Is the NBL still going?

Might take a few weeks before a starting 5 is settled. If you recall last season, Dench actually started the first couple of games instead of Mottram before it was evident that he was shite. Plus, of course, Chappell being "injured" meant for the first few games he came off the bench and played limited minutes.

I'd probably say the starting five for Friday would be:

Schenscher
Ballinger
Tyndale
Maher
Bruce

However I think once Davidson is %100, he'll be rotated into the starting 5 in place of Maher.

I think it will more likely be

PG - Bruce
SG - Maher
SF - Holmes
PF - Ballinger
C - Schencher

or

PG - Bruce
SG - Tyndale
SF - Holmes
PF - Ballinger
C - Schencher

We are in a great situation where we have alot of players that could start or are versatile in the positions they play. I'm looking forward to watching Cooper and Schencher on at the same time as the Twin Towers! They did very well together against the Hawks.

I agree with Black Dracula, both about tomorrow night's starting five and Davidson's return.

I just don't think Ninnis will start Holmes on the bench. Even that I would prefer him to start off.

Also I think Bruce has fast tracked due to Davidson being injured so I think Bruce will always start. Opponent guards will be harassed by Bruce and then have to put up with Davidson annoying them. Sucks to be opponent guards!

There is no way Bruce or Maher are starting on the Bench. Both are pure quality players.
Davidson is good, but not better than Maher and Bruce

Then there is no way you start either of your imports on the bench.

So that leaves either Schenscher or Holmes fighting out for a C or F spot. I seriously think that will depend on the opposition for the first few rounds, but would go with Schenscher as it will provide more of an advantage.

So either:
C - Schenscher
PF- Ballinger
SF- Tyndale
SG- Maher
PG- Bruce

or:
C - Ballinger
PF- Holmes
SF- Tyndale
SG- Maher
PG- Bruce

The bench should look like:
6 - Schenscher/Holmes
7 - Winitana
8 - Davidson
9 - Cooper
10- Hill
11- Kerston
12- Burdon
13- Hoban

My starting 5
PG - Bruce
SG - Maher
SF - Tyndale
PF - Ballinger
C - Schenscher

Next 5
PG - Davidson
SG - Hill
SF - Winitana
PF - Holmes
C - Cooper

Dev
Burdon
Hoban

Maccas
Kersten

On the money there bluey.

Seems a good squad, can't wait to see what happens friday!

"Then there is no way you start either of your imports on the bench."

Tell that to Brian Goorjian.

There aren't many teams in the league where you can have such a hard time picking a starting five; which equates to a bloody good team selection.

Bruce/Davidson at the Point: (let's face it, you can't go wrong with either and frankly rotating once a game to have either start would work out nicely.

Maher at the two: ...You always want to start an impact player at SG and unless Bruce shows an inflated shooting pattern on Friday, Maher will be cemented there until injury. At least he should be.

Tyndale/Winitana at Small. So far I haven't seen anything to separate either of these two, apart from the fact with Winitana, you can create a top notch defensive lineup in Schensher, Cooper, Holmes, Winitana and Davidson. Rotate their starts the same as the point.

Ballinger at PF: Provided his back shapes up, he's the best Forward in the league; has the footwork, has the shooting ability and I personally think he's more well rounded than the likes of Ere. Only person really close to Ballinger is Redhage.

Schensher in the middle: While you could start Holmes or Cooper in the 5 spot, Coops is proven to be more of an impact off the bench and I can see that happening for Holmes too. Big Luke is a pure centre and for his "one season" with the club, should be used as much as possible.

yeah pretty healthy situation when the starters are not obvious, only Adam is a brain dead pick.

My money {this week} is on Bruce, Maher, Tyndale, Ballinger, LLUUKKEE.

I prefer Winitana over Tyndale. Tyndale hasn't showed me much in the pre-season, and Winitana brings that defensive intensity.
Winitana is a great player, but i think he didn't get the right opportunities at the Breakers last season.

I prefer Winitana over Tyndale. Tyndale hasn't showed me much in the pre-season, and Winitana brings that defensive intensity.
Winitana is a great player, but i think he didn't get the right opportunities at the Breakers last season.

If Brett is not in the starting 5, it should trigger an immediate walk out by evry 36ers fan

I wouldn't mind Brett starting on the bench if it extends his career beyond this year.

Perhaps it would be Maher's choice not to start. Therefore, there is less pressure on him and he can come out fresh and knock 3's down and do what he does best.

I think Holmes would start regardless also. Possibly a luring promise by Ninnis that he will start if he comes back. I could be wrong but thats why I think we will see him start.

I would rather Winitana over Tyndale also.

bluey, I'm with you. I would rather prolong Maher's career and have him around a bit longer if it is not necessary to start him.

"If Brett is not in the starting 5, it should trigger an immediate walk out by evry 36ers fan"

Brett will be a major part of the rotation whether he starts or not. Shooters like Maher can be even more dangerous coming off the bench and there's no doubt they need to cut his workload a bit if he is to play beyond this year.

6ers are a good chance at the sixth man award actually.

Tyndale over Winitana easy:

Schensch
Balls
Tyndale
Maher
Bruce.

I really hope Maher is the 6th man. He could be our very own Ginobili! :) Except one that shoots threes instead of doing lots of left-handed layups.

I understand and agree with the desire to extend Bretts career, and I am not suggesting he plays the kind of minuites he has had to over previous years.

However, this is the first game of the season, the first game of the new team and coaching staff...Brett is the 36ers and he should be the first man on the court this week.

LETS GO SIXERRRRSSSS !!!

More importantly, what time does the game start tonight? NBL website homepage says 12:30 PM (central time). The match preview page says 7:00 PM (eastern time). I'm guessing that they're both wrong and it's actually 7:00 PM (central time).

Tip off is at 7:10. I recommend getting there early for the team introductions. I got a sneak peak of the Intro video to be played before the teams come out onto the court and its very very good!!

Me, based on the way Maher brought the Sixers home against the Hawks at Pasadena, I think its more important that he is there to END games rather than start them!