Sixers by awesome.

It's been a LONG wait, but I'll be upstairs at Apollo dining with the old man before returning to my long lost home on the center aisle.



* warms arms up for patented protestation pose *

"AWWWW! C'MON!!"

Yeah, there it is.

Sixers will be hard to topple at home, Sixers by 5

yeh i think with all the mucking around of plays and moving players around it will make it a close game the whole way through, but it will be hard to topple the sixers. will be great to give winder a nice warm welcome too

hopefully not anon regarding the fading bit, otherwise we may as well just have kept ninnis

Did Isaac ever come up with that "Ignore Anons" toggle functionality?

yeah i'll be there, Sixers by 11

I cant wait for this and its only the pre season lol

Go You Sixers!!!

Tv by 20. I saw them against Cairns & if at full strength they are a top 2 side this year. Being a friendly they'll take the foot off the pedal & let the scores be respectable. Tv by 16!

Is tip off 7:30 ?

yes tip off at 7:30. should be good fun.

Hope so - that's what I'm aiming for. Two new Dutch trainees in tow. Hoping to make them converts.

Looking forward to this like mad. It's been too long since we were at BMC for a Sixers game! hopefully we can get a least 2000 there tonight, 3000 would be even better...

why wouldnt there be tickets at the door?

Anon, hope so - that's what I'm planning on doing.

How much are tickets?

Herbert has injured his knee, hopefully its not too bad.

Scores about even- into the second half.

Herbie down mid-way through the third with a knee or ankle. Looked innocuos but he was in a lot of pain. Carried into the rooms and hasn't returned.

...shit.

DeVries is legit. Class act.

Winder looks very laconic. He's deceptively long and a very good athlete. Has a nice, soft jumper.

We definitely look like a work in progress though with some good signs and some glitches.

A lot of back door cuts, tenacious d (not the band)and man it was nice to score coming out of a time out.

Craig Winder, I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Did we get up ? I had to leave at 3 quarter time.

We have imports that play defense, I forgot they could, good time this will be a exciting year I think

Scores?

Sixers win by a point with a block by Winder to deny Crocs with seconds on the clock.

This squad has a spine, I thought they were gone after Herbert messed up his knee. THey faltered initially but showed guts in the final quarter.

A solid team effort with no stars, just a team all on the same page.

Will Herbert's unfortunate demise open the door for Sam Harris? The sixers looked seriously short on the defensive end at times.

Well Ive heard that it does not look promising for Herbie. First thought is he has done his ACL. Hopefully not but it isn't looking promising.

Now the Game. Defence was there for the first time in a while. Still not outstanding but the foundations are their to build on. It was nice to see a Sixers 'team' again and by that I mean a passing team not a one on one team like the past couple years. All in all the whole team looked good. Winder can fill the box-score in all categories if he pleases. Devries is very solid and the boy can shoot. Hill is starting to show some maturity and more skill with the ball. Ninja well I wouldn't be surprised if he has a 30 or 40 point game anytime soon. Carter, man what a pickup that guy has more tenacity than most he is very deceiving on defence. Quicker than he looks and he can shoot too. We go much deeper than previous years and these imports look to be a good fit for our team and the league. After tomorrow nights game I think Ill be purchasing some season tickets :) GO SIXERS.

Oh and before someone flames me, I know its only one game but the building blocks are there. Especially considering the last couple weve had more like lego blocks and the beginning of the season.

Conflicted feelings at the moment. Brilliant win thanks to a couple of amazing blocks by Winder. Then again the game means nothing and we've just lost our best defender.

Considering it was their first game, it wasn't nearly as sloppy as I expected. A few too many shotclock violations but good on them for trying to take their time and execute the offence rather than just throwing up a shot.

Winder is absolutely perfect. Plus we can all call him a 'keeper' without it being a pun like last year.
Offensively he knew his role and showed great decision making as well as the ability to score when needed. Was tough when he took it inside and that shot seems fine. Defensively he didn't have much to stop today (Blalock is just a nothing player at first look) but was great at that end as well. Those blocks were nuts.

DeVries looked great as well. Looks cut compared to his time at WSR and much more aggressive. He's more than just a shooter.

Ninja: looks like that muscle isn't effecting his stroke. Much better defending penetration too but a bit slow on the close-outs.

Carter seems to be the preferred choice at PG when both he and Winder are on court, as expected I guess.

Dowdell probably outdid DJ tonight but I'll probably be corrected when the stats come out.

Refs inconsistent as hell.

I'd like to see a swingman replace Herbie, rather than Harris. Although we're not too desperate with DeVries, Ng, Hill and Holmes holding down the SG/SF spots. We lose a lot defensively.

Craig Winder. That is all.

blaylocks 4 points were unstoppable.....lol

sixers did well some minor glitches but damn we look good out there. Defense was damn impressive. So much for being short we were getting boards all night. Schench did a bit of damage but once the d stepped up he had minimal answers. Very impressed. De vries is looking awesome same with winder. Carter too was impressive.

For those that want to know Herbies situation, it is an ACL so he is out for the season. Looked like he was going to step it up this year too! :-(

Winder is the goods. For the poster that wrote on here that Blalock was better than Winder you may want to rethink your post. Blalock is quick but thats about it. I cant believe he was even drafted to the NBA.....he looks like a poor mans Homicide.

Devries is deadly and could easily play the point as well....an under rated passer I feel!!

Ng was his usual self.

Hill was still a bit dumb but it looks like he has improved. Took it to the rack well and finished, looked like the kid with potential that arrived for us fresh out of the AIS a number of years ago. Looks to have a bit more confidence.

Ballinger is still reluctant to close out on the 3 point shot. Really, he had a stinker....dont know if he was 100% but he looked to be struggling a bit.

Holmes was his usual self, aggressive on D, setting screens and being physical. Didnt hit many shots though, but then he really didnt shoot alot.

Carter is all defensive and hustle whilst still dangerous offesively - great pick up!

Johnson didnt play much, dont know if Marty was keeping things close to his chest on that front? was really a non factor and probably found it hard to get any rhythm after spending alot of time on the bench.

Dowdell looks strong. He is very vocal ans hustles on d. If he plays within himself he should be a reliable back up.

As for the game, it looked like we struggled at time with their height. Defensively we struggled to close out on their 3 point shooters and our switch defence was poor. Our interior defence and for the most part full court pressure was good. Our D was definitely in their face we were just a bit flat footed at times and that was all they needed to create the open shot.

When Herbie went down we seemed to lose our focus a bit but at 3 quarter time we got it back and outscored Townsville in the last. Our offense when the game was on the line was terrible but out defence was superb, especially Winder who came up with 2 big blocks and tapped the rebound to one of our players.

Positives for us: Winder, Devries, Carter and improvement from Hill
Negatives: Herbies injury, perimeter defence still a concern.

Positives for Townsville: Schenscher was unstoppable, Blanchfield is a young gun (possible next Ingles without the figjam attitude), were close without 1 of their imports, Cedar can score in a hurry.
Negatives for Townsville: Blalock, thats about it really, they were pretty unlucky to lose in my opinion....not alot of weaknesses in their side. They will be there when the Finals are upon us.

Any more word on Herbert?

Fair to note that the Crocs were without Hinder, Freeman and Crawford but had played against Cairns previously to get a bit of pre-season experience.

36ers started really well with contributions from everywhere, players often making the extra pass, but had a dodgy patch where the Crocs made in-roads and then took the lead.

DeVries looks to be a reliable option. Winder didn't seem to have a great game, yet still put up points regardless. Not saying he was bad, just that you watched him play and knew that he wasn't on fire or anything, just quietly made his baskets. Hill was fine and Ng was as you'd expect. Not heaps of offense from the frontcourt but Schensch had a good game (aside from FT shooting) and it probably wasn't worth going up against him too often given the alternatives. Carter gives them an extra ball-handler when it's needed which will be handy - not dissimilar to Brad Davidson in his skillset, just a bit shorter on experience. Dowdell wasn't too bad - plays a bit like a veteran, knows his role, vocal, etc.

Crowd was as you'd expect (1500-2500) but loud. It's quite funny that a smallish pre-season crowd in Adelaide would probably be as noisy as a full game crowd in some other places. Obviously a lot of fans there ripe for a new NBL season and especially interested to see the new team.

Can't make tomorrow night's game, but it'll be interesting to see how the 36ers do in a re-match.

Surprised that other teams haven't tried to steal M Cedar from the Crocs? He's a great scorer.

Yea great first up game, like the intensity, and Winder looks the goods from that performance if he can do that as his average game he is gonna be good, i agree with Isaac he was good without really setting the world on fire i reckon he could have some big scoring nights in the season.
Spewing about Herbert, i was sad to see him go down he is a quality player, who can we get to replace him? I hear gold cost are going for guys like Bruce and Tait, though we dont necesarily need a PG they could be handy, what other decent aussie options for Herberts level of points and cash are availble.

Would say

PG Winder/Carter
SG Devries/Bruce or Tait
SF Holmes/Ng
PF Ballinger/Hill
C Johnson/Dowdell

work??

What about a guy like Mottram or Vasiljevic, we could do with someone to guard guys like Schenscher.

All the best Herbert, I hope you recover soon!

I also hope the 36ers find a quality fill in for him.

i agree with Isaac there regarding Winder, he went about his job quietly, didn't look to catch fire, but that is a good thing because he could be the type of player like Willie Farley, that when he catches fire it is over for the other side...

Tough break for Nathan. Only 6 points available. Mottram is a 6. Vasiljevic a 5 but I think GCB have signed him. John Fitzgerald, Lindsay Tait, Zaryon Fereti, Martin Iti, Andrew Rice.

Fereti and Harris = 6 points combined and a more flexible 11 man roster.

Isaac - Thanks for pointing out that the Crocs were missing 3 of their main players. Let's not jump to any conclusions gentlemen, we all know pre season means F-All.

Crocs fan in China......

Nice game and better then i was expecting likewise the crowd. I'm worried about the height thing as well and dont like balls at the 5. Winder to me did not really seem like he did that much but as has been mentioned look at the stats and he was going at a good clip.

DeVries looks very reliable and 2nd best behind ballinger, i like that he can get his own shot as well. All the old guard looked fine. For a first up game it was good.

Massive loss with Herbert. Looks really bad from where i was sitting (right infront of where he finished up) just could not put any weight on it at all.

Hope for the best.

Ballinger started at centre. Devries started well. Schenscher started well. While we had 29points at qtr time, it looked like we'd get our 100points.
We looked a little short at times. I'd like a little bit of Harris. Winder did a lotta good things. Maybe highlight otf the nite were his rejects.
Maybe 2500 ish - quite a lot had never been b4 and a 1point win would see a lotta people coming back in a little bit of excitement.Players signing a lotta autographs for 10 mins after.
So very sorry Herbie - happened right in front of me- agonising.

The game meant nothing. No one is calling a championship because of it, but there were some very good signs. Getting the import spots right was always going to be vital and I think we've done that.

props on the win and it's nice that you guys finally have some imports that you are happy with lol

DJ needs to start at the 5; with Balls rotating around to replace him and have Dowdell slide into the 4 spot.

Holmes, still a fantastic rebounder.

How many Blocks did Winder get in the end? I counted something like 3-4 total.

De Vries could have got a double-double (close enough) with all the boards.

Mottram was in the crowd last night. Ballanger, like he did a few years back, and Dowdell are too small at centre and I expect will struggle against teams like the Crocs and Tiger if expected to defend the opposition big guys every game. Sixers might struggle to close out shooters if they need to provide help in the pivot.

Winder - Agree with Isaac. I might be paranoid, but I see a bit of the "I'll be the hero here!" in him. Made some big plays but also had some ugly turn overs / decisions. That foul with 2 secs on the shot clock had me cringing. Looks to have a good handle, sweet jumper (gets up when he shoots it) and some good elevation. I like that he seems to want to direct the team in TOs etc as a PG should.

DeVries - Good solid 2 guard, kinda like the SG version of Dusty. Blue collar, reliable hustler. I likes.

Carter - Started slow but showed a decent handle getting into the game. Good back up option to Winder.

Ng - I'm still a huge fan, but we knew that. I'd like to really see him step up this year. Still believe he will.

Herbert - Poor guy. Heart goes out big time.

Hill - Showed his athleticism is still there. Confidence seems up a little. Here's hoping he progresses and becomes the penetrator he should be. Being left handed is a huge asset.

Holmes - Did as Holmes done; bangs body, rebounds and don't take no guff from no one!

Dowdell - I was impressed to be honest and I didn't think I would be. Seems like another solid guy willing to bang. Not overly tall, but showed glimpses of decent touch and handle.

Johnson - Why did we sign DJ if he's going to sit down most of the night? Very frustrating. Must be a reason in there somewhere, I'm sure. Only pre-season still.

Ballinger - As you'd expect, but here in lies my biggest fear for this team; we just can't have Balls play 5 all the time. He gets over worked and taken out of his natural game. We saw it all last season - he's forced to work twice as hard defending against a taller 5 spot and he winds up exhausted. DJ needs more minutes and Balls needs to go to 4. Marty was saying as much in press conferences.

Clarke - Very early days and unfair to judge the guy on a pre-season game. Still, not a lot of structured offence that I could follow.

Overall - AWESOME entertainment and great advert for the league / team. Intensity was up on D, which was great to see.

Looking forward to the season.

I seriously liked the intensity of the team, everyone seems to be on the same page and they are all willing to work for each other. That goes a long way.

My main point of concern was Balls at centre....it took him completely out of the game on the offensive end. We need him to get more minutes at PF than C if we are going to get anywhere this season.

This to me looks like a team that will be competetive against anyone, providing we work on the perimter D.

Was a good hitout to start the season, we have plenty to work on, and by the sounds of it a plyaer to replace.

i agree with previous comments that the sixers let in a little too much from the perimeter, it seemed whenever the crocs passed it there would be a double team waiting and then someone else is free for the three. but defensively the structure there last night is better than anything we had last season. everyone seemed to be working for it and trying to get steals wherever they could where as last season that effort wasnt there. its too early to judge how its going to turn out but as mentioned earlier the foundations are definitely there for a top 4 team easily, its just going to come down to the team working together and the coach.

the one thing i did love was at the end of the game looking at the personal points for our team and it goes to show we dont just have one danger man anymore, our entire team is putting points down which will make us harder to defend.

Oh I forget...

Refs - Mother of GOD! Just... I mean... what the... ARGH! So frustrating. Was it work experience night? Just horrible.

I couldn't make the game, but in the box score I noticed DJ & Dowdell combined for 1 rebound in about 35 minutes, are we gonna get spanked by the bigger teams on the boards?

Nutwork, not if Devries and holmes do what they were doing last night. they handled a lot of boards.

Loco, I would have to disagree with the offence structure, there were plenty of off ball screens, down screens and on ball screens (more offence than last season). We got some great looks and I am sure that Clarke is still making adjustments to the offence. My favorite thing that Clarke has the boys doing is running the ball up the court, the ball gets rebounded and everybody sprints up the court. As other posters have pointed out early days still.

Nutwork, the rebound count was even at the end of the game.

DJ didnt play much but I would expect him to start at the 5 come the real season and Ballinger will move to the 4. With Herbies injury I think Hill may be given the opportunity at the 3 and then the 2 imports will fill the guard positions.

Townsville were missing players yes, but our front court for the most part was playing out of position so that made it a little tough for guys like Ballinger.

Great reading this thread to find out how both teams went! A shame we couldnt follow a live stream or something to give us updates.

I'm pretty happy with how the Crocs went, I'm happy we fought back and even though we had 3 guys out, still were in the game until the end.

Schenscher!!! Townsville has finally got a inside presence... after 17 years!

Hope the game goes well tonight but man i feel for Herbie, 15 mins on court and has done his ACL - I'm pretty sure kerry Williams had played about the same mins when he did his last week against the Crocs.

BTW - Cairns and Adel: keep your hands off Kelvin Robertson!

And it still makes me scratch my head how 2 professional teams can only shoot in the 60's for FT%!!

I think Tom Daly was introduced as a player at the start, but i don't think he got on the court.
5-10mins a game from Sam Harris would be handy for this team, although I've mentioned that before.

Big Sexy - You're probably right. Besides, it's early days and we're already improved on last season's structure.

There were still a few too many 4 guys flat footed, one-on-one situations but that happens.

Tornado, I know the rebounding count was even. Tville still have 2 bigs in Freeman & Hinder to come back in. Rebounding guards are great (Mahersy was oe of the best) bu they will find it hard to rebound and finish at the other end of the break. Not knocking anyone just notice we struggled in that department last year and Burston is probably a better rebounder than DJ.

So, the refs let some rough stuff, singlet holding and the like go, but called some of it.
Winder stepped in the middle of Schenscher-Ballinger push and shove, later gave an unsportsmanlike for takling Schenscher.
When we were behind Winder pushed it along with a few drives and shots - got us in front. He can do both - push it along himself and feed it.

Anon, people are very interested to see the new coach and team after a disappointing season in 09/10.

+1 for the crowd turnout - was great to see. Extremely vocal, too. And they were treated to a great finish.

Anon 915
You make a great point, I noticed that a big part of the crowd were young kids and obviously first time spectators.
The volume of that 2200 crowd was impressive.
It has to be the work the team has been doing in the community. Was it 60 schools they have visited in the pre-season?
Another great sign for the Club IMO.
As with all the above posts "things are looking good"
I just hope the ACL predictions are wrong on Herbie

the kids under 15 thing worked a treat. I think the show stand exposure probably helped. havent been to the show and dont want to. but families generally wander around everywhere and im sure they came across the sixers stand and the 10 dollar ticket with kids under 15 free sounded like a good night out.

I reckon the quality of our imports will pull more people through the door this year.

TDV is a great passer, and call play 3 different positions, while Winder is really tough. A couple of times he drove drove straight down the middle of the keyway throught the foul line, got hammered by multiple defenders and still made the shot.

Only thing i didn't like is Ballinger starting at centre, but the 2 bench post players provide great options. I would like to see MJ toughen up on his blocking out though as he got pushed under a couple of times. More minutes will come for him with more strength. He is great at running the floor though.

Match report with boxscore linked at the bottom

Best preseason game ive ever seen! had more intensity than alot of the last seasons regular season games, which shows there has definitely been a culture shift at the 6ers.

Winder is a taller stronger Ubaka, a workhorse with a soft touch, a rare comodity. And the 6ers have shooters again....thankgod.

Id hope that Johnson was injured or something, because he didnt look good at all, see how he backs up tonight though.

For the Crocs, its great to see Cedar is about to become a star for them, he goes about it so quietly, but effectively.

And that Schensch is actually going to utilized. There will be a few teams that wont have too many answers for him this season. He looks quicker up and down the court. Wouldve fit the 6ers system me thinks. Its good to see him dominate again anyways, lets not forget where he is from people haha Great to see he cant hit the ocean from the FT line now though!!!

Cant wait for tonights game, see what adjustments are made, surely with the Crocs undermanned, the 6ers win by double digits toinght.

Nutwork, I understand your concern re: rebounding. I think we will be ok in that department though as players like DJ, Holmes and Dowdell didnt play more than 15-20 mins each. They may not have rebounded in big numbers but what they did do well was block out their opponent and let guys like Devries sweep the glass. Rebounding was more of a team effort. Having said that, when we needed to pull in a rebound Holmes was big and came up with it!!

I know Townsville were missing some key players but if we do the team thing on the defensive glass and have DJ starting at the 5 (which I think he will, I mean thats what he was promised when he signed wasnt it?) I think we will be pretty competitive?!

I have a feeling PC MAY play tonight...

Anon 288971 - Johnson only played limited minutes and would have struggled to get any rythm going as a result. Schenscher not only played alot more minutes but spent most of them posting up Ballinger!

Not saying that Schenscher isnt the better player but you have to look at everything that occurred on the night, not just the stat sheet!

We know DJ is a long term prospect but even considering that I wouldnt be panicking just yet! He killed Burston when he played against us last year...

"Winder stepped in the middle of Schenscher-Ballinger push and shove, later gave an unsportsmanlike for takling Schenscher."

Extremely soft call.

DJ is a shocking rebounder for his size. Just gotta focus on what he brings offensively and hope that Jake, Balls and Dowdell can make up what we lost in Burston.

Also, Sam Harris' girlfriend is tiny. Just saying...

DJ Rod - I agree 100%! Finally we have someone in the paint that is a true centre. It's only taken 17 years as you said!

Go UCC!!

X, I love how you always keep the conversation beyond reproach! :D