I have a hard time seeing Perth finish on top when we really don't seem to be able to score (one 31pt quarter notwithstanding).

As the Hawks can only suit up 10 guys for a game, I'd expect Larry to possibly fall out of favor for Gruber.

Gruber is a better defender, rebounder and provides more of a lift than Davidson.

Perth do look shocking at 69.5ppg need a massive boost from Wagstaff amongst others.
Cairns have surprised me and Melbourne have been disappointing but I expect them to bounce back and make top 4.
NZ have improved this year and will make playoffs imo.
Those are my top 4 but it's too early to put them in any particular order.

I think Wollongong may prove to have the edge over Adelaide and maybe Townsville so, despite the record, I wouldn't rush to put them at the bottom. They weren't terribly off the pace in Perth despite Redhage's early flurry and then should've beaten Cairns.

Nathan of Perth...as an outsider it appears as though Daniels isnt the game changer Ennis was and there in lies Perths drop from last season. So far anyway...

OOI scoring after two rounds (please excuse any rounding or other errors):

Cairns 91.3
Adelaide 88
New Zealand 85
Townsville 84
Sydney 83.5
Wollongong 80.8
Melbourne 76.3
Perth 69.5

Points against:

Adelaide 93.7
Townsville 90
Sydney 84.5
Melbourne 83.8
Wollongong 82.3
New Zealand 81.7
Cairns 77.5
Perth 69.5

My top 4:

1. Perth
2. Melb
3. NZ
4. Cairns.

Might sound generous to Melbourne, but they showed on Sunday that they just need to play the right game style for their talent to rise to the top.

Perth looks more vulnerable than last season, but their defense alone will see them win most of their games, like last Friday.

4 wins to Cairns looks good on paper right now, but I expect NZ to beat them on Thursday which will bring them back towards the pack a little.

Also I mightve had Cairns 2nd or 3rd but they are heavily reliant on Wilbekin and his last weekend wasn't as good.

And I actually do buy the argument that their fixture hasn't been tough. Adelaide is my pick for last, so beating them doesn’t impress me. And neither does beating an out of sorts Melbourne who was missing their point guard and then had 3 days of training to make adjustments for the second game.

(and adjust to a new coach)

Perth
NZ
Cairns
Wollongong
Melbourne
Townsville
Adelaide
Sydney

In terms of the bottom 4, I have

5: Hawks
6. Crocs
7. Sydney
8. Adelaide

LV, the fact that Wilbekin was a bit off compared with Round 1 and they are still winning makes exactly the opposite point: Cairns is a well-run team where the same guys from last year are playing a heck of a lot better.

On Perth, I rate Daniels higher than Ennis but he's not exactly what they need with the offence they run. Damien Martin isn't having the best of starts, coupled with the loss of Hire's hustle (especially on the boards) and Wagstaff's usual production, they have no bench whatsoever. Hire is incredibly underrated. Outside shooting is another major problem and that's largely Beal's fault. For a few years, Perth's offence has been reliant on the outside shot to make them look good and it's not working this time.

Perth
NZ
Cairns
Melbourne

Wollongong
Townsville
Sydney
Adelaide

A very wild stab in the dark, especially after only 2 rounds. I imagine these predictions could be drastically different after another 2-3 rounds.

Perth still has a lot to improve on and should have a very solid second half of the season. There defense will get them enough wins till then.

New Zealand will be a good chance to pip Perth for first if Vukona and Ibekwe stay out of foul trouble.

Melbourne will be a strong side once they click and i expect a dominant second half of the season to get them to 4th spot. I think Cairns hot start to the season and getting the split on Melbourne to get them 3rd over united.

After that its going to be tough to predict. Id say Crocs and Hawks to jostle for 5th and 6th and 36ers and Kings to fight it out for the wooden spoon.

Power rankings:

1) Perth
2) Melbourne
3) Cairns
4) New Zealand

5) Wollongong
6) Townsville
7) Sydney
8) Adelaide

This is just a question in regards to Perth. Im not that good with the actual rules of Basketball but nowadays do Centres stay under the ring (as they used to), or do they flit out to the 3pt Line on a consistent basis.

Ive noticed in both home games this season that Matt Knight is almost constantly sitting up at the apex of the Key and not where I expect a man of his size to be.

Is this a common thing with centres now?

from watching the wildcats it appears as though daniels is content being a role player where the team needs him to be the star while ennis wanted to be the man

Has any team gone from wooden spoon to Grand Finalists back to wooden spoon before...or could Adelaide be the first?

I think you are getting a bit ahead of yourself here, its only round 2 and there is a long way to go yet. Adelaide could still make top 4-6.

I'm just asking the question Matthew...I don't actually think they will finish in the shelter but I don't think they will be far off it.

Why would u want to be playing well now? U got the season to do that, it's all about getting the w, i would rather daniels play like a role player now and then turn it on in the second half of the season.

^
And it did get Matt Knight a few wide-open mid-range shots, which he's normally pretty reliable at.