I dont think we will get this one. Other than Johnson we dont have any offensive threats......whereas they have several.

No they wont win, not enough talent.

Blaze pretty confortably for me. Hopefully DJ has a big one.

Is Daly suiting up? or has he played his quota for road games as Development Player?

Blaze should win...by 7 is my prediction.

I'd call for a showdown with Gibson n Bruce.
A reporter asked Bruce ; " Are you Tasmanian ?"
He replied , " No, I am not , but some of my best friends are. "

We get to see a no-nonsense 23points from 12shots
by Ira Clark , in his last NBL game.

I think we will see a really free flowing and high scoring game tonight. The Blaze boys will be looking to put on a bit of a show in their last home game and give the crowd something to cheer about in what has been a very disappointing season.

Surely the Sixers will be massivly out gunned as teh Blaze have numerous big scoring options. Ira will be wanting to make a statement to the whole league that he is worth big bucks next season so look for him to throw his weight around and try and dominate Johnson down low. Gibbo as well will be looking to finish the season off well and give his profile a boost for the offseason (and maybe impress his coach for next season) and Harvs will just be keen to remind people he isnt that old!

For me though it will be Bubbles leading the way scoring wise, with the pressure off and really only playing for pride he will be able to relax and just go nuts.

Im tipping the Blaze to get up over 100 in this one, how close the Sixers get is anyones guess....

does Bruce's comment indicate him and Gibson are good mates? if so, that may be a good recruiting tool in bringing Gibson to Adelaide having Bruce and 2 tasmanians (i think) coaching in Clarke and Radford.

If we keep Bruce over Carter next season, we wont be renewing our season tickets, it's only 3 tickets so I am sure SOS wont miss us

meo....thats poor supporter form if you arent going to support the team because they pick Bruce over Carter who are pretty much 50/50 at this point in their careers.

I'm sure every non season ticket renewal will be missed. Especially since with 2 wooden spoons, fans will be restless.

On topic - Blaze by 12, but that'll probably be a "flattering" scoreline to the Sixers who probably trail by 20+ for a portion of it.

Yea Daly is out due to the development player rules, man i hate these rules, as if any league restricts young guys like Daly from getting an opportunity to play when he is fully fit.

Everytime i hear things like this i hate it, as bringing young guys like Daly into the league is exciting and interesting and potentially grows the Aussie talent pool. Im happy to see Warbout get his opportunity to play but yea just not a fan at this rule and think Daly should be allowed to play if selected.

Please nbl dump that rule, dump all the injury waiver replacement rules, simply make it you have $1m and 70 points aslong as your 10 players your suiting up fit under both all is good,

personally id dump the development player rules just have 12 man rosters with 1 or 2 spots being u/25 (increased from u/24) and increase the points cap to say 75 or 76 meaning you could basically add in 2 of either a 2 or 3 point player (ie college returnee in those spots). This still means young guys (u/25) will be brought into the league and college returnees like the next Madgen or Daniel Dillon will be able to get a spot more easily due to 10-11 player spots being non age restricted, as they didnt qualify for u/24 spot this year and both got signed as 10th/11th men and ended up starting and being great for the league and their teams.

I'd proably even take it a step further and dump the entire age restriction rules, young talent will always be signed if good enough, just simply allow teams to sign the best 10-12 players they can get within the points and salary caps.

The only other rule is you must have been suited up (or on the roster injured list) for atleast 7 games. Surely we dont need any more rules than that.

Meo if you go who will the other three season tickets holders sit next to!!!

Sorry, but I see the Sixers losing all their remaining games.

Truth be told, part of the underlining of this game is to show how productive the team can be if you're starting players in their natural positions.

AKA, if playing DJ at the Centre cause Ballinger is out proves very productive, then everyones hope of getting Balls back at the 4-spot may actually happen next season.

DP travel rule was brought in to reduce clubs spending on travel from memory. You would think if the club has an injury and only has 9 players available that game shouldnt count against a DP's travel quota.

Marty, I think Johnson just excelled in the absence of someone else eating up shot attempts or another key frontcourt scorer in the key with him.

Can't remember if they've done this often during the season, but could camp Ballinger on the arc if Johnson is to receive the ball inside. Let Balls take his baseline jumpers or threes during those passages because, of the two, he is the one with the better mid- and long-range game.

Aw well, Carter n Bruce then , instead.

Be good to have a bit of a look at them , tonight
But, it couldn't be . It'll be mostly Shannon,
leaving one confused watcher.

That development player rule is ridiculous!

Obviously, the aim of a development player is to develop...

So then how does the NBL help them achieve that by limiting the amount of games they can play? Its stupid

If they are good enough to regularly make the travelling team then good on them.

no that would mean they would need to get 85 each.

Sixers to win by 5 and score 100+ points.

Why - Blaze will be thinking about celebrating the end of their season.Sixers will be inspired by the Golden Era screening. Hill and Shannon to score 20+ points, Johnson, Creek and Bruce to be in mid teens. Holmes, Dowdell and Carter will be animals on the boards.

Clark and Goulding to foul out early, Gibbo and Harvey to play stinkers.

Hee, hee, hee if only.

up by 8at the half

Good spread of scorers. Winning even though the Blaze are shooting 69%!?

Blaze shooting 61% sixers shooting 46%.

Blaze by 2 with 8min to go in the 4th.

I have been thinking it all year but so many people are hot on him, but I really do not rate carter. Mind you as I type this, he starts to rip it up! Arghhhhh

And this game will def go over 168.5

Crucial time out. Sixers 83 Blaze 81

5.30 to go in 4th.

Still doesn't look like sixers have that winning ability.

Now I'm usually all pro ref, bit tonight has been disgraceful especially under the bucket the amount of soft crap that has sent guys to the line for and ones, or charity baskets has dramatically affected the outcome of this game. On ball defence looks about as clean as tables at strats.

Before anyone comments no I'm not pro 6ers, i'm simply a ball fan, and the calling has ruined this game. Regardless of who wins.

Also blaze 90 sixers 88 with 2min to go. Sixers look lost again out there.

Anon, so true. Pay it anyway though.

Jacob Holmes!

Jacob knocks a hesitate then shoot 3.

And we have OT

shoot, didn't realise I was posting as an anon. I'm enjoying the game too much.

Well my prediction of 100+ points came good.....and no, I didn't put money down!!!!!

No Bruce in as a shooter?

No call on Jake's shot - foul by Gibson. Bullshit.

this refereeing is abysmal and Eddie Shannon holding on to the ball is single handidly loosing this game for us

Disgusting no call on Holmes. I just threw my phone through my window

And now I love Rhys

We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won,We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We wonWe won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won,We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You beauty!

Carter! Massive!

Wow how they missed that Jacob foul! Holy shit Rhys Carter what a 3!! Makes me look bloody silly!

Incredible.

Last play here, Ira clark fluffs the inbound dunk play, perfect pass just didn't catch the ball!!!

Sixers 102 def Blaze 101

Well done by the young guys!!!!!!

Yes! Friday night fist pump on the couch for Billo when that Carter 3 went down.

yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes (fist pump) yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

Umpiring awful - missed obvious calls and then at the other extreme called soft touches. By the way did I mention

We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won,We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We wonWe won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won,We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won, We won !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, I'm pretty excited. That was epic.

By the way I think Bruce injured himself or was injured on one of his lay ups. He appeared to me to pull up a bit lame after it ! ( ? achilles or ankle problem that he has had before )

Is it scary be look better without balls

Great team effort. Six players in double figures and Carter becomes only the second 36er I think to score 20 on the road this year?

That Clark play could've been a horrible finish but I'd like to think him missing it was karmic after the no-call on Holmes.

Leapt off the couch yelling when Rhys' shot was still in the air. Made wife watch the replay.

we do look better without balls - great finish

Isaac I reckon lots of jumped off the couch on that shot! I certainly did!


It was a cruel game where the blaze couldnt quite put us away. Leaving us poor sixers fans hanging on but still expecting to lose...


Havent been this happy in a long time... yeehah

Without Balls the team went even smaller yet still managed to grind out a win.

Hate to say it but how much better does the offence flow without Ballinger there

This win was a stick it up your ar.e to the refs for not calling the obvious Jacob foul. It was even shown in a replay in slow motion. It was a disgusting error but hopefully what pumped the team up to get the win. The only thing I could fault with the team tonight was the shooting. They need a lot of practice on that but certainly no lack of intensity and determination. A great win, even more so under the circumstances considering the refereeing and the injuries. Well done to the 36ers, a much needed win just for the purpose of lifting morale.

We Won! I can't believe it and what we witnessed tonight. LIke most of you I leapt off the couch when Rhys hit the shot and when we won. Looked good without Balls, but I still love Balls and want him in the team.

Go 36ers!!!

Ok so I will buy in on coaches Clark & Radford:

Why did it have to take all season for the stubborn coaches to realize what fan's have been telling them all season.

STARTING FIVE
-------------
Holmes 38 minutes, 14 points, 12 rebounds
Hill 30 + minutes, 78% for 17 points
Johnson 38 minutes, 15 points, 9 rebounds
Carter 33 minutes, 20 points @ 44%
Shannon 38 minutes, 13 points, 8 assists
---------------
BENCH
------------
Bruce 15 minutes, 5 points @ 50% and 2 assists
Dowdell 13 minutes, 11 points @ 71%
Creek 15 minutes, 3 of 3 for 100% shooting
Warbout - did not play

We rest our case

Main rotation this season should have been:

Balls,Carter,Shannon,Johnson,Holmes & Hill all big minutes.

Ng or Bruce, Dowdell, Creek all around 15 minutes each.

with most good players only playing around 25 minutes at the most, it is no wonder they have not been able to close games out.

Tonight both Homes & Carter were able to make big shot's when it counted because they had played the game....

Coaches are so damn stubborn

Rose i think a lot of players have benefited from Ballinger not being on court.
Spacing just seems so much better , players seem to be able to get to spots better.

It is a completely different team, the style of play is much more free flowing which allows for much better spread of shots for all

Like some on here i am calling Ewing Theory for Ballinger

The Carter 3 had me screaming down the house. My husband raced down from upstairs because he thought I had been attacked by a burglar, haha. He said, you basketball fanatics are a weird mob.

Don't know about anyone else, but I nearly crapped out my heart on that last play.

Glad to be so very wrong on this instance. Looks like the Golden Era DVD inspired the win. :)

Game being replayed on OneHD at 7 AM this Sunday.

Woot! Thank the basketball gods we snuck a win! Didn't get to see a second on TV, but did fire up live scores just in time to see us down by 1 with about 40 secs left. When the scores came up 102-101 with 1 sec left I was off my chair too!

Anyone think the boys might've been inspired seeing the exploits of their forebears on Wednesday night?

Murray I don't think it had as much to do with Balls not being there as it did opportunity for five guys to get good court time.

I think because it is only a 40 minute game now there is no need to have your top three-four players on the bench for much of the game

the last few weeks it has been easier for players to get in to the flow.

I do agree in part that the style was better with more spacing however Ballinger is more of an outside shooter anyway so if the coach had played Johnson all season for at least 30 minutes then this would have helped because Ballinger would not be crowding the post and holding on to the ball as much

anyhow that's my opinion

Gibo is welcome here with open arms. Hope he reads these posts, he might feel the love which will inspire him to come.

-'we do look better without balls - great finish'

You bloody idiot, actually moron.

The Ewing theory has grown a leg. If the Sixers snag a W in Auckland, it has a second leg.

Easy tigers....the 36ers who have minimal talent realistically beat a pretty ordinary Blaze team. A buzzer beater in Basketball is a greay thing, but we didnt really accomplish much tonight but win ONLY our 9th win of the season. Clarke you are still a joke, sorry to appear to be bursting the balloon on this one, but no one is off the hook within the 36ers in 2010/11.

Im still laughing at the busted play for the win. Rhys misses that shot, and this thread would have turned into something very different.
Still, sometimes its better to be lucky than good.
Nice win boys.

Rhys has a habit of hitting those shots. Way to go, Billy Hoyle!

Fizzle while you might be right you are a serious kill joy. The satisfaction of tonight's win and the subsequent celebration is a pleasant change to the constant disappointment we have shared over the past two months.

Farmers celebrate rain after a long drought even if they know more rain is needed to break it!!

Relax a little and put a smile on your dial.

All i can say is thank god lady luck was with us tonight. If nothing else i did not want that all time losing streak. Just nice to see a win for once.

Clarke seemed almost human tonite.. a little more relaxed.
I remembered Rhys Carter's ken of Clarke's play with 10 seconds to go.
Ira's tip in off the alley seemed to go in and come out..
DJ's dribble around Ira and floater.. well that's Sturt stuff.
A one point win in overtime, I caint believe it.
I caint believe how good it is.

Some food for thought relating to the number of close losses this season:

vs NZ - lost by 4
at Townsville - lost by 4
at Wollongong - lost by 2
vs Townsville - lost by 2 (OT)
vs New Zealand - lost by 5
at Sydney - lost by 9 (was close, lots of FT's at end)
vs Melbourne - lost by 3 (OT)
vs Cairns - lost by 5 (up 15 at end 3rd)
at Sydney - lost by 4
vs Melbourne - lost by 3 (shot on buzzer)


What could've been... if 5-6 of these had gone the other way, could be looking at a playoff spot right about now?

Lots of debate as to why these games were lost - don't forget to factor in the other team as well as Sixers players' performances and that of the coaches! =)

WOW great win, one i certainly didnt expect. Hate to say it but as others have said losing Ballinger has been a blessing in disguise in many ways, i still want him back next year but if the rumours of Sydney are true it is not all doom and gloom.

Clarke finally has played a smaller rotation with the starters including Johnson playing 30+ minutes, i have a nagging feeling that had Johnson played 30+ minutes a night and we had used Holmes a little more than for rebounding and as a versatile sf/pf we would have won a few more games this season, heres hoping a few lessons have been learnt by the coaches this year.

That game showed why
a. Gibson will be one of/the hottest free agent out there, and i hope Clarke is successful in getting him, this would be the biggest recruiting coup for a while for the 36ers, props the coaches if they do pull it off, part of me thinks add him, with our 7 best Aussies and even the 2 imports Issac had suggested in his mock team ie Young and Dorsey we would be instantly better and could contend for the playoff mix atleast.

b. Johnson if we cant get Schenscher needs to start play 30+mins and get the opportunity to shine, remember he is like 22 years old and has the potential to be one of the best C in the league, offensively he is pretty close right now. If Clarke feels he cant play him and Ballinger together for major minutes, but I agree with Isaac they could play ballinger outside a bit more and have him taking outside baseline jumpshots, then I can see why he may be rumoured to be tempted to/considering letting Ballinger go and using the money to attract a Gibson type and play say Holmes and a import ala Galen Young at PF.

c. Our young Aussie group of Carter, Bruce, Hill, Creek, Holmes, Dowdell, Johnson is spirited and is a core we can build on, obviously to be a playoff/title team we need to add a top line Aussie (ie Gibson and/or Schenscher) on top of that and 2 good imports, but we at least have a good core to build on. Previous 36ers coaches have been criticized for not building this, so props to Clarke on that one.

d. not just this team and not that the opposition defense was great tonight, but its nice having a few pg's/players who can handle the ball under pressure and take high pressure shots.Even though i often cringe when Carter and Holmes take 3's, they made some big ones tonight and imo they take too many but atleast they have the confidence to shoot it down the stretch. Previous sixers teams have been criticised for not having guys who will take the shots and crumbling and not handling the ball under the pressure, so i can see some steps in the right direction.

A better coached game but really alot still lacking. I dont want to be a downer on what was a great game but we seriously SUCK at D.

Holmes had a good game again, really needs to be told he is allowed to shoot more often. He has made a big difference in games he has done so.

Wholly agree with Isaac's comments on saying Balls should be playing outside more, he did with Schensher without a problem so saying that both Balls and Johnson crowds the key is more of an excuse of Clarks than a reason to not play them both. Put Balls at the 4 and his outside shot will return his 20+ games with Johnson controlling the key, or another Centre Johnson still needs some work in alot of area's outside of scoring.

Great to see a win tonight Carter shooting that 3 after being 2/10 was scarey but well bloody done to the team.

Agreed re Holmes Skud needs more shots, IMO he needs to be returned to the 3/4 role he played under Smyth, where he would do a bit of everything shoot from around the key and mid range, handle the ball a little and drive occasionally, whilst continuing to rebound and defend (he can defend a sf well enough imo), in most of those seasons he averaged around 10pts 10 rebounds mostly at sf. Which is better then telling him just to out rebound often bigger pf/c's and thats it, he tries his best but we dont get close to 10pts 10 rebounds.

If he is going to be used in Clarkes one dimensional role he almost needs to be let go as he does his best and is ok, but he just ends up being basically what Cooper was last year, so Clarke needs to expand his role to like tonight or let him go. We did run a front court of Rees, Rychart and Holmes and make the playoffs so no reason why Johnson, Ballinger, Holmes cant be on the court together at times. I personally like what he brings to the table and hope he gets an expand role and stays. My latest mock team has him in as

Johnson/Vanderjagt
Ballinger/G. Young
Holmes/Creek
Dorsey/Herbert (maybe Hill here chose Herbert for 3pt shooting and defense)
Gibson/Bruce

Hill and Carter unlucky to miss out, i prefer Bruce to Carter and Creek is similar to Hill with far more upside so chose him.

which is pretty similar to what Isaac had in another thread, as i liked his thinking.

That team would end our rebounding woes imo and 3pt shooting would improve with Dorsey, Herbert at sg both very capable from 3pt range with Gibson and Bruce our best 2 shooters and scorers out of our pgs.

Some will say Holmes is too slow at sf, i think he is ok, whilst a tad slow still has seemed capable at defending most sfs when he was our sf along side Rychart and Rees, and we have Creek, Dorsey, Young as more athletic options to mix it up with also.

I like the import combination Isaac suggested of Young and Dorsey as im not a fan of 2 import guards or 2 import forwards and its been proven neither works ie Chappell and Ballinger/Gilchrist and Groves/this years guards,
so we need a guard (or atleast a versatile sg/sf ie Dorsey, would be happy to play him full time at sg, hence making him a guard) and a Forward ie Young (i see him as a sf/pf)

One way to slot Hill in would be to leave out Vanderjagt and go smaller and use Young as back up sf/pf/c like Perth did

Johnson/Young
Ballinger/Creek
Holmes/Hill
Dorsey/Herbert
Gibson/Bruce

cavolo, easy to ponder those, but as Boti (I think) said, the good teams win those close games. Clark's alley oop was put on a platter for him and I dare say forum reaction would've been quite different had he made that! (I liked the team effort regardless of the result - thought they battled hard and you can accept a loss after an effort like that.)

Rose, we won, what, eight games this season spreading the minutes and just this one game loading up on core players (after losing last week doing it)? I don't think that makes for a clear case. After someone like Ballinger, our spread of on-paper talent is pretty level.

I think we're just looking at more of a team game in the absence of a specific target on offence. Defence was still an issue regardless - Clark hurts every team and Gibson was just hot, but Garlepp should not break loose like that.

I'd be interested to know our team rules on crashing the offensive boards. Had a few inside misses with no one else around as a chance to get a tip in.

certainly agree on your point Isaac re good teams win the close ones - that's why we didn't win the majority of close games we played in!!! ;P

i think it might be a tempo thing,
but all season, we just seemed to have matched up against Gold Coast better than most teams..

Was at the Griffin's Head watching the end when the Uni SA pub crawl stormed in. Suffice to say... the pub lost it's mind.

PS - Screw the analysis, cooler heads and analytical break down...


...our Sixers won :)



It's been a long time between drinks for the loyal - soak it in :)

Well said Loco. Lets just enjoy it, however lol

Did anyone get the feeling that there were some 36ers out there last night who were playing for their NBL careers? If you believe Carfino and Heal then even Eddie Shannon, who seems to play much better on the road than at home, might be a good pick up for an NBL club in 2011-12. As they said, with Eddie as an import they know what they are getting and someone with NBL experience as opposed to a just out of college NCAA player, D-Leaguer or someone playing in Europe. And who knows, at a new club under a different coach, he might play or get to play like we know he can but rarely shows.

Well done to the boys though. Good to see a spread of points with even Jeff Dowdell knocking down 11 for only the 3rd time this year. I actually thought he handled playing centre quite well when DJ was on the bench and up against Ira Clark, that's not bad at all.

Hopefully we go into next weeks game against the Breakers with a "what have we got to lose?" attitude and just play to the best we can and give New Zealand something to think about going into the playoffs. We might not win, but then no one expected us to win last night either.....

strange finish to a game that looked like both teams were doing whatever any individual wanted to do,at any given time(if that makes sense)

what the #@#! did the 36er's defence think ira clarke was doing on the 3 point line in that last play????

some of the worst defence i have seen for a long time ,but that last play from ira,where not one defender got so much as an arm on him on his way to the basket was an embarrasment to watch.

I agree Skull. It's great to see how happy you all are even though Clarke, once again, proves he belongs in the minor leagues! He's that caught up in his board & all the philosiphies that surround it that he forgets his team is human & it is a game. He sucks as a coach! On the brightside what a great 2nd half & huge shot by Carter. Clarke 'outta jail' for the worst losing streak ever...

ok lets look at the result in the light of day .last week all the crap is put on dj he comes out and has a big one .this week it was carter who had a big one but 3/11 is no nba shit .so before you all go jerking of where were these guys diring the season no where so all this shit about balls this and that think for a minute before you show how much of bullshit comments .by the way lrepeat my claims carter plays only for himself .if l who dont get payed got so many shots of l am sure one would go in.well done jacob marty see what happens when you give your best rebounder more minutes dont think just DO

Anon your English is as bad as the 6ers have been this season.

All i can say is, from what i hear about future recruits, im really looking forward to a great season in 11/12! This one has been dull!

what a game! i went along thinking we would get spanked, and was pleasantly surprised that we were up by as much as 10 points, and then thought of the 3rd quarter fades and started to dread what was happening. but then the team stuck around and made the big shots when they needed.
i found that it was a very free flowing game that could have gone either way at various times.
their defense for majority of the game was solid, a few lapses but still solid.
i think Clark coached the team well tonight, good rotations and called timeouts at the right times.

well done boys!

anon you forgot to mention Holmes shot at 33% and had 5 turnovers. The only reason he is actually shooting now is because he is playing for a contract now and there is no pressure so he can just jack it up. Holmes was 2-8 from 3 point land was that NBA shit?

lol, yeah some of jacobs shots looked like what my girlfriend would do.

did someone say he was a killer shooter as a junior?? lol

anyway good to see johnson again with a good game, im all for starting him next season as has been said just lose jacob and get a real pf. young or another import that can fight inside.

Holmes will finish this season on 299 games.

I said it before and I'll say it again, most of the 36ers out there last night were playing for their NBL careers. A lot are free agents after the season is done and dusted and the question remains, who will get a job in the NBL next year and who will be looking at the ABL, SEABL or at best, Eurpoe?

Just a couple of observations. DJ really does need to work on his left hand in offense. As good as he can be, he will need to develop confidence in going left handed to the basket otherwise he'll be easy to defend against, especially for 6'9 and taller opposition. He can be a great NBL centre in the mould of Chris Anstey, a 7 footer who seems more comfortable shooting mid to long range shots or driving to the hoop than someone banging the offensive boards and slamming down 2 points. But he does need work. Also by the start of next season his fitness should be right up there and he should be firmly established as the 36ers starting centre.

Eddie Shannon seems to play better on the road than he does at home. Sure, he still holds onto the ball too much but he was a lot more productive than his last 3 home games have been. He was driving the basket more and his scrambling for lose balls (sometimes from his own hand) was pleasing to watch, especially when only pride is on the line. The bloke can play and could be a good PG in the NBL, even here in Adelaide. Unfortunately he just hasn't shown much of that in a 36ers uniform.

Rhys Carter's game winner may have been a 'hail mary' shot but hey, give the guy something for having the guts to put it up. The smart thing would have been to go for 2 to take it into double overtime but he went for it and thankfully it dropped.

I think Jacob Holmes had a great game last night. I know he only shot 3/8 three pointers but just remember, as much as we know he can shoot them, he's a forward, not a PG or SG who is expected to put up and hit 3-5 3's a game. Given a license to shoot plus do the rebounding thing on the defensive end (and occasionally in offense) and he plays a lot better than when he's basically out there to just grab rebounds against guys who are generally 10cm or more taller than him. Personally, if I were Marty Clarke and the 36ers, I'd keep him for 2011-12 and let him play like he did last night, especially on offense. With DJ playing centre and Balls @ PF, Holmes would be a good fit mainly as a small forward who can occasionally fill in the 4 spot.

And finally, I have to agree with Skull. Carfino picked it on ONE before it happened by basically saying that the play the Blaze tried was really the only thing they could have done to win the game with only 0.9 left on the clock. Adelaide should have known that as well and DJ and Holmes should have made sure that Clark didn't get anywhere near that inbound pass from Goulding. Thankfully for us he didn't get a good touch on it otherwise we'd be doing nothing but bitching and moaning about how bad this team is right now.

This is the first time we've had something to cheer about since beating Perth twice in a week by a single point. Lets enjoy that.

Holmes has scored better away than at home this season for around the same minutes. I wonder if Marty wants him to be more of a defensive player at home, more open on the road?

Home vs Road: (forgive rounding errors)

Minutes: 24.2 vs 23.8
FG: 1.5 from 4.9 (30%) vs 2.5 from 5.6 (45%)
3P: 0.2 from 0.9 (25%) vs 0.3 from 1.0 (31%)
FT: 1.3 from 1.4 (90%) vs 0.5 from 0.5 (100%)
OR: 2.6 vs 2.2
DR: 4.9 vs 3.8
TR: 7.5 vs 6.1
AS: 2.9 vs 2.9
ST: 0.4 vs 0.1
BL: 0.1 vs 0.1
TO: 1.1 vs 1.7
PF: 1.8 vs 1.6
PPG 4.5 vs 5.8

Pretty please dont resign Jacob Holmes, he is a liability offensively and has really plataued in many ways since his brilliant captaincy of the Dragons...to a 3 win season wasnt it?

And its all good to say he is some rebounding machine, but due to his offensive retardation, his rebounds havent led to W's for the 36ers.

Balls seems to be the risk taking scorer at home, more defensive on the road.

(Home vs Road)
OR: 1.4 vs 2.4
DR: 4.3 vs 4.1
TR: 5.6 vs 6.5
AS: 0.6 vs 1.3
ST: 0.1 vs 0.6
BL: 2.1 vs 1.8
TO: 2.1 vs 1.2
PF: 2.4 vs 3.0
PPG: 15.6 vs 14.9

Dont blame Holmes Fizzle - thats not right. At 6'7 & with the right coach he could be the best 6 man in the league!

I havent liked Jacob holmes contribution to basketball in Adelaide for years, so im not blaming him for this season. I havent liked his style of play ever since his very early days under Phil Smyth, enough with it, time to bring in some new younger hungrier blood in his position. Could be the best 6th man in the league....but he never has been.

Interesting how some people seem happy with minimal subs late in the game and none in OT. Sure the players got in rhythm but I would've thought you'd put your tallest or most athletic defender on the inbounds pass. I nearly fell off the couch when I saw Shannon defending the inbounder. Creek anyone? Could've cost the game.

I totally agree with you Moses. Another one of Clarke's poor coaching! Creek would have been the correct option.

Oh rack off Fizzle! You talk absolute shit. Just shut up you fool. I reckon you've been around about 1 season and claim to know the league inside out. Jacob won us that game hitting the 3 that took us into overtime for starters. There are far more people who do value players like Jacob for his contributions to basketball than don't, otherwise they wouldn't have a job would they you moron. But yeah, each to their own opinion! Well Done Jacob on lifting the guys to a win! FINALLY!

I also thought Creek should have been on in the end either on the in bound pass or protecting the rim for the lob pass

fizzle some people are sad some are mad in your case you are just a fwit holmes would be one player l would keep at least he trys to lift his side and is not a show pony.that only upsets team play.get of his back

OMG is that a win, halla looya

Plus minus from this game:

Gold Coast

Tom Garlepp (12)
Adam Gibson (7)
Chris Goulding (5)
Ira Clark (3)
James Harvey (-3)
Darryl Hudson (-4)
Luke Kendall (-7)
Stephen Hoare (-9)
Jason Cadee (-10)

Adelaide

Jeff Dowdell (6)
Eddie Shannon (4)
Brad Hill (4)
Aaron Bruce (2)
Rhys Carter (2)
Mitchell Creek (-3)
Daniel Johnson (-4)
Jacob Holmes (-6)