I think that the offence is too structured , ( for example) with Howard basically being sent deep into the corner to stand and wait every time.

Given his passing and penetration in the first Q tonight, I actually would not mind seeing him as a PG for a little while, he certainly seems to see things before they develop, instead of just looking/waiting for the designed option to occur, while missing other opportunities.

I would love to see a split up of the scoring plays phases to show what points came directly from the 1st and 2nd options, and what came from broken play.

Because I think both Shannon and Howard ( who had good D and O tonight) actually played their most effective offensive games early - BEFORE they understood what the offence was telling them they should do.
That is the mark of an experienced and effective offensive player - they take what the d gives them and do not just try to create the same option over and over again.

At the AIS you need to be taught discipline and system and repeat and repeat and repeat. Actual pros like Balls, Howard and Shannon ( and Holmes!) would ( I think) thrive under a broad offensive structure where they could read and react, instead of waiting for some of the other players to remember their lines.

and I appologise for 7 straight posts , but I could not get the whole lot up in one post !! ;-)

Too much dribbling, standing on the spot and pointing, all achieving nothing as seconds tick by, seems to be the main problem.

Nothing wrong with a structured offence as long as it involves movement, quick ball passing, and has several opportunities for individuals to utilised their strengths.

Unfortunately the 36ers current one indicates that Shannon's strengths are dribbling and pointing, Howard's are watching from the corner, and the other 3 wander aimlessly around. Perhaps time for a rethink or introduce a few more options and pass it.

I don't think the movement from the rest of the team is quick or sharp enough. Gives Shannon nothing to pass to in that situation as defenders can easily cover their man.

Shannon is a true point guard, i feel sorry for him waiting to start offence and players are still thinking where should i be, it makes him look bad but if you know Basketball its obvious who he is waiting for most of the time. Basketball IQ if you have not got it you wont be Happy at Adelaid...

Yeah, have to agree that the Sixers get on fire when the offence is fluid. That only seems to happen on the break or when there's a 4on/3on/2on situation.

Too mechanical otherwise. I keep expecting to see someone like Howard mumbling "Go to baseline, count to 3, move 3 metres to the post, count to 1, run up to high post, signal ball, count to 2" etc.

Hopefully if the team keeps together next season, the offense will flow more.

The problem is not helped by some of the crowd not understanding what is going on from time to time.

The crowd starts groaning when Shannon is holding on to the ball from about 9 seconds to go on the clock - in one case (I think it was the end of the third) when they were deliberately winding down the clock for a last second shot off of an iso play. There was a 4 second difference on the shot clock for Perth to run the floor if we missed.

howard looked much better, worryingly though all his damage was done in transition. in fact most of our good offense was in transition. the problem with that is it relies on us getting defensive stops firstly or rebounds and quick release. hard to get transition baskets if the other team scores.

"The problem is not helped by some of the crowd not understanding what is going on from time to time." I think they all sit behind me, they start fretting at 15 seconds that we havent shot yet..EVERY PLAY gah lol.

I didnt see the first quarter of the game, so can only comment on the last 3. Howard looked to be really moving about alot more, asking for the ball and pushing HIS offence. He had a turnover where he was stuck on the side line and was surrounded, followed by what appeared to be a talk down by Marty. Howard was then benched (it appeared he didnt accept marty's comments to well). When he came back on he returned to sitting waiting for the ball on the three point line, and became ineffective once again.

Now unless someone who heard the discussion Im talking about and correct me as to its content I took this to be entirely why Howard, Gilchrist, De'Vries, Shannon arent playing to their abilities. Instead of letting the player run to their strenghts Marty is enforcing them to stand where in position so that some of the less able thinkers are able to actually understand what is going on.
He need to learn very quickly this isnt the AIS, its not about development of young players, its about championships. Adults dont need to be babysat like he appears to.

XY that happens a lot, people want quick score every time and dont think about the game situation. I cant imagine when teams start using fouls to give, and situational fouls what they will do.

Perhaps if Marty Clarke spends less time remonstrating & arguing with referees he can see how the play is unfolding and coach. He is paid to coach.

In the few games I have seen on OneHD, Shannon and Bruce spend way too long dribbling the ball waiting for the high pick to come and often taking little advantage of it. I have really focused on this in the last two games and also another issue. I bet it is Shannon's right eye that is the problem. He regularly misses open players as they pop or make leads on the right side of the court. He is a solid player, but his peripheral vision hold him back. I really think this 6ers lineup would benifit more from a more relaxed, Smythe like offensive system and early hits in transition. If Howard gets it early he should attack the basket with Balls trailing for the three at the top.

Clarke certainly looks like an intense young man.
Howard can't be enjoying it here.
Why does he have to treat Howard so bad.
Maybe he misses the AIS. Speaks to howard like a student.
Radford's a bit more mature about it.

Bruce and Shannon take so long because they're used to open lanes and playing more ISO based games.

NBL style of court play is very different to the NBA and Europe. Zone defence is a big one here and tends to restrict good passing options.

...it also doesn't help that half the time the rest of the team are all positioned near one another, thus bunching up the defense.

Bruce is not used to anything - prior to this stint he hadn't really played anywhere seriously in months if not a year.

Big Marty,

Have you watched much Euro ball. Plently of Zone there. Similar to here actually, just bigger guys really.

May be a bit off topic but Q to Isaac, Jack or someone

What is the story with Harris. I read in August last year that he was being intensively trained by the Sixers and also that body experts were brought in to get him moving better. At 27, it seems odd that he is classed as a Development Player and out playing against kids? Has he had any starts at all?