Winder three for the win on the buzzer.

and calls the bank

Sixers to play the best game so far and win it by 4 with Balls BOC

The 36ers are currently ranked $21 to win the championship at the local TAB. I put $5 on them while the price is high again.

I hope the Sixers win tonight by 2 points in overtime with everyone firing.

I've got the breakers in a tight one.read boti's article in the paper this morning and he matched the teams up and choose who he thought had the advantage in each match-up. I agreed with most except the pledger vs johnson one.he said advantage 36ers. not sure what he based that on since pledger is putting up better numbers across the board and playing less minutes, plus they haven't lost a game yet, so have no idea what he based that one!!! anyway got the breakers in a close one

Teams looking good on paper will always be beaten by a team looking good on the floor!

Sixers by 22. Statement time - We own the BMC and we play every game like Brett did.

I think the 6ers have a really good chance of winning tonight. I think it is a case of the Breakers being due for a loss, and the 6ers primed for a good performance. Will be a very close game.

Having said all that, I still think the Breakers have the edge and will win by 3.

Will be interested in seeing what defensive matchups Lemanis uses. I would put Vukona on Ballinger and use Wilkinson on the less dangerous Holmes. The key to beating the 6ers is to limit the scoring of Ballinger.

These refs. Seriously. There are no words.

Contemplating going home for the first time ever. No I'm not. But if I ever was...

FFS

Refs are making some shockers, but is this sixers amateur hour or what...NZ defense is good but were doing way too many silly mistakes and rushed shots.

don't think Bruton has missed yet

We are running systems that do not suit our team !!!!

Would rather see some 3/4 and 1/2 court traps with some switch up zones and the like , hedging , hesitations , close out and box out , then run . We burn way too much energy picking up full court and then carry that flustered intensity into offense when we really should be running the slowing down to isos , inside outs and motion cuts and picks . Please make the opposition play defense for a change and get the ball inside and out before launch . If we run the jungle all game every game with this team we will finish just below .500 for the season .

We are not super athletic but we have strengths that we utilize all but half the time . Slow down the pace in offense , way too jagged .

I like the coach and the headed direction but we can not achieve what he wants this year so time to tinker . Would actually like to see DeVries as a 6th man who plays 32 minutes . The scoring should come from Ballinger , DeVries , Winder and then Hill , Ng , Holmes and Johnson .

im with X refs are shit!

Sorry missed Rhys Carter in the mix whose game we love .
Refs tonight are horrid !!

Way to go Troy DeVries and Sam Harris..
Bruton missed one..

HARRIS!!!!!!!!!!!

Wilkinson is a useless, dirty, flopping wanker. Go home.

ng has gotta stay on his feet. liability!!

X - if you say that about Wilkinson then youd have to say the same thing about "Mr Look at Me" Winder

He made some great passes, but man its all about him isnt it?

Massive defensive breakdowns twice in a row in the clutch

Can I get 1xcopy of the poster abercrombie put on ballinger

I didnt get to game been following it on livestats, whats WInder's game been like just from stats in last qtr it seems he's been a negative-not saying that for sure would love to hear from ppl at game. i saw him last week he was ok but no upgrade on gilchrist with a simialr kinda attitude. of course i maybe way off mark and sure youll all tell me that..

Rhys Carter and Brad hill played well. Pretty sure Abercrombie got all ball on winders dunk. Awesome first half highlights.

Farrk this. If it wasn't Sixers playing I would've turned that shit off at half time. Disgraceful, NBL.

Stat, i'll say the flopping bit about Winder but leave out the useless, dirty wanker bit.

Big games from Abercrombie and Braswell to get NZ home. Rhys Carter awesome D and a big 3 at cucial time, great signing. Winder looked dangerous at times but also looked like he tried to do to much at times

Big games from Abercrombie and Braswell to get NZ home. Rhys Carter awesome D and a big 3 at cucial time, great signing. Winder looked dangerous at times but also looked like he tried to do to much at times

my take on Winder - yes from someone who has only watched him in one game on TV tonight...so I may be way off but Ill back myself.

Its all about him, would rather make a flashy play than take the easy basket. Made some great passes tonight, but seems to always look to make a hollywood assist rather than a simple play for easy points.
Whinges and whinges, just shut up and play the whistle and your man wont run past you all the time. Sure you got some tough calls but get over it, I coach under 10s to play until the whistle blows and they can handle it!

I guess hes the sort of player than at the end of he game rushes to grab the stats sheet to see how he went, every team has one I guess, just a shame its your point guard, especially when your star forward only took 11 shots (and hit 8 of em)

5-0 heading into a tough match in Perth
confidence will be high in the NZ camp
Abercrombie just getting better and better.

Breakers just got up. Played poorly though. Too many TO's. Will get spanked if we play like that in Perth.
Abercrombie highlights reel for one game would be the envy of most players for a season.
The reverse was pretty and we won't see a better block this year.
Unimpressed with Wilkinson. No rebounds, no hustle and no inside game. Not sure what he brings.(a 3 point shot???)
Pledge also had a shocker.
Winder reminds me a little of Gilchrist with a pass.
De Vries solid, but not a good enough handle to create. Ballinger's got to get more ball.

Well find a PG who can create shots for him then!

A bit harsh but some fair calls. If ever you could justify such whinging, despite his occasional flopping, Winder can be excused. I like the idea of having such an emotional, aggressive guy leading the team and you take the good with the bad I suppose. I don't think as quite as selfish as you're suggesting, just seems to feel the need to take control himself at times. At times he does but probably needs to pick his spots a bit better.

Agree Statman
ballinger needed more shots, when the sixers were putting the ball inside to him and Dj they were getting buckets. I also agree with playing Carter at starting PG, he deserves it, guys hustling his ass off and making winder look average.

Furious adelaide didn't sign a genuine centre this year! Only have yourselves to blame 36er hierarchy. I supported tonight lost my Voice and will keep supporting but it's an uphill battle. The 6ers lack of height is disrespectful to any knowledgable fan. And for what it's worth Clarke leave the stars we have in longer and let winder of his leash!!!!!!!! The man has the ability but is struggling in this system of yours. This ain't te ais anymore buddy.

Horrible call anon. We would've had 10 techs that game and those maggots deserved every bit of abuse they received.

Abercrombie, Vukona and Boucher owned the boards while wilkinson squabled with whoever was keen lol. Braswell's handles pretty impressive

Shaq, DJ looked very capable out there and Harris made an instant impact. Sixers were sweet with Dj @ C and Balls @ PF

we certainly made a meal of it after coming back from the miles behind and getting 3 in front.

we really needed to ice the trey from the long corner in front of NZ bench in the last minute or so.

extremely impressed with rhyce carter - his couple of steals and hussle kept us in the game and fired the crowd up.

great to see harris hit the floor and crowd loved the slam - like to see some more of him.

certainly plenty of highlights in tonights game - 70% from NZ - 30% from 6ers.

i am really enjoying the games this year.

music has been excellent and good rowdy crowds.

33-42 rebound count....nothing was sweet about it! Is everyone in denial about this lack of centre thing??

i thought marty would've had that weak side abercrombie thing sorted before the game!!

it was the difference!!

momentum buster stuff is what nz are about.

i was with marty in the 3rd or last 1/4 - NZ travelled twice to score - one guy spun and stepped a couple of times then dished to a cutter who took at least 3 steps to put it in.

im sorry but that game was won and lost by the poor poor poor refereeing. That is the most pitiful display ive ever seen from the refs. They couldnt count to 3 as nz pitched a tent in the key. Im happy to admit defeat when we have been out played but tonight i dont think we were.

At least the cheerleader with the spectacular rack was impressive.

Jameer Nelson killed us tonight.

For crying out loud, give DJ some more minutes.

And to that little kid who dropped his guts next to me, yours is coming pal !

Winder had a much better game than his previous couple. But in the last 6-7 minutes of the game, he went back to the way he has played in the earlier rounds - trying to score and do it all himself. He had 6 assists and was getting players involved in the first 3 quarters - THEN he decides to drive and throw up a couple of horrible looking shots. Why? Well, the jury is out on that one. Personally, i think it's just DUMB basketball. I.e., grabbing the ball whilst stepping on the sideline in front of the umpire when it was going to be our ball if he let it go out!! Driving to the hoop and throwing up a prayer. and i think earlier in the game he was basically sitting on the ground and took a shot?! He had a sweet game up until the last 7 minutes.

Our offence during this stage of the game was very stagnent. As i said, winder took some terrible shots, we fed the ball to jacob holmes (who struggles to hit a shot), why on earth didnt we MAKE the ball go to ballinger? We see him hit so many tough shots.

Kinda reminded me of last season when we lost so many games down the stretch cos we didnt have that killer offensive play to get a basket. On the other hand, new zealand looked so much cooler when the game got tight. Guards were able to dribble into the MIDDLE of the key far too easily and were left with an option either side for an easy basket once they drew the defence.

Johnson and Dowdell are doing nicely. I'd like to see them both get more court time and allowing Ballinger a chance to play his natural game. Giving Johnson and Dowdell more challenges and experience against the biggest guys in the league is ONLY going to help them progress.

Was a big game for us, and now 2 losses in a row at home - we need to win one on the road next week to make up for it. another home game live on ONE HD - but a massive crowd (over 5,000) would have been great to get the 'W'. In such a tight season, losses at home are goign to make it difficult to make the playoffs. Big couple of weeks ahead on the road.

good words observer

larger crowd = no junior games the factor ?

Uggh still pissed but not finished, I'll try to get some calm thoughts out lol.

Pretty proud of the team, can honestly say they deserved the W.

Holmes: Did we actually choose to post this guy up with one of the most important possessions of the game in the 4th quarter??? Another terrible offensive night with solid rebounding and D. Why he chooses to spin and fade away from the basket when he's right underneath with no one around him I have no idea. He needs to develop a floater, hook shot or something. That flat short range jumper is a liability.

Balls: Average rebounding the only fault. Excellent defensively and just didn't get the looks he deserved.

Hill: Not a huge game but had some very influential periods. Pretty good effort.

DeVries just had a bad shooting night. He's usually been able to compensate for some of his off nights with great rebounding and playmaking. Not tonight.

Harris: Well well well, wildcard! No one went near him in the paint for that basket so I wouldn't pump him up too much but I don't mind that little bit of unpredictability from Marty.

DJ: Terrific offensive game as always and I thought his D was actually okay (by his standards). Given 2 rebounds by the stats people but he had more. I counted at least 3 ORebs. Defensive boards a constant problem for him. I don't understand how someone with that size, who is such a good offensive rebounder, can be non existent on the boards at the other end. It has to be an effort thing doesn't it?

JD: JD was JD. I like JD.

Ninja: Wow, didn't expect the 5 rebounds. That's impressive but he's still not getting the looks. Every shooter hates to see a stroke that nice go wasting wide open in the corner without a pass.

Carter: Made one of the worst decisions of the game by kicking it out in the fourth when he had an open layup but other than that you can't fault his game. I'd hate to be an opposition PG trying to bring the ball up with him in front of you. Not really fussed as to whether he or Hill starts. He'll get his 25 minutes regardless. Look how NZ use Henare/Braswell.

Breakers: You know how I feel about the fat ranga.

Dear Mr.Abercrombie, please stay in the NBL forever. I don't care if you just destroy us. I want the pleasure of seeing you play for the next 15 years. Sincerely, Australia and New Zealand.

But on Abercrombie, did anyone wonder how he got so open on that cut for the game winning slam? I can assure you it wasn't just bad defence on DeVries' part.

But in general, the Breakers roster resembled the cast of Bold And The Beautiful tonight. Get the hell off the floor.

Skip, Nice work with Shutterbug :D
Bring back Galvanize too!

Aaaaand again, worst refereeing of the year. Unbearably frustraiting and would be unwatchable if my team wasn't playing. Fix it. Shit, swapping them with the refs at Port Adelaide would be an upgrade at this stage. Ben McDonald was the worst. Pathetic pathetic pathetic.

Uhhhhh ok guys I'm all vented out.

"im sorry but that game was won and lost by the poor poor poor refereeing. That is the most pitiful display ive ever seen from the refs"

I wholly agree, the guys played well were out rebounded and just kept coming. 2 of the break aways NZ had were 100% umpire controlled.
If you did a job like that in a normal 9-5 job you wouldnt be back the next day, all of them should be apologising to the players for killing our chances to win.

Tough loss - Bill, are you watching the same DeVries that I am because every game he has been able to get to the hole and score lay ups! He has handles and can take the defensive pressure.

Elite - good call on Braswell=Jameer Nelson. I thought he had switched from a Magic to a Breakers singlet!!

Too many easy lay ups when we had tired legs trying to pressure the ball handler on the high pick instead of playing a bit more "safe". NZ are just too smart and have been together too long. It was a shocking last defensive set when Braswell had Carter one on one between half way and 3pt line, Holmes runs from under the basket to come up and double and before he even gets to the 3pt line, Braswell then drives beating carter and catching Holmes with his momentum going forward and then gives off to Abercrombie for his 7th easy monster dunk. Why send the double team from there and at that part of the play?!?!?!

So many opportunities - really got switch up the D too at times. The gamble half man/half zone D with a press can be very effective, but NZ exposed us with their great ball handling and cool heads.

observer that wasnt 2 losses in a row at home last week we had sydney at the dome and won but regardless we still have 2 losses at home already and so early in the season means bad things from my pov. Next week will be very interesting although its looking like at the end of next week we most likely will be 2-5 unless we see some serious changes in our shooting

BS on the umpires causing the loss SRT, we got out shot tonight, poor shot selection and poor rotations from Marty lost the game tonight.

The 5 on the court for most of the last quarter is not our best side.

I dont care if Jacob Holmes can get 50 rebounds in a game keep him away from the ball in offense, and Ng is a liability in the end game too, he isnt too bad earlier in the game if he can get free but tonight he couldn't and should have been benched.

Thought some might have mentioned this so far but nothing said

4mins left 71-68 36ers

Ng looses CJ and he hits wide open 3 pointer
Ng joins the help defence (DJ had already help out and there was no need for Ng to be that deep) and leaves Webster in corner for 2 pointer
Braswell takes Ng 1 on 1. Ng steps off too far and Braswell knocks a long 2 pointer

2 Mins Left 75-71 Breakers

Ok so Ng was not help by some sloppy turnovers down the offensive end by his team mates but he really needs to be a better defender if he wants to play late in 4th quarter.

"BS on the umpires causing the loss SRT, we got out shot tonight, poor shot selection and poor rotations from Marty lost the game tonight."

Yep, if we shot better, we would have won.

But, if the refereeing was accurate, consistent and even both ways...... yup, we would have won.

Oh and the block on Winders dunk by abercrombie was huge. If only the refs were not there to f**k it up. Clearly it was all ball. I also liked the fact though that winder was willing to take off on that attempt. If he had thrown it down it would have been worthy of an NBA top ten.

Devries I think SHOWED his worth tonight. It was his worst shooting game we have seen, he had a couple of drives but he REALISED he wasnt hitting shots, and stopped shooting and went for the passing. That says alot about a players game smarts.

Ng needs to either learn how to dribble the ball or be sat down, his stagnent do nothing but pass after 10seconds in the last quater was horrible to watch.

Dione63 if you dont think the umpires impacted heavily tonight, you didnt watch the right game

There's another thing these morons have reverted back to! Calling a shooting foul automatically on nearly every clean shot block!

Flinders - it wasn't helped by the fact that after we were 71-68 Winder had 4 consecutive turnovers (one of those was a tough shot in traffic that didn't hit the ring - a turnover in my books).

And the Sixers defensive rotations were woeful - I'm not sure how many points NZ got in the paint but it would have been A LOT.

And CJ is silky smooth - he could score 30 a game if he wanted to - he makes it look so easy.

Abercrombie - was awesome

And Jacob - what were you thinking on the last NZ posession going to double team???? Fair enough to help out when you are guarding Boucher but choose your moments!

No problem with your comments on the turnovers by winder Oden08, but 3 diferent people scored with ease on Ng.

I was almost expecting Pledger to be subbed in to break Ngs ankles

Tough loss because we could have won that. Fourth quarter execution really let us down. To play Ng for so much of it was a gamble that didn't pay off, I understand he can catch and shoot, but he is struggling to create for himself, isn't confident handling the ball and is a liability on defence.

We still need to work on getting Ballinger the ball more and not be so trigger happy with the 3 ball. We gave up to many offensive boards, not sure how many of them lead to second chance points but I would still like to Johnson/Dowdell out there more.

Not very impressed with the standard of reffing tonight, regardless of the result.

I think/hope that when Winder finally puts it together we will be a pretty hard team to beat.

We were 3 up when the Coach made the master move of bringing back Winder. Winder then responsible for 3 turnovers in the next 4 plays. The guy is nowhere near the class of some of the point gurads we have come up against this season. Basically he stinks and for crying out loud,. as I said a couple of weeks ago, do not wait again until it is too late. Whilst the refs were very poor, the blame in my opinion goes onto Winder. This guy is one of our imports and we expect much more. The problem is, we are not going to get it.

Id like to see the sixers play Johnson more atleast 25 mins +, and run the offense through him. Freeing Ballinger out to PF and hitting his Mid range jump shots which is his strength, and making sure he gets atleast 15 shots per game, first pass on every offense should go to either Johnson or Ballinger inside IMO.

Run Winder off the bench similar to NZ use Brasswell, take the pressure off him until he finds his feet, as he has ability, and also reqard Carter who is playing very well and would love to see him start in a Damien Martin type role.

Start Carter, DeVries, Hill, Ballinger, Johnson.
Use Winder, Holmes (20 ish mins)mostly off the bench, with 10-15 mins to Dowdell and 5-10 mins to Ng and Harris

Good effor to get that close with NZ, even without Penney IMO, wow thats a scarey rotation in the guard/sf spot with guys like Bruton, Brasswell, Abercrombie and Penney.

Both our imports are ok but neither a great at the moment, but i would keep both at this stage, Devries to me is better than someone like Lisch and if he gets his shot going again will average around 20 pts, still contributing nicely in rebounds and assists. Winder just needs to keep penetrating and dishing and picking his spots for taking jump shots, and take open layups/dunks when they present themselves, he is very athletic, works hard both ends and i like his aggression.

Well Jonno, I don't like him at all!

Next year yes

fair enough, did you prefer gilly?? I personally think Gilly is the better player, he averaged like 17pts 5 assists from memory, is he healthy enough to play again?

Who else would you like to bring in?

I think Winder is ok, not great but have seen worse, at this stage it does look like we may need someone better to make the playoffs, but its only been 5 games im happy to give him atleast 3 -5 more before making a change, as i think he may turn out ok, ala Lisch last year.

For next season it is simple .

Winder = Gone , Gilchrist was better . Selfish , Flashy and his on ball defense is playground at best . GONE !! . Do not like his game much .

DeVries . lock him up with a 3 year deal , him and Ballinger are our building blocks .

Carter . Same as above , love his game and he is bringing more than Wind Bags. He makes good things happens and plays with 6er passion . Big Ups .

Hill . Improving but something is lacking in putting it all together . Needs an off season or two with a nitpicking fundamental coach . A slight re-tooling of mind and game . Scott Butler put your hand up ! if you have already and he hasn't improved then i'll be .

Ng . Don't think he has been as bad as most think this season but with 2 G imports his needs are limited . Would like him to see 20-25 minutes and really back himself but there are influencing factors . The man is a doctor ! Whatever the case he is a gem .

Holmes . The boards , leadership and D are great but maybe that needs to come off the bench to allow Balls to play a true 4 . Similar minutes and a calming influence . Never question the heart .

Ballinger . Needs the ball early and should have 15-18 shots a game , every game . A travisty to waste this mans efficient scoring prowess . I would be doin my head in if him and not cause i'm a ginger . give him the ball !!!!

Johnson . More court time to show his wares . Simple as that .

Dowdell . Has been been good and warrants a little more burn if only to place some more front court pressure on opposition .

This team can push for anything or burn and die but if we press all game and run a flurried O we are farked . Noted .

I called it a couple of weeks ago but gave Winder the benefit of a couple more games. A couple of games later - he's not the point guard we need. Carter runs the offense a lot better than Winder. Winder is all about Winder. Like someone previously said, it's all about the flashiness which only comes off once every eight plays. He's a liability and he can whinge to the refs all he likes (agreed they were crap), but fact is he's just not getting it done. He has no consistency and is struggling. Don't leave it too late to make the change!!

8 fouls in the first two minutes of the game was disgusting

yea i agree with rotate (though im being a tad more patient on Winder, but we definatley need more from him), i like our aussie content, especially if they can all improve, which under Clarke id say they will.

The only aussie moves id make is bringing Herbert back for Ng,

Would like to see Johnson play more and him and Ballinger given the ball more
and i look forward to seeing Creek play this season, when is he back? He seems to be athletic will be good to have 2 good athletes in him and Hill sharing the SF spot.

True , Herbert would have been good under Marty and Creek is a very nice talent but this year an athletic 3-4 would of served us well .
The one thing i will say is that the direction from coaches and management is positive and it is a 3-5 year plan worth sticking to . We will win another title by 2015 and it will be sweet as !!

The Sixers need a go to scorer. They also need to rid themselves of the shitty PG import.

To the 3 referees that did the game tonight. Get a hold of that game and watch it over and over until you grasp the concept of consistency. I would even suggest you get a hold of Brett Maher and get him to go through the game with you. See what calls he would like called and what he thinks should be part of the game. Spirit of the game is something that none of you had.

You did not have a proper pre-game, it was very obvious from the beginning. You refereed poorly for the first half and then tried to rescue yourself by missing the next half. 6 fouls called in the first 2 min 30 sec. We changed to 3PO so you take that whistle out of your mouth and use your voice. Preventative officiating people, its not that hard.

You are refereeing mens basketball. We want to see contact and going to the gym does not = a foul. You called soft shit on the sixers all night and then made random sporadic calls on NZ where they could smash someone one minute and then get an out-there call the next.

The call on Brad Hill for holding when he actually got smashed by Henare whilst trying to chase his player through the key proved you weren't seeing the whole game. The call was from lead and these were the only people lower than the foul line so you shouldn't have been looking at anything else.

My suggestion for the most improvement, call the game that 99.9% of the people see and not some mysterious shite that you seemed to call tonight. Make sure when your whistle goes and your fist is in the air that no-one will doubt the call because everyone has seen it and everyone thinks its a foul (besides the player who fouled because you can never trust them to be honest IMO).

Look after your own areas and talk to the players in your area. Again this was not covered in your pre-game because when you see the tape you will think - wow what was I doing having a whistle on that? The call on Brad Hill for holding when he actually got smashed by Henare whilst trying to chase his player through the key proved you weren't seeing the whole game. The call was from lead and these were the only people lower than the foul line so you shouldn't have been looking at anything else.

XztatiK, if we lost by 20, blame the poor shooting, but we lost by 4 so blame the disgraceful refs. If you don't blame the refs, then blame Winder. Its those 2 areas that cost us the game. The shooting was poor but to only finish 4 points behind means we had enough opportunities to win it. Winder has to go, sooner rather than later. I keep waiting each game to see him improve but he deteriorates instead. We have had some mediocre imports in recent years but he has to be the worst.

It is sad to go to a game and see three refs, that are clearly, not only not on the same page, but don't appear to have the same edition of the rule book. When players and coaches clearly dispute the calls with THEIR overwhelming reactions, the only reason one of the other officials would not automatically "T" them -- as old time (generally)respected officials like Eddie C, Bill M or even Geoff Weeks would have done, is because the other two officials don't know how that call could have been made either !.

Sorry to say this, but I've watched Hill play over enough seasons to say this, I actually think he still plays like a rookie. You know, like a player who plays to his own strengths 100% of the time, even if the opposition player is beter at his strengths than he is. He doesn't read the game any differently one minute from the next.

CJ Bruton played like Brad does now, but only in his first 2 seasons, after that he was simply smart.

An was it just me , or did I see that in the last quarter NZ mainly just went to whoever was being guarded by NG or brad ?

Take it back. Abercrombie's highlight reel for game will be better than the rest of the league's highlight reel for the whole season.

That team looks unbalanced to me. The biggest issue is a point guard with a high IQ, Carter and Winder are both attack-mode players.

Having said that, I thought Adelaide did some really good things last night, nearly beat the hottest team in the league.

The refs were bad, but they didnt decide the outcome of this game. CLarke does need to improve the way he communicates with them though. If people honestly think NBL refs call it soft you need to watch basketball from other countries where they really call it tight.

Yes they call some soft calls but they let a lot go too, and as I said they were bad last night. That foul called on the Abercrombie block was one of the most blatant mistake I have ever seen.

Always thought Breakers had control of this one. Braswell is so calm and composed, compared to Winder who seems to be animated and eager to make things happen but doesn't quite have the handle or the decision making of a Braswell.
Don't get me wrong Braswell can also turn it over as quick as the next guy, but usually it is not at crunch time.
I notice when Sixers went thru the Hi post and cut to hoop they were often open but passer didn't see him or wasn't looking for it. Winder would be ideal in that situation to get him the ball down low, where he could go to work and maybe get to the line esp when game is on line. Breakers started with exactly that play for Abercrombie.
Fact is though the Breakers kept Sixers in game and gave them the chance to win it but they were not good enough, and that will be a recurring theme for Sixers this year. Where was Johnson down the stretch?

We are not going to win big games with Winder as PG cannot believe posters defending his game.
Those 4- 5 last Qtr turnovers killed us and has no real shot how about that 3rd qtr 3 point shot that went behind him out of court.
What about his so called defence runs around then runs hard after them after they have blown passed him.
Seriously once Creek available then send him home and if dont replace then still be better off as we will at least start to get some organization.
How many times was NG sitting out on own in favourite 3 point shot area whilst Winder went for wrong option
Carter didnt have his best game but when as PG least our team got D and scoring happening.
Sign DeVries 3 years you are kidding yes he is ok but not only shooting off most of game this week also gave us no movement etc like he did last game.
With no great D or physical prescence around boards is ok as import at best.
Our Aust. players not world beaters but ok and hard working and try to do team stuff and DJ can become a star with more time and structure.
Refs very bad but we had our chances we blew them

Winder's stat line from last night -
31:44 mins, 3/11 from field (27%), 0/3 3pt, 3/4 from the stripe (75) - including a critical miss at the death, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 turnovers, 4 fouls and 9 points. Not good enough from an import, particularly one that doesn't defend exceptionally well or direct the team offensively. Waste of an import spot.
Agree with previous poster that Winder ignored a completely open Ng a few times to showboat himself which turned out disasterously.
Also, could we give Balls the rock a bit more? 80% from field...

Everyone is saying "Give Balls more shots".
The problem with Balls is that he can't really create his own shot. He really thrives off a playmaking finding him to get open looks from mid-range.

I noticed Balls used to shoot the 3 quite a bit and used to hit at a really nice clip. He isn't getting those looks anymore, because the 36ers lack of size means he has to stay inside alot.

If Balls wants more shots, the 36ers need to:
-Get rid of Winder
-Get in Raheim Brown. By putting in a legit center it will give Balls more time to float on the perimeter and allow him more outside shooting opportunities.

one thing is for sure though, carter is worth his weight in gold. he has been doing well and keeping consistent.

I think Ballinger will get more shots playing at centre. Use him in a pick and pop situation, or if the defence switches send him to the low post where he can turn and face and shoot over the guard.

The Sixers offence just needs to be a bit more pointed, which is hard without a real point guard, but Clarke's most important job is to show his team a lot of video about when to attack and when to play smart.

A little less player movement to create a bit more predictability wouldnt go astray either. Theyre not far off though, but any Sixers fans who honestly expected a playoff spot this year will be disappointed.

Look as bad as the refs were last night (and they were so bad that it is only a matter of time before a player or coach rightly decks one of them), they didn't cause Adelaide to lose. They do however ensure that we won't be the worst team on the court each week. There is one there in particular who just is not up to it, and never will be. And everytime he is on the court he drags whoever else is working the game with him down.

That loss is on two guys: Winder and Clarke. Winder for his fourth quarter turnover/cock up brain explosion, and Clarke for leaving him out there. The travel into the three point shot (not sure I've seen a guy take 5 steps on a pull up before) and the charge foul immediately after should have been enough to have his ass sitting on the bench for the remainder of the contest. But it wasn't, and as a result we lost. I said at to Squid when Winder checked back in during the fourth "remember the score, up 3". If I could see it coming Clarke should have. I was really impressed with Winder in the preseason, but clearly he isn't that player once the games get serious. We could say "let's give him another 3-5 games", or we could cut his ass now and possibly avoid going 3-7 in the first ten, which is where he is taking us. That is also the third straight home game (with Ervin, Luke Cooper, and now Braswell) where an opposition PG has come in here and ruled our court. And what is with Winder falling over all the time? Is he covered in oil? If so, might I suggest that "Slide-Winder" is a more appropriate nickname.

The really sad part is so much was right about last night. We had no answer for Abercrombie, short of hoping he'd knock himself out on the shot-clock on one of his dunks, but there were some good signs. I agree with the above sentiments both that Ballinger needs more shots, and also that it would help if he didn't need to be spoon fed. An open question though: does anyone think there is any point in having Ballinger if he isn't going to be taking most of our shots?

Johnson, Dowdell, Hill were all solid. Carter runs the team so much better than Slide-Winder that it isn't funny. Devries couldn't make a jumpshot, but he does find a way to make a contribution. Darren Ng can't guard anybody, and this will never change. It was good to see Harris on the court, even if very briefly.

Bruton was sublime. Wilkinson was Adelaide's best player. I've seen him play a couple of good games, but last night was not one of them. Vukona and Boucher were just too active for our front court on the boards.

Nice summation Mutley.
Esp. Wilkinson who seems to have given himself enforcer tag and forgotten about getting back on D and helping his own team!!
CJ forgotten hero in this post.

How good was CJ's move in the open court where he sucked Ng in to lunge for the steal, put it behind his back and stuck the pull up J? Just pure class.

welcome to the big league marty clarke.. tough year ahead for the sixers

I think Brad Geirsch deserves a lot of criticism for last night's performance, he was simply making stuff up. The other two werent perfect, but I dont think they deserve abuse either.

Great job by Carter - put the team in a winning position. And then Winder came back on...

Sixers hit the front with a Carter 3pointer
6 minutes to go and had the momemtum, but carter was replaced by winder.
Carter was just a little better... just a little smater.
Holmes managed 2points in a long time.
Harris got 2points , but only one minute.

Yeah well why wasn't that block called on Ballinger on the reverse layup over-ruled? The only person in the building who thought that was a foul was the clown who called it. There were two other refs out there, each with a view of the play. Are they so small as to be unable to go "hang on a minute, that was all ball, we might want to rethink this"? Either they don't know it was the wrong call (in which case they are incompetent) or they don't have the guts to over-rule (in which case they are cowards). Your choice. There was a ghost call against Hill virtually straight after that, a call which cannot be defended.

Likewise, Amercrombie's block on Winder's dunk attempt was 100% clean, and looked like nothing but that live, so why was that called?

We see somethings better elevated.

(Hodge the better jumper than Holmes)

I'd like to see Holmes follow Boucher's lead and stick to lay-ups, tip-ins and FTs when he's not playing to his strengths: rebounding, defending and passing.

Frustrating result given how capable we were of winning that game.

Watched bits of the replay this morning and Clarke is going to get off-side with the refs quickly if he's not careful.

How many dunks in that game? 7-8, or more?

Good to see Sam Harris get a minute

The NBA ruling is a joke. A balance between that and where the NBL is now would be ideal.

Carter didnt put the Sixers in a position to win, even though he had a nice game with some great defence. The Sixers made a 17-7 run to start the third quarter to pull within one, that was the run that gave them a chance to win.

In that run, 13 points came from Winder assists or his own hands. In the last quarter both Winder and Carter made some bad decisions and rushed things, but now the coach has to do his job and get them both playing smarter down the stretch.

For mine, in clutch situations, I think Devries should be running the point.

Ballinger definately sat for too long in the fourth. He missed from about the 8 minute mark and came back with about 4 mins to go. You can't have your best players missing such a large chunk of the 4th quarter when the game is up for grabs.

Winder did some good things in this game (he was passing well in the first 3 quarters and racked up 6 assists) but he was woeful when we needed him most. Travelling, charging, stepping on the side-lines and missing open threes is not good enough.

Again very impressed with Carter - he hit that big 3, and his defence was very good forcing turnovers and coming up with 3 steals.

The charge call on Winder was another Giersch fantasy, Henare was clearly still moving sideways.

I am still amused by Marty Clarke random subs. It's like he is playing Bingo out there.

Darren Ng in the first half had 5 points, 4 rebounds in 7 mininutes which is a decent effort so if Marty thought he was having a good game then perhaps play him early in the 3rd. He plays him for the last 2 mininutes of the 3rd and produces no stats. The last quarter he plays him for Plays the last 2 minutes of the 3rd. The last quarter he plays him for the first 8:30 minutes. He produces a defensive rebound and a foul. I have no idea why he was on for so long when he wasn't doing anything. Perhaps his sole purpose was to defend well on Bruton and Henare but Winder, Carter Deveries, hill could have done that as well as produced something.

Daniel Johnson in the first half had 9 points (75%), 2 rebounds, 2 steals in 13 minutes. In the third he plays him for the last 2 minutes. In the fourth he plays the first 2 minutes. In the first he was a spark and in the last half was barely used when we needed offense.

Jacob didn't play the second quarter due to Johnson playing the entire quarter. I am usually always negative on Jacob but he could have gotten a couple of minutes in the 2nd for Johnson. However the coach feels sad for Jacob and plays him for 16 minutes in the second half while giving Johnson 4 minutes. In the 4th Jacob had 2 defensive rebounds and 2 missed shots. The first one was a fade away shot 5 feet from the ring with no one on him when he could have just turned and layed it up. The second shot was another fade away over Abercrombie at an important part of the game where we needed to get a good shot. Everyone raves about his great defense however with scores tied with 47 seconds left Holmes gives Vukona an uncontested layup. No attempt at blocking it, no attempt at fouling him to make him earn it at the line where he is a 50% foul shooter.

Ballinger plays the first 5 minutes of the 3rd. Then starts the 4th and plays only 2 minutes before being subbed out. What was sitting out the pervious 5 minutes not enough for him? Sits him out for 4 minutes and then puts him back in. Surely he can run out a whole quarter when he had 5 minutes rest in the previous quarter as well as the time during the break to rest.

Winder struggled once again with his poor decisions, turnovers and shots yet he plays the most minutes for us. He reminds me of Groves, in that if he is having a bad game he will continue to have a bad game by continuing to force up shots and try to be a hero to save his pride. De Vries on the other hand you know that even that if he is having a bad shooting night he can still help out in other ways and the main difference is that he is basketball smart. De Vries probably had his worst game of the season but I still would have preferred him to handle the ball and be out there infront of Winder.

Clarke needs to play Johnson more, Carter more, Holmes less, Winder less. Most of all be consistent with minutes not play them a whole quarter then 4 minutes for the next half. Poor shots by Ballinger, Winder, Holmes, De Veries contributed to the bad 4th quarter but the coaching being so random over the entire game didn't help either.

Rant over :P

Have a look at the defence on NG. He commands a lot of respect by every team. CJ and Tom were busting their arse to keep on NG and it stopped them being help defence for the rest of the breakers.

Having him looking for the ball outside the arc works. If people had done their homework they would know he has a good amount of points in the paint this year, and NZ was working overtime to police this.

Currently the 6ers group turn up to a game and give their best, and its clear game by game that the spark is outlasting the poor play. In time this will improve. NZ turned up to win, they always win and they no nothing less. It takes time, patience and great teamwork to get to where they are. We are progressing.

Lastly, we lost by 4 points when we were absolutely gone late in the second quarter. The fans were louder this week than last week and we must support. I was extremely angry at the game last night, but I was a proud fan. Chin up boys, keep working on what Marty and Mark want from you. You will get there.

Everyones complaining about Marty's subs. Look at the score spread almost all players contributing. We managed to come back to even with our bench players on the court.
I think Marty is showing alot of respect to the guys coming of the bench which is really giving them the confidence to get out there and perform.

Agree with the call that Ng and Hill were the constant goto guys for NZ when they wanted to attack the ring. Abercrombie really made Hill's supposed athletism look pathetic. The one time Hill took him on he couldnt get close to going past him, where as Abercrombie did it at will.

I think that Marty is struggling with his subs because he is used to the AIS structure.

At the AIS, alot of the players are even in ability and skill, and so when he was coaching there he could spread the minutes and rotate subs and put trust in everybody and anybody to get it done.

However, obviously the AIS is different to professional basketball. Primarily speaking, this is not a development league Marty, unlike the SEABL that the AIS played in. You got to put on people who are getting it done and sub those that aren't. Does he leave Ng out there or Winder out there for long periods of time to develop them? Development happens in the off-season Marty, not late in the 4th when the game is on the line.

Good points MACDUB!

I want to start the get rid of Winder and sign Raheim Brown fan club.

I saw Rashad Tucker there last night too. Is he Australian yet?

(not suggesting anything there now that we have Creek on the way)

...I just googled Raheim Brown. Maybe it was him I saw :S haha

Yes. But, will he replace Winder ?

Tend to agree about the Clark inexperience. A few posters on here have talked obout the lack of shots for Ballinger and reasoned that is due to his inability to create his own. That may be true, but the guy is so incredibly efficient and can score in a number of ways. He can hit the 3 from the pick & pop, nail the elbow jumper comming up the lane from a down screen, make the short base line jumper almost every time, hit the little jump hook at vthe front of the rim. You have to get a system that gets him the ball in those positions. It is inconceivable to me that a team dose not get a shot in the last few minutes of a close game for their best player who is shooting 80%. That has to come down to the coach. I just wish Balls was still at the Hawks. With Gordie guideing the team he would make great use of the great fundamentals that Balls has. I will give you another question. What are Wider's best assets. In my opinion it is his strength and hops. First play of the game against the Hawks, isolation on Ervin for Winder who pins him at the front of the rim for an easy 2. Still waiting to see the play run again. FFS Marty it would have been usefull against the small Breakers guards.
Agree about Devries, he has good handles and can get into the paint and could be tried a bit more in the 1.

Watch the replay. Pretty obvious RS umpiring was a factor and cost us the game.

Bad calls (and no calls) a plenty in the last 2 minutes. For example, Rhyss "Coach" Carter held freeing up Ambercrombie (and Finch) for a jam - WTF were the umpires looking at? (apart from Isaac's pink shirt in the third row?) The Sixers purposely fouled in the end and the rose colored glasses couldn't see the foul on the south side.

The MARS green shirts could have reffed better than that - even "pimples" would have done a better job.

Now, another thing. 4 secs on the clock going into 3 qtr time. Sam "Lurch" Harris in on court and we have the inbound. " Major Tom to ground control" Even in U12, you would drop Lurch back into the key and chuck the ball down to him in the mismatch of the century for the jam. Why stuff around dribbling the ball down? Wake up Marty, "Tassie's floating away!"

One last thing, Mark "Ranga" Radford. Can he get more passionate? Looked like he was going to burst a vein on Friday night. I like it when the assistant coach's head resembles a tomato. Lucky he has a second head tucked under the collar in case the first one explodes. Keep up the good work !

How long has Raheim Brown bee posting on Hoops SA for?

Roughly the same amount of time Benn McDonald has I think.

De Vries is a solid ball handler. If by running PG, you mean get the ball up the floor and make a pass then he will get the job done.
If you mean, blow by his man, get into the lane and create, forget it. He is not that type, he does not have those instincts or quickness.
Be Vries and Carter look about on a par handle wise. Carter got the pass mentality though.
Snakepit is right about maximising Winder in lo post when you need a bucket or to get to the line.

Hmmm, not sure abotu some of teh comments. I watched the game in replay on Saturday and not live, so am limited by what teh TV coverage and box scores showed.

I thought the sixers played well, generally. The Breakers burned them with transition baskets, particularly early in the game. However, in the set offences, the sixers seemed to do a good job. The exceptions were obvious, as Abercrombie turned them into highlights and they stuck in the memory.

I'm not sure why people feel teh sixers were outshot by NZ? Both teams shot at 45% from the field and NZ had 1 more 3 point basket. The difference was that NZ did a better job of offensive rebounding and so got more opportunities to score. But that happened when the defence had to rotate and leave the rebounder. That's where the NZ dribble penetration really hurt us.

Umpiring - whether it was rubbish or not didn't appear to favour either team. I got no real sense of decisions going to one side or the other through the game. Then the foul count ultimately favoured the 36ers - 23 to 19 - and the sixers got more foul shots (20 to 14). So no complaints there from me.

Personally, the fact that NBL rules have so much ambiguity and scope for variation in interpretation based on situation means that referees are on a hiding to nothing. I've given up being critical of referees because the game's rules are such a mess of inconsistency. I just hope they get paid really well to put up with the crap that gets heaped on them. I wouldn't referee an NBL game for quids. I'd much rather sit and watch it from the stands or in my living room.

Johnson! Wow, how good is he going to be in a couple of years? I was really impressed with how he was first up the floor on a fast break and how the sixers repaid his effort by getting him the basket to finish it. He made some great moves down low also, and finished them well too. He was active and did some good defensive work too.

Winder? I like his energy and effort. I think he needs to improve his decision making, particularly in offence. He doesn't run the offence well. I liked the number of times he disrupted NZ passes and plays with quick hands. I think he also has a future as a good player. Is that what we want in an import? Mark Tyndale and David Robinson both had good futures but got cut as an import needs to deliver now, not next year.

Ballinger - I agree that he doesn't do well as creating his own shot. That's one reason I liked Johnson's efforts around the basket. Still, he delivers consistently when the sixers are able set plays for him and the defence doesn't break them down.

Harris - the play they ran for him worked a treat and the defender on him (yes there was one - the sixers didn't take the first opportunity to pass into him because of the defence) really had no chance to defend the shot once it was in Harris' hands. He was not on long enough to judge his defensive capabilities but in teh couple of plays after he came on he looked a bit slow to leave there. I suspect that's why he was brought in only a minute before half time, not allowing NZ enough time to adapt their offensive sets.

Carter was sensational, yet again. He looks great when running the offence and *really* plays defence. Terrific job by him.

A number of comments have talked about this sixers' team having a bright future, in a couple of years' time. This looks the case, if the team's core can be kept together. The problem is, the season only runs for another six months.

"If you mean, blow by his man, get into the lane and create, forget it. He is not that type, he does not have those instincts or quickness."

Exactly my thoughts on him before he got here (based on his time at WSR), but he has well and truly proven me wrong and shown an ability to regularly do what you just said.