You say this after we had 44 points off the bench on Friday night and when Dowdell is having a very efficient season? I wouldn't want him playing less.

FWIW, only two players in the league are playing more than 35 MPG - Ervin and Homicide. No one is playing 38 MPG.

I am happy for Ballinger to be packed in cotton wool if it means he doesn't get a flare up of his recurring lower back issues over the course of a long season.

I don't see a single player in your breakdown who is playing too many/too few minutes.

I thought the rotations were excellent on Friday night (and Marty did a great job of dragging Winder when he wasn't getting it done).

Dowdell a little more. Holmes Hill a little less.

Ok - well play Dowdell more - I just think the 10 man rotation is ridiculous. Play 7 or 8 players more minutes and trim off the 9th and 10th guys - I don't understand the rationale of playing so many guys in a 40 minute game - it isn't a fitness thing, so why not have our best players on the court more?

I'd use Ng as a zone-breaker in specific situations, and have him benched if those situations didn't arise. Spread his minutes amongst other players. Other than that, it's not too bad.

Saw nothing wrong in the rotations on the Friday game. Infact, I saw exactly the same effort that had the Sixers beat Perth in the opening round.

Nice to see that level of play come back. Good to see everyone talking on the court and rotating properly.

If Winder was taking up 27 minutes a game, then it will be interesting to see where the split in time would go while waiting for an import. Arguably Carter to starter and get around 20+ minutes to play with and for Ng/Hill to get boosts to fill in at the 2 when Devries rotates to PG to give Carter a break.

Loved the game play. Interesting note about playing at the Gong at the end of the week. Last time the Hawks lost at home was to the Sixers if I recall, rather big trouncing too.

Lets hope for a repeat.

Am I the only person in Adelaide banging my head on the desk right now with people suggesting giving more minutes to Ng and Hill.

I agree with thedoctor - which is odd cos we don't agree on one indisputable fact (namely the fact that I am a waaaay better shooter than he will ever be) ... bench Ng and use him "Break glass in case of emergency" situations . That reduces the rotation to 9 - personally I wld prefer 8 but if have to use 9 then give the 9th man the 6 - 8 minutes when Balls is being rested.

bring back 48 minute games then everyone gets more time. problem solved???

I agree - bring back 48 minutes

SVD, how is it not a fitness thing? Just because someone can play 40 minutes, doesn't mean they should. Players get tired, shots fall short, they get beaten at the other end, etc. Rest players a bit and they can play at a higher intensity.

As for Ng, I don't think he's kept around as the next big thing who's going to play starting SG for the next decade, but as a bench scorer. Normalise his minutes to those of DeVries, and he's averaging about the same in terms of PPG.

I don't mind the minutes suggested by anon '406.

SVD, also again in the defense of Dowdell: of the current 36ers (e.g., ignoring Winder), he's third in PPG with 7.8 PPG, while playing fewest MPG out of the main rotation!

One of my mates was saying early last week that it's a shame we can't have trades between teams.

Liked the idea of sending a pair like Ng and/or Hill up to the GC for Chris Goulding.

He's a bit renegade with his play style but can shoot from anywhere. Prefer that style of play over set shooting.

Big Marty - Apparently trades can happen in the NBL, as long as it all fits under the points/salary caps, and all players involved have to agree to it.

I remember reading a comment made about this by NBL GM Chuck Harmison:

"Actually, there's nothing in our rules to prevent trades now but it would be upto the players to agree. And if you wanted to trade for a player at a location your guy doesn't want to go, the deal would be nixed."

Isaac - I get all of those points but I would prefer 35 minutes of PT from Balls and De Vries and 5 minutes each from someone who is not Balls and De Vries over 28 for Balls/De Vries and 12 from bench guys.

Playing 3 - 5 minute bursts makes it hard for anyone to get into a flow. I want a shortened rotation so our best guys can play more. I would have thought that having your best 5 playing more would make it easier to win games.

SVD, if that was the key to success, why wouldn't every team be doing it? Redhage is playing fewer MPG than DeVries. So is Penney. Bruton, M Knight, Loughton, etc. Only Homicide (desperate, weak team) and Ervin (R Martin still injured) are playing more than about 33 MPG.

Teams are running their guys at a higher intensity for a slightly shorter amount of time instead to maintain defensive pressure and push the ball effectively.


Anon, I don't disagree. I don't know that a serious run at the top could be made with both of Ng and Hill on the team, but I can see why they signed them given cap restraints, knowing what they could do, etc. Guys that will make an immediate impact (Creek-style) don't grow on trees - Madgen didn't significantly outperform Hill in the ABL and probably isn't as versatile, he might be the most obvious local option that was not taken. Greenwood and co may be set on college stints first before we can grab them. I'd bet that the 36ers have been in contact with them though.

An interesting observations about Ng and Hill maybe being in the side due to cap restraints.

Which way do you interpret that?

That the Sixers only have so much money to pay their players or that the fathers of Hill and Ng only have so much money to put into SOS, oh hang on, is there a difference anyway?

Brings you back to the argument do you want a sub par Sixers team (and the political baggage that comes with that) or do you want no team at all.

With two new imports on the way and Townsville in our sights, I'm going for the sub par team hoping to over achieve at the moment.

That may have been a bit nasty, correct me if I'm wrong.