The burning question I have is, will there be another Marty thread after this game?

36ers should get the W. Are better on paper and with Sydeny coming of a Friday night game in NZ. Gibbson should shut Madgen down.

Can Marty control the rotations so the guys keep some momentum rather than the 5 on 5 off sub principle that will keep the kings in the game?

KIngs by 18

Madgen is in absolute top notch form at the moment. Gibbo and crew will have their work cut out today as another lazy 20+ points will be flicked from his wrist. Aaron Bruce does seem to play 20% better against the Sixers.

There's no excuses for the Sixers today. On paper they should win every position and please, please tell me the most important matchup of M Clarke v S Heal will go our way as well.

If Heal outfoxes Clarke today, well, as most 14 yo girls say... "awks" or "tots awks"

Heal is a better coach than people give him credit for.

Look at what last year's crappy Kings and what he did when he took the reigns at the end of the season. Look at what he is doing with this not-that-great-on-paper roster this year.

I don't really watch Sydney play very often so I can't comment on his strategies, but the record speaks for itself...

Can Crosswell go 3 TOs for 3 possessions?

Is he that bad that you have to shout....4 times?

Wondered if Creek might have started on Madgen, not the case.

The first offense from the sixers was identical to the game against the Gong...for the same result.

Johnson getting some questionable calls against him, don't mind that, Petrie,Schenscher and Weigh probably better suited for this game.

Schensher frustrates me so much. If he played more physical and "taller" he would be unstoppable in this league. Instead there are simply too many times when he acts like a pussy and gets pushed around like a rag doll.

Big Luke is killing it!! Finally using his height to his advantage... would it kill him to throw one down though??

First half reflective of season so far, moments of brilliance but also mayhem at the wrong moment. Just not convincing but imagine if, preferably when, it all clicks.

Kings making the most from their hussle and occassional recklessness of the Sixers.

Massingale earning minutes but not necessarily Crosswell. Perhaps limit his impact by rotating Gibbo and Cadee through the 1 with Massingale and Creek occassionally at 2 spot.

I am f**ken shocked that Luke Cooper played in college...did anyone else hear that?

This must be Big Bird's second career successful fake...and it ended with a foul and tirnover.

Good to see CJ Massingale get some minutes resulting in some good stats. At least this seems to be working for them. Also 36's kept their cool where it matters - getting over the line in a tight contest :-)

We finally close one out! Shityeah!

Luke was a beast for the first 3 quarters.

DJ needs to tone down the flopping.

Cadee was fantastic and it was good to see CJ finally get amongst it with 9 points in 5 minutes. Should have kept him out there and given him some of Crosswell's minutes.

CJ was the leading scorer at one stage

Great to see CJ and Luke both silence their critics. Crosswell although shot a 3 played poorly. Mitch Creek and CJ should get more minutes. Pero should have got game time today considering Petrie and DJ were quiet

What's the story with that?

Liked Petrie's game, especially his 7 offensive rebounds.

36ers difficult to beat when they win the boards and keep the turnovers down.

Would like to see DJ but also Crosswell get less minutes.

Could of done seeing more of Creek and CJ Massingale.

Me , I'd rather a few more mins of Massingale's 5mins and Creek's 12mins rather than the star's 30+ mins every game . I just get bored.
He was on a baseball team . He was in a marching band.
At ten years old he had a watermelon stand.
As great as you are stevie , you'll never be greater than yourself.

Creek's steal that led to a 5 point possession (or was it a 6-point possession?) was massive. Game changer.

"36ers threads are so much shorter after a win."

Sadly true.

Held on, plus on the road. Not a top-tier opponent, but a result in the right column anyway.

One of life's simple pleasures is to visit this forum after a sixer loss :)

I think you're right Isaac..held on for a win against a bottom tier team.

I still like the balance & talent the sixers have. A road win like this will be a good achievement & something to build on

Congrats to the Sixers... On paper, it was a sure win, but my guys held on strong, despite getting a bit touched up inside, and Big Red FINALLY making the most of his size advantage! I think Garlepp and Dann did better on him later on not allowing him to get as close inside as then he relies on that hook instead of being able to just lay it in...

The Kings REALLY need to work on protecting the paint... The Sixers just ran over them inside like most other teams lately, and the shooting in the final quarter, wow... I was always disappointed that you guys managed to snap up Cadee as well as Petrie, but he really nailed some big shots in front of his family tonight...

Sometimes a team has to do more than just win games before they win back the hearts and minds of fans.

Personally i just want DJ to stop whinging, and the subs to be a little less robotic.

Who cares if the coach has his favourites, if they are getting it done what does it matter.

Young Gun, let's call Melbourne and Townsville the bottom tier. I think Sydney are showing a bit more fight. Breakers didn't smash them over there, did they?

Sydney are playing much better than their roster suggests. Breakers only just scraped home with a win so give them some credit.

An away win is unfamiliar to those who followed them around , so that's absolutely fantastic . At the first 3 minutes Martin Clarke like a coxwain took out Schenscher. Petrie played well , shot poorly. Schenscher probably MVP. Weigh was the worst starter
conserving for the long game.

Threads are shorter because there are fewer experts willing to give up free advice.

Very content with the away win v Sydney.

The Good:
#1 Creek & Massingales efforts off the bench, one was a spark, the other provided stable instant scoring. Honestly, this is the exact type of game you want to see from your benchies, instant contribution that is solid, doesn't mess up the flow and doesn't consist of turn overs. I really wish both players had more time on the court, I am loving Creek this year his influence on the game is so much more evident.

#2 Cadee. As people have said in previous games, we look so much better with him controlling the ball. He makes things happens, he doesn't stand around bouncing it for most of the shot clock then make a suicide drive or shot like our imports have done the last two+ years. He's got a nice little shot and that three point shot has been pretty accurate as well. He played another good game.

#3 Schenscher played his best game of the year, absolutely dominated down low, and those rebounds were just too easy for him, although I don't think he'll have it that easy against most teams in the NBL.

#4 Weigh continues to have his best season, he's taking the appropriate shots and he's looking more like the player I think he was trying too hard to be last year. That big time three saved the Sixers and those floaters were big shots as well, great to see we can start to count on him for stability.


The Bad:

#1 Those silly fouls. Schenscher and Petrie a few silly fouls when you know the refs are hot, there's no need to foul if you're not in position for an offensive rebound, you don't need to get your hands in there near the arc. Secondly, Johnson and Schenscher, when you're defending around the perimeter, you cannot just go around bumping the guards as they dribble, that will be a foul, that will ALWAYS be a foul. There were probably four fouls called against our bigs for that, it's just not necessary.

#2 Johnson's game mostly sucked. I can deal with him not having a good offensive game every game (although he did hit a nice three and do a nice layup move), but that's when you need to really focus on contributing with some solid defence! Too often, especially early on in games we see players drive right past him, he might as well be paper. Or a not-so-scary ghost.

#3 Petrie's game sans rebounding. Everyone has those types of bad games, at least he rebounded very well (11 rebounds), maybe I have too high of standards.

#4 Those rings. There's two stadiums I cringe watching games played, NZ's and Sydney's. I'd much rather the Kings over the Breakers rings, but it's like CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK for both. Gotta love the 36ers' soft rings.

WHat I really liked was how they found Schenscher in position where all he had to do was reach up and score.

That's the way to use a skinny 7'1 guy, not give it to him 10feet from the the basket and watch him try and back someone down. While Johnson didnt play well his passing to Luke was excellent. With a bit of confidence generated from that Luke even made a couple of nice post moves.

The other great thing was how confident Cadee was with those two big triples, massive plays for a young player to make especially after missing a couple wide open ones earlier.

That was a must-win game against a reasonable opponent and they survived a tough challenge. The next two weeks are the real test though.