Hoops

Hunt to go?

Stop hating on Pinder

To the above, my friend studied the Pinder case and she said it was an absolute travesty what Pinder had done to him by that woman who accused him of rape. He lost years of his life and she got a slap on the wrist.

"Cats also won titles with Tiny Pinder. Are you saying they should go recruit another paedophile?"

I think you're the one sprouting shite, he was convicted of rape and was found not guilty years later. No idea what your comment has to do with mine, absolute moron.

Spud+Hunt

The kings like Perth for the 5-10 years has really backed their Australian content in. Bogut, Newley, Lisch, Moller, Kickett, Bruce, Walker and now added Cook. It’s a good formula that Perth has had.

"Last 2 posters - forgetting cats are older, and less talented (lost 2 good centres for two below average ones). Whilst rest of the league has on paper improved."

All those points are true, but who can match with Kings "on paper" anyway even if we were to replace Hunt, we're still behind...Oliver was the guy we originally chased, but he chose Cairns for whatever reason.

Last 2 posters - forgetting cats are older, and less talented (lost 2 good centres for two below average ones). Whilst rest of the league has on paper improved.

Exactly ^^^^^
You are better with two gun imports and perhaps a third string import or get the best Australian talent and pay more for them. Kennedy, Ware and Boone plus McCarron added last year at Melbourne couldn’t get it done.

"Agreed with last poster. In a team with questionable depth need to be like Cairns and play your 3 imports max minutes. If you cant then wrong import in the team."

Well Cats won the last title with their non existent 3rd import playing 0 minutes, and the title prior to that was Jameel McKay who played similar minutes to what Hunt is playing...go figure.

^^^ Mathematically impossible for them to drop out of the top-4 after this weekend.

Agreed with last poster. In a team with questionable depth need to be like Cairns and play your 3 imports max minutes. If you cant then wrong import in the team.

Would not be suprised to see cats go from second to out of the four this weekend. (and in this league struggle to get back)

School holidays? ^^

Hunt is averaging 10.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Last season, Brandt averaged 8.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. I was expecting Brandt's numbers to be much better than Hunt's but apparently not.

Still waiting on how to bet on this mythical 35 red spot...

Hunt can't hit free throws, look at Trev's face very time he misses one, if the game is close can't have "Hack a Hunt" going on hence he gets benched, game was over early against the 36ers hence seeing the benchwarmers out there for most of the last quarter. Travers looked good.

* Hunt out

Im a Perth Fan and I want Hunt. Doesnt bring enough consistency , scoring, energy etc to make up for the problems with their aussies we cant easily fix.

Machado / Cotton / Adel / Kay / Hunt
Norton / NS / Te Rangi / Pinder / Reath

Limited minutes
Martin / Steindl / Wagstaff / Majok

Developing
Britt / Buluk / Travers / Vague

Woah easy there Pauline

and Steindl is just like betting the house on Red-35

Sydney can score points but there like the cats of old, play very good D.

Sack Hunt. Sign James Wiseman as a next star. Sign an import PG/SG to help carry the load.

Easy.

the game's changing, Perth and NZ aren't the big hitters they once were and Perth have only just woken up to that fact.

and it's DELICIOUS to watch this play out..

I wonder is the solution:
* Sack Hunt
* Promote Majook to starting centre like in United Years for short bursts, Vague/Kay a backup
* Hire a new Point Guard like Scot Muchado
* Martin to bench where he should of been starting this year if cats were more future focused

Certainly looks better than the current plan we have.

He's a decent player given that he's definitely the budget import.

White needs to be more consistent, and must attack the rim more often. You can't just sit on the arc and jack 3s all game as the #2 option.

Perth's problem is creativity since they don't have a legitimate PG. Cotton is a combo guard who is more effective being a scorer, and Norton doesn't have the game to be the dominant ball handler/facilitator.

Perth needed to find a local to play C, and then bring in a true PG to run the offence (Machado would be perfect). If Cotton naturalises before next season they will have much more room to move.

Long way to go but could all the bigs be missing the coaching of Mathew Nielsen, even Kay hasn’t been any where near as good. Sometimes it’s the sum of all the parts that make it work and there wasn’t any better than Neilson.

You'll be fine ince Shaun Livingston joins the team

Thats my point, coaches tendencies dont change. If Gleeson wont play Centres (why not Majok in the 4th quarter) then its a liability to have one.

I dont mind hunt, he's shown some flashes. Just doesn't seem to get opportunities from Gleeson, and gets a very hard time from the refs.

Hi everyone i am new to this site but a long time NBL fan. Its great to read some other opinions in earlier posts about what the league should be doing to improve the game in australia. Advertisements, tv coverage, officiating etc are all valid points. But in my opinion, its the player points cap which is really preventing the league from reaching its potential. It achieves nothing but provide mediocrity. A salary cap is enough to create parity in the competition. And the fact that someone at HQ makes the decision on what each player rating should be means it can easily be manipulated. There is no incentive for an import to become a naturalized player because they will still have a 10 point rating. Lets face it, its the americans which really bring the show time to this league so the more we have playing here then the more people are interested in going the games. Reading the Cal Bruton interview when he went to perth in 87 as a player/coach. He brought james crawford and tiny pinder with him and a short time later recruited ricky grace. These guys created so much excitement and interest and the crowds and tv coverage were a flow on effect. Then ultimately the wildcats success and popularity that came from having these great players in the one team is a legacy that still remains. Imagine if a period like that happened now at a team that hasn't tasted much success or needs bigger crowds. It is something that the NBL really needs right now to capitalise on some renewed interest and i get the feeling that the league is on the edge of potentially booming or just being forgotten again. Unfortunately improving the standard of basketball here cannot happen now because there is a focus on it being an 'australian' league. Where is the razzamatazz? Dont get me wrong, i love the aussie players too but our best players play over seas anyway so we aren't stifling home grown talent. We should be making it easier for imports to stay a long time in this league like they did years ago. Its these guys that improve the standard of the competition then in turn great players want to come here and play their whole careers here like leroy loggins, robert rose etc did. Imagine if cedric jackson, johnny flynn or mike dunigan played 10-15 years in this league. They would.. if the standard were better.