still within a respectable margin. Gobert and the longer 3pt line are the main advantages the Jazz currently have, sure they are a class above but its not the slaughter I imagined... yet.

Thanks Ricey

Length is clearly an issue for the NBL.

NBA players are longer, defence is tougher, rebounds are tougher, passing lanes are smaller. Less room for error.

Three point line is further out, guys aren't used to it.

"Because it's not a FIBA game, it's an NBA game."

This might be a really stupid question but does the NBA not fall under FIBA?

Because it's not a FIBA game, it's an NBA game.

Isaac, if anything I'd expect his value to increase if he's not using up an import spot.

Live Stats - https://watch.nba.com/game/20171002/SYDUTA

Couldn't find any for the usual Fiba Live Stats.

Zodiac, how would being classed as a local hurt Holt's bargaining power?

Melbourne and Brisbane. One is on the weekend and the other is next week.

Very different preseason schedule this year with the season starting earlier. I think Nba teams are only playing 3 games each.

Kings by 20

Zodiac, how would being classed as a local hurt Holt's bargaining power?

No, Holt was and still is an import.

What Melb were talking about doing is seeing if they could bend the rules and get Holt re-classified as an Asian player so he could play as a local and not have use an import spot on him a bit like they did with Wesley but I'm assuming Holt wasn't down with it, understandably as it would hurt his bargaining power no longer being an import.

Isn't that what United did with Holt two seasons ago?

Classed as an Asian player, I beleive teams are allowed at least 1 or 2 Asian players per team.

I thought so but how is he not an import.

Can someone tell me whether Singh is playing as an import or not. I thought I remembered the CEO saying that they had one import spot to fill if needed but the Roar said he was an import. Confused.