Groves is a little more switched on, coming out firing. Glichrist - Groves have their moments. You could rotate at 1 and 2, with our 3point SG.
Ballinger will score in the first half. Burston could shoot a bit better, with Holmes a few more minutes and Herbert is in good form, Cooper doing OK.
Blaze have 2 injuries - may not play or play limited.
IF we turn up - will win this.

They really need to win tonight, because the Tigers game has "meek capitulation" written all over it. I can't see guys like Adam Gibson giving Ng the open looks he got on Wednesday, so Ballinger will need to restore his normal service of being heaps good.

I spoke to Scott Ninnis late Wednesday Night and he seemed very confident about getting this one on the Coast. He thought they matched up pretty well and that with Cortez finding some recent form would really help their cause.

For mine, this game will be decided by the inside battle between Ballinger and Petrie. I predicted Ng to have a big night on Wednesday and was on the money, so now I'm placing my bets with Adam.

This won't be easy but Adelaide has more to play for in this one and if Gilchrist can outshine Ubaka then the Sixers put up the W for mine.

Then for Melbourne.

I think we can get the win tonight. Should have won last time we played them up there.

At this stage I can't see has getting it down against the Tigers

Whilst I think the 6ers can win tonight, my gut feel is the Blaze will take the points in this one.

I would like to think that Adelaide will be fired up and ready for the Tigers game though and I predict they are more likely to win that game even though it is on the road.

If they get the opportunity, Scotty should show them the tape of Julius stomping on the BMC over and over until their blood boils to the point that they're ready to hit "The Cage" with some purpose.

Not sure this kind of thing would always work as motivation before a game but the Sixers seem to be at their best when they are fired up (see Wildcats game 1stQ). Besides, the way we usually prepare to take on the Tigers obviously doesn't get the job done.

We simply need to pinch atleast one game against the enemy.

Boti's preview here. I entirely agree with his thoughts there.

Anyone else up here and going to the game tonight?

FWIW I think the Blaze will get up by 9, Ubaka is good to go but Gibbo, while he will play may see limited minutes, Id expectto see Demos get a good run tonight and focus on whichever guard for ASdelaide starts best

If the Sixers are to be a chance they will have to shoot extremely well from outside and also win the rebounding battle. We have numerous guys who hammer the boards and last time we smashed you on the offensive glass all night.

Harvey to top score, Maxey to lead rebounding and Ninnis to get sick of me annoying him from 2 rows back ;)

The 36ers should have won many more past games and some road ones. They've made it difficult now.

I think the 36ers can win tonight and fatigue to catch up Vs the Tigers. The upcoming road schedule is too punishing and why I'm annoyed at past losses which were winnable games.

I'd expect Balls to fire tonight. Hopefully Cortez backs up Wednesday performance and goes better. I want Gilly productive like Wednesday night. His vision was there, passing and getting others into the game.

Let's go 36ers.

Will be at the game tonight with a few guys. Hopefully a better show than last time. I will back the Sixers, anyone know the odds at this stage?

Whilst were not impressive against Cairns at least we were trying then playing a better brand of ball that if keep happening and will give shooters more open shots .
NG will not get freedom of Wed. but get him ball correctly he will still get you good points.
Holmes with a game under belt will add something extra .
Be tough and predict a win by 5 but close ones always worry me against good coaches like Wright.
Burston will be busting to put last game behind him and will get 15+ points

Blaze are unbackable thedoctor

Blaze 1.25
Adelaide 3.65

where you sitting doc? Apparemtly ticket sales have been good sa far so hopefully a big noisy crowd

And the Balze will be playing with 10 men

Statman - not sure yet, will grab tickets at the door.

$3.65 is good enough for me. Pineapple on it

thedoctor, try to get there as early as poss then as the line up for tickets can be quite long, and has been getting worse over the last couple of games.

They may put on a couple of extra staff....but dont hold your breath!

Aw so Boti thinks Blaze will be tooo strong for us on D, and are not too worried about the good showing from Ng and Groves.
Anyways - we matched perth's toughness ,in the first half and came out a little soft , after the half, so we might match them for a lotta the game - whether we can for 4qtrs- Well there's water being thrown on that at the moment.
We'll have to wait and see - if we fade in the end, like we and NZ do.
Not quite sure that I'd underestimate Cortez Groves though.

Will be amazed if Sixers hold Blaze to single figures, Forget the upset.

Jack - We played all 10 on Wednesday :-)

Bill I don't think the Blaze will put up over 100pts tonight, more likely low 90's if they shoot well from the perimeter.

Don't underestimate the Sixers though as some of their best basketball is played on the road. Perth and Wollongong games come to mind and went into those games clearly as the underdog.

Come on doc. Drop an aplle for the boys. Paul reese Jersey??

Statman, are you Blaze member #102? Every week I read the game preview in the program and it reminds me of your writing style. I've been meaning to ask for weeks but keep forgetting until now.

You're about 10-15 rows in front of me so I'll keep a look out for you (with Scotty) tonight.

The DR and myself will be attending this game. I hope they get up. Last time it was terrible

i'll try that again.....

Come on doc. Drop an "apple" for the boys. Paul reese Jersey??

No Rees jersey tonight. It makes Coops feel inadequate

Blazefan, do you sit in the bottom section or above the concourse? come over and say hi - I normally sit right on the Aisle :)

Interesting that you didn't answer my original question Statman. mmmmmmmmmmmmm do we have a winner???????

To answer your question, I'm above the concourse so unless I hurdle the barrier to the lower section, you may have to walk back up your stairs before I can say hi.

If you like, I'll keep an eye out for you at quarter time, that is if you're not too busy with Tez and Balls.

Dazzman - don't waste showing them the video before the game - show it to them at the 3/4 time huddle and every time out in the last quarter.

Sorry - wasnt intentionally ignoring your question ;)


Im normally in the bar at breaks so if you see me (im in a brown tshirt and jeans tonight) yell out and Ill come say hi :)




Game time - lets go Blaze :)

Since we're on the Tigers game...

Start Molitor, tell him to send Judas to hospital, and give him our MVP award if he does it :D, it's a pity we won't have Dean Brogan on the bench again.

It's not dirty if the victim is already made of dirt.


As for tonight, I'm not confident but who the hell knows?! Burston is the key for me against such a small team, he will either have a mismatch against Petrie or he will be on Vanderjagt, who has the size but has been a liability of late. Go you Sixers!!!

Looks like Gibson isn't playing.

If you win thedoctor that will be $150 off the $40,000 you will owe me when I beat you in the 3 point shoot out.

Gibson not playing is good news for us, but Demos must be respected.

2 turnovers already ?!? and we are not yet 2 mins in...

Fired up the stream bit choppy which is a shame getting 40sec or so than freeze image. Audio as usual is fine. Still worth the five dollars as the alternative is nothing!
Blaze working us inside outside what the we need to get some control on the boards!

Staying home on a Friday night just to watch LiveStats. Good call? Only 'cause the 6ers are winning! Great start. Herbie killing it!

Bradshaw (who I forgot to mention when I said Burston was the key) finding some form for the Blaze.

At the game. Gilchrist is jacking crap because he hasn't scored much up until half time. Up by 11, blaze go on a run, no time out by Ninnis. Tied game at the half. SVD, your logic assumes you will win. Nuetral gym, nuetral ball, anytime. Slight issue - I now live in Qld!

Groves got his first 3pointer in ......
Burston started well, could be on the court a bit more,I reckon.
Yeah 11points up wasn't tooo bad. Not sure that Gilchrist has got any F/Gs in yet.

down by 6 couple minutes left in the third.

typical 3rd qtr fade out - whatever they do at half time, stop it

At the game. Gilchrist is jacking crap because he hasn't scored much up until half time. Up by 11, blaze go on a run, no time out by Ninnis. Tied game at the half. SVD, your logic assumes you will win. Nuetral gym, nuetral ball, anytime. Slight issue - I now live in Qld!
Also another 9-0 run in the third, no time out.

Struggling to get closer than 6, need a spark of the bench or Gilly to do something!

Ninnis hasn't used a time out the whole second half. Waits until we are down by 14. I'm having Smyth flashbacks

this is stupid how do we keep doing this.

I vote that flip and the doctor dont go to anymore games!!!

Well at least now we know what the key to playing well is; me being at home.

FFS I leave to get food for halfan hour and every single positive we had when I left went to hell. Balls stopped scoring. Gilchrist went and shot 1-9, Tez started jacking threes and stopped with the assists. Shit.

Can't be said that the 36ers are not consistent.

It's the first time all season the blaze has scored 100 at home. Sixers suck I quit. C u all next season when we have new coach and team. Gilcrest sooking on the end of the bench

Hey, I didn't go to any of the shitty games in Adelaide! This team has no discipline, structure or leadership. Leadership is the biggest problem. As soon as things get tough, no one puts their hand up to lead. No Maher or Cattilini type player. By the way, Gilchrist is sulking on the end of the bench away from the team. Very disappointing

Time and time again we see games lost. What changed from quarter time? Mind you, the backcourt is definitely not holding its own up. Miserable, is a good word! It seems that these two guys take all the shots. The boxscore shows this. I just hope others wake up that its all about them and not the team.
Cortex 4/14 and 3/9 isnt great and Johnny G is woeful at 1/9 and 0/4. Some figures. Brad Hill at least while not playing great ball, has decent figures.
Well thats the season and very disappointing really. And Tez thought things were coming together? Yeah right! What a crock

i'm in melbourne without access to live stats can someone please run through the stats and final score?

Doc/statman can you explain what was different in the second half. With detail rather than ninnis sucked, tez was crap etc.

Absolutely murdered on the boards.

Got to love it.. If Hawks can hold court at home against Blaze tomorrow which i expect, fourth spot is all but Ours "Go Hawks"

Hopefully this screen capture of the live stats works for you:
http://i47.tinypic.com/20s8xs.jpg

The sooking at the end of the bench is really a big thing for me now, gilly just cant take it well. It looks bad for him, his team, and the fans. Grow a pair and do something about it or take the loss like a man.

Sad thing is next year we have to get a new get of guards again, you need some stability and we will have to work new guys in.

Half time - Blaze 50 Sixers 53

Full time - Blaze 104 Sixers 89

I thought the Blaze came out and defended a lot better in the second half. The sixers stopped taking the ball to the rack and just kept on jacking up 3 or long range twos. Correct me if I am wrong but I don't think Balls scored at all in the second half.

On the Blaze's offence end, Ubaka won it for them I thought. He penetrated really well and if he didn't score, he found the open man, which was generally Harvey who hit his 3 consistently. Ubaka ended up with 21 pts, 4 rebounds and 8 assists. Harvey had 23 pts 4 rebounds 4 assists.

Anything else you want to know Bizzy?

F/Gs - Ng 7/8 and Burston 5/5 - were pretty good But only half a game each.

Gilchrist 1/9 and Tez 4/15 - probably where/how we lost it, I'd say.

(Hill did a bit at the end - when it was over, and Ballinger,Gilchrist just as frustrated as we are- it seems.)

Sorry - half time sixers were 52, not 53.

Oh dear - capitulation - you guys absolutely sucked

Bizzy, I agree with Lockie. Ubaka won it, was composed and classy. Some important cameos from Petrie and #43 who hustled and scored at a great clip. Huge factor was Ninnis' lack of coaching. Didn't play Herbert after a great first half and refused to call time outs when the Blaze got on a run. They had so much momentum after hitting big threes following another score.
I know it is pointless just saying 'gilchrist was crap' , but my god, he was fucking terrible.

I thought Bubbles Goulding also played a key role in the second half that helped turn the screws. Filling in for Gibbo again he backed up last Saturday's game with another solid performance.

Also, no mention of the 'stink' near the end of the game yet? That was as close as I've seen to punches being thrown this season. Petrie absolutely wanted to kill Balls. I've never thought of Balls as a dirty player and still not too sure what he did to get the Intentional (which happened a good 5 seconds before Petrie fired up).

Having said this, I have no doubt it had something to do with an incident late in the 3rd quarter. Petrie and Cooper tangled under the basket and both went down around the baseline. With the play heading back to the other end, Petrie was kinda on top of Coops. It then looked to me like he stamped his boot into Coops as he got back up. Balls who was on the bench at the time, was the only Sixer who got up from the bench to spew at the refs. Coops stayed down and with a foul called at the other end, came out of the game.

Balls appeared to take his case further but as he wasn't subbed on couldn't do too much. Also interesting that Petrie was subbed off at the same stoppage and didn't come back on until half way through the last. Joey wanted him to keep a low profile for a while perhaps?

Wondering what anyone else saw of these incidents?

Doc perhaps? Where were you sitting?

Statman? As you are exactly 7 rows plus concourse directly in front of me, perhaps you had a better view or even heard what was going down (BTW good to finally meet).

Wow, thanks for the info Blazefan!

Sounds like another disappointing fade out from the Sixers. It is maddening how they can play well for a half and then get blown out. Just judging by the boxscore, the Blaze killed us on the boards and shot the lights out after half time!

Bit of a worry to hear that Herbert played well and then didn't play in the second half. Likewise, that Ninnis didn't call timeouts to break the Blaze's run.

That's pretty close to the Sixers season done now. The Tigers game could basically decide it. Sixers threw away both games to the Tigers at home earlier in the season, so I'm hoping they can throw the monkey off their back and return the favour. If they can do that they would keep the season series alive and make it tough on the Tigers. Of course, then there's the Hawks... dare I say 'lets go Blaze' tomorrow?

Talking to Petrie after the game he was still annoyed with Ballinger, but he wouldnt say exactly why so who knows, I didnt see anything too exciting except maybe a big forward, who has been given a tag of captain, watching his team lose the plot and losing it in frustration

ie Ballinger is not a skipper, talented player yes, but pumping your fist like a hero in the 1st 1/4 when your up by 4 and then losing interest down the stretch wont cut it. At one stage in the last 1/4 Ninnis had a time out (yeah surprising) and instead of the 5 on court players being in a cirle around him they were in a straight line across the bench. Ballinger was at the end of the line and was looking around the crowd the entire time out, clearly didnt give a F what the coach had to say!! IMO a skipper is someone who wants to lead the team, Herbert or Holmes are the ones, the rest...Oh dear!

As for the rest of the team, my thoughts.....

Gilchrist, pitbull my arse, lets try Poodle, if he cant look good he couldnt give a shit. and when he got benced his attitude/body language should have seen him sent to the showers
Tez - he went OK even hough his shooting %age must have been shit, at least he looked as though he cared
Burston, spent a shit load of time next to the coach, why.....ummm I cant help there as we couldnt stop him when he was on
Ng - hit some great shots, glad he didnt take more. But gee I could take him on off the dribble and Im 36 and shithouse....
Herbert, Wow - he is a tough nut, clearly doesnt belong in Adelaide....
Hill - he actually did OK, was fun annoying his Dad though
Holmes, when he was off he court (way too much) he was always stretching, warming up, clearly wantinig to be out there. This teams clear leader and needs to be on court. Agreed he brings bugger all on offense - but he is the only one who looked to try and give this team a spark, make him captain NOW
Molitor, well that was a waste of an airfare!
Burston, wow - hes a handy player isnt he, pity your coach doesnt realise it. Ill assume he got injured hence his lack of court time......(yes I mentioned him twice - pity he didnt get noticed by the coaching when he was sitting on the bench)
Ballinger, captain my arse...great player yes, leader - hell no. Love the fist pump and energy in the first 1/4 when your up by 4, but down the stretch where were you. Hit the boards to try and give some inpiration.. NUP, take it hard o the hoop..nah Ill take a shit fade away....Lead from the front...nah we cant win...

and then we get to Ninnis....hmm interesting.
Ive seen a nutjob in Brendan Joyce and recently Joey Wright. Ninnis, I just cant work out?
He spends so much time bitching at he refs (who yes arent great but hey deal with it) does he forget to coach? The team dont seem to listen to him? Cortez looked over and ran the play s the coach called - but Gilchrist, NOPE. Do the players think they are better than the coach? Ive heard it mengioed abot respect, surely you respect your coach?? well it doesnt seem like it from what I saw.
And finally - I seem to recall a few weeks ago seeing a few people calling Gilchrist as the leage MVP over Williams and McKee, oh dear, he is sooooooo far away from that level its insane, he looked awesome in warmups, but looked like a 12 year old when the pressure was on. Pitbull my arse!!


Oh and as for the Blaze.....mmmmmmm

that was a great team effort without their starting PG
Everyone playing to the same gameplan and what the coach wants, a great TEAM effort. If we keep that up we should be really hard to stop


Oh and Blazefan, great to meet you too - we will ahve a few beers next time :)

if statman isnt drunk im sober eheh...Ballinger does a good job as captain, didnt see the game tonight but as for the rest of the season I just cant fault him. Must be hard playing for a coach who runs no offence, or defense.

Thankfully Breakers play you guys next week, so with a bit of LUCK you can kick start our STRECH RUN.
Tonight, Tigers are going to inflict more pain on your lot.

My greatest fear now is that Breakers and Sixers look about even and we don't finish ahead at season end.

Anon - re: Ninnis' time outs. He waited until the Blaze had scored 10 straight points including two huge threes before calling the time out. The damage was already done. I was sitting in a group of Sixers supporters, every one screaming 'call a time out' as the Blaze continued their run. This late in the third and Ninnis hadn't used any time outs for the half. I'm aware of the time out allocation.

Blazefan - saw the Petrie/Coops thing, didn't look like much to me but we could hear Balls screaming from where we were, he absolutely lost it. Must have been more to it than I could see. The incident in the last was sparked by Balls who gave Petrie a bit of a slap to the back of the head after play had stopped. Was nothing in it, certainly not worth a punch being thrown. I'd say it was related to the other incident.

Blazefan/Statman - do you agree with the time out thing? Ninnis just seemed unwilling to burn one when the Blaze went on a run. For example, second quarter with Sixers up by 13 or 14, Blaze get on a run and Ninnis waits until they are back within 4 before pulling Gilchrist and calling the time out. Hard to figure out

Was it the Statman on comment 551. Where's the JGS?

Rot set in from 4 min mark of Q2. That's when GC shooting % jumped up, Sixers went down.

Jacob was very quiet last night as well. Rebounds in favour of GC, suspect a 100% fit Jacob would have hussled more

Ha - yeah that long ranbling post wasnt actually me, but I do know who it was (a mate who I took to the game) and yeah to say he had had a few beverages at the game is an understatement.

From halfway through the 2nd 1/4 the Blaze were well on top. Until then it was all Adelaide and you were hitting some big shots and keeping the crowd quiet. Blaze got on a roll and yes IMO Ninny was too slow calling a timeout before the half and trying to keep the momentum with the 6ers. By half time Blaze were flying and had all the running and went to the break believing they were well on top. Conversely the 6ers had seen a solid lead evaporate and started to doubt themselves.

So yes - while Ninnis did use his timeouts, he seemed a little slow to reqact. It can only be a matter of 60 seconds too late and that makes all the difference.

I saw Balls fired up on the channel 9 sports report. I've always wanted to see this come from Balls or step in when another team mate is in trouble and use his size.

It was a rare moment from Balls, but I want to see it more often.

I'd love video footage of the incidents in full too, that would be awesome.