Brain says United by 15. Heart says either team by under 5. Cant confidently outright tip the 36ers they haven't played good enough team ball, that no show in Perth was pretty hard to swallow.

Not on the tele in my guide.

We've been sold out remember.
NBL Pricks!

I hope the Sixers can get up for this one and pinch a win and peg United back towards the pack

Adelaide win this the race for the four gets tight.

Our defence is deplorable. United shooting 3's at will and hitting them all.

Does feel like shooting practice for United whilst everything is tough at our end. 7, could be worse hanging in there. Gibbo not gun shy weird to see!

Adelaides offence is fine so far. Main problem is the defence. It is pathetic.

How many times can you get burned on the switch before you change the defence up. It's been happening all season

DJ just looks out of sorts, can't put my finger on it but something is definitely wrong with him. At least Ebi is having the game of his 36er life has 8 haha

Sixers frontcourt is just horrible at the moment. Just. Horrible.

Does it just feel like even though it's 11 there is pretty much no way Adelaide can win this game? Or just me? They have no ability to take the game by the scruff of the neck and run with it

Interesting homicide talking about the 6ers switching everything

Lol Kobe, they'll be lucky to keep it under 30. This is the worst defence I've ever seen. Awful.

And what's with Homicide and all the "eat your breakfast" crap?? Not to mention his cringeworthy interviews. Ugh..

Randle our only damn hope!!!

I love that damn midget!!!

Bit of boy who cried wolf justice there. Goulding clearly fouled, but they don't call it because he always flops.

Ant Man came to play today

RANDLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RANDLE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I couldn't tell if the player was there before Goulding jumped or moved in after he took off.

Randle is doing an astonishing job.

CALL THE FUCKING FOUL!!!!!!! WTF?

I was watching NBL. Why has my tv started showing wrestling?

Faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaark :((((((((((((((

Thought Gibbo's was gonna drop there ...

Great finish.

Did Gibbo get it off in time? That looked so in.

Who is melbournes guy they want closing out games for them? Would've thought it would be Goulding but I would be interested to see how many shots he has taken in the 4th quarters this season.

Pretty sure Gibbo got his shot off in time. Heart-breaking but we did well to even be in that situation. Well, Randle did...

Great game by the Sixers

Heart-breaking loss.
Proud of the boys effort considering the travel & heat factors.

Rest, recover, rehydrate & onto the next batch

Great performance by Randle to pull Adelaide back almost singlehandedly. Great finish, would have loved for it to go to OT. If only the Sixers played with some grunt in the first half - could easily have been a blowout.

United can look pretty ordinary when they aren't hitting outside shots. When they finally started getting the ball down low late they looked much more composed.

Great Game,bit unlucky for Adelaide to not snatch a come from behind win.Next few games cruical for them.

Season over won't make the top 4.

Randle the Handle has serious game and is probably in top 3 imports this season

I'd argue he's in the top 1. But maybe that's just me. Jackson's the only import close to him, and he's maybe a little bit down this year.

Randle is brilliant appears to want to be here as well and has a good attitude.

Management need to sign Joey and Jerome to build Sixers into the next few years.My prediction Sixers will finish 4th.Joey always makes finals.I think Sixers will play better in 2nd half of the year.

Unconvincing win from United.

They seem to be making up the numbers right now.

Hendo - to me they're almost complementary players. Randle creates his own shot well and shoots okay from 3 point distance. Jackson brings more of his team mates into the game and is a poor 3 point shooter. He's also a poor free throw shooting, which Randle does well. He's a more effective defender than Randle.

Put the strengths of each together into one player and that player would probably be in the NBA. As it is, the weaknesses are probably why they're here instead.

Given the contrasting styles of the 36ers and the Breakers, I'd be hard pressed to say which is more important to his team ATM. Maybe Jackson, just because the Breakers were so much worse in the season he was missing.

Lmao at Observer

Would Adelaide ever do that though? Sign an import for more than one season at a time?

What was
the Melbourne coach talking to Randle about after the game? It seemed friendly and went on for quite a while.

Great comeback by the Sixers. They could have just put the cue in the rack but fought it out against a quality outfit on their home floor. Randle superb putting the team on his shoulders yet again. The guy's jumper is absolute money and it's extraordinary that he can get it off so well for a guy his size.

But to be frank, the Sixers did not deserve to win that game and would have been extremely lucky and reliant on the brilliance of Randle if they pulled it off.

Our interior defence is atrocious. Not sure what is wrong with DJ at the moment but it's pretty frustrating as a supporter watching him out there especially knowing what he can do. He's a very talented offensive player but if he's not firing on the offensive end he almost becomes a liability out there. When we needed him to stand up with Hodgson out over two games he goes 4 of 18 from the field and gets completely outplayed by the opposition centers. He doesn't seem to have any idea how to play defence and loses his man continuously. I understand he's a finesse player but please get in the weight room and get stronger so you can finish strong at the rim and play some good physical defence. Otherwise the words DJ and soft will always go together.

DJ should really take a leaf out of Petrie's book with his aggression and toughness. Another impressive game leading everyone with 13 boards and efficient on the offensive end as he often is.

Today's game had a few positives.

The Sixers were more hungry for rebounds, Petrie has really fired up the last 2 games and Ebi had a good game.

Unfortunately there were a few negatives too with poor perimeter defence at times and DJ's poor form continuing.

DJ's form is quite a mystery, I only started to notice it at the game Vs Perth where I though he struggled because he had to deal with Nate. But it seems to have continued.

Is he injured? Or is it something like him having to adjust to Randle being the #1 option on offence? I don't know. I would have thought Randle's injection into the line up actually buys him more space to operate.

Anyway next week the Sixers should catch the Hawks for 4th. The Sixers have 2 automatic wins against Townsville and the Hawks play the United at home then Cairns away....2 tough asks one would imagine.

I feel this game was a real wake up call for the team, they know what they can do even against the best in the competition.

What about fu.... Refs in last two minutes. First the ball went out from Jonhston hands and they rewarded Sixers with the ball, second clear footy foul on Goulding and then nearly did not call the last foul on Holt. 500 games shame on you that you did not learn anything. Blind man would have done better job.

Wait and see Kamby i be the one LMAO at your expense.
See if i am right.

I don't know what you are talking about Observer.

Not so sure the game in Townsville will be an automatic win. They can be tough up there. If it was in Adelaide then I'd be far more confident.

As for the reffing at the end of the game, Goulding crashed into DJ - he might have got there a fraction late but it was a 50/50 call and given Goulding's propensity to exaggerate every bit of contact he didn't get the benefit of the doubt.

Plus Hakeem Warrick could have easily been called for an offensive foul on DJ at the 1:40 min mark when he blatantly led with his shoulder into DJ's chest. Instead DJ was called for the foul.

Not calling the last foul on Holt actually helped Melbourne as Adelaide had less time to get a quality last possession. I wouldn't be whingeing too much if I was you.

Which game you were watching Rat10 maybe you celebrate 500 games

Which game you were watching Rat10 maybe you celebrate 500 games

Paragraphs would help.

"Think about those great games they have put in for a minute "

I think that's where they've gone wrong. They need to play like that for more than one minute.

Overall the reffing was OK.

But it was clear that they put "the cue in the rack" and let things go late in the game, after calling some real tiggy touchwood stuff earlier. I could cite at least four examples of what I'm talking about.

The best example would be DJ (mentioned by someone else above). DJ was complaining because he didn’t get a charge after Warrick did the exact same move that Kickert did, in the first half. DJ got awarded with a charge from Kickert in the first half (incorrectly, in my view) and then was complaining because he expected the same call later in the game.

The inconsistency is what frustrates the players.

Possible difference I think LV is that Kickert gave DJ a (slight) elbow to the guts. Otherwise, I agree the two moves were exactly the same.

Well done Fstos great input.
I would like to value your contribution of views etc but can't remember a post adding your insight on this site.
Guess easier to take pot shots at others putting their views on.

The refs should set the tone and then stay consistent. That's all the players- and us as fans- can really ask.

Majok got a foul in the first minute of the game, for holding, that was very soft. So immediately the players knew where the boundary was.

Fast forward to midway through the last quarter and you’ll see Teys holding and bumping (impeding movement of the offensive player) Warrick at least twice on the same possession. No call.

As I said, overall the reffing was solid enough, but the one little frustrating thing was the change through the game.

Another example would be the contact on Holt’s arms on that last possession that went uncalled. The context was this: all sorts of soft fouls on both teams throughout the game, on shooting fouls, reach ins, soft body contact on drives etc. If the refs had let more go throughout the game then they might have been justified in not calling that last play. But in terms of the standard they have set, they should have blown the whistle much earlier. Hence the crowd’s frustration on that particular play.

Two good examples LV, and another great example was Johnson not giving Goulding a place to land when he received that pass with about 20 seconds to go, fell over due to the contact and turned it over.

What worries me is Michael Aylen was the closest ref on all three non-calls. That guy is a quality ref, and we can't afford one of the best to be missing such blatant calls.

With the benefit of hindsight, Randle is so good that they could've ran with a back court of Randle, Gibson, Sobey and Teys and then recruited a rim protector as a second import (think Gladness, Ibekwe).

But then you'd have a team without enough outside shooters.

Finding the perfectly balanced lineup will always be difficult with the constraints that exist.

The best balanced team (at full strength) appears to me to be NZ. They’re also up there with the most talented, hence why they’re probably the best team!

"No other club is asking that much of a single big this season apart from Fearne"

Illawarra with Ogilvy. Let's be honest though, Petrie is the only real big defensively, he's the one being asked to carry the can at that end with some help from Walker. Obviously missing Hodgson hurts.

Yep, spot on Paul re: the Goulding incident too. Nowhere to land...

Do you think it was an over reaction to the NZ game, where 2 refs got stood down?

Maybe it was in the back of their minds, and they figured that *making a bad call and getting it wrong* was to be avoided at all costs? ie: *Not making a call that they should have* isn't as bad as *making a bad call and getting the wrath of the NBL* in a close finish, after what happened a few weeks ago?

(Yes, the NZ was different in that they made the call *and then debated it and still got it wrong* but maybe they just didn't want to risk being put in that position or being scrutinised for a call they did make. And that may have been in the back of their minds...)

The main reason they lost yesterday though was that switching defence for the first 25-27 minutes, there just wasn't the intensity needed to pull it off.

Once they went to zone Melbourne went back to old habits of launching grenades from deep and all of a sudden Adelaide were able to run off rebounds. It amazed me that Wright stayed with that strategy for so long.

LV "DJ got awarded with a charge from Kickert in the first half (incorrectly, in my view)" You're kidding right? In what league can you throw your elbow into someones stomach to create room and it should not be called a foul? The Warrick foul was the same thing but he used his head as well. Unfortunately Warrick is a protected species so they won't call something so obvious against him.

I agree that the Goulding incident was a foul. I disagree that Aylen is a quality ref.

Yep The 36ers switching D allowed United to create so many in play mismatches and opportunities. When you have *really small guy* like Randle and a big who struggles to defend inside let alone move his feet on the perimeter (DJ) that's just not gonna fly...

King James- Kickert made contact but not enough to justify a charge IMO.

Basketball is a contact sport (contra technical definitions). Only big boys should play. DJ is soft as butter and always has been.

Whoever said Ebi wasn't an outside threat- he’s hit 24 threes this season. That’s more than anyone else on the 36ers, including Randle.

That was the softest charge call! Just shows DJ's core isn't strong enough!

"What was the Melbourne coach talking to Randle about after the game? It seemed friendly and went on for quite a while."

I think Demopoulos knows Randle's brother.

KingJames - Mark Davis used to get away with the same sort of uncalled offensive foul Warrick used to clear Johnson out and which led to Johnson being called on the subsequent shot. Davis did it for 17 years and particularly in teh earlier years, when he was so much stronger than his opponents. It was his bread and butter, together with dribbling while backing into his opponent repeatedly to force them under the basket and create an easier shot.

In my experience, this style of offensive fouling has never been called in the NBL and I believe it never will be. The charging player needs to make it intolerable for the ref to ignore by clearly using their elbow in the clear out. It's in the same basket as the hook by the driving player to hold the defender back as they drive past them. Unless it's been outrageously clear, the NBL refs have never called hooks and never will.

I suspect this sort of thing is let go to allow more of an offensive advantage and encourage higher scores. That's consistent with the entertainment focus of the NBL and other professional leagues.

These are the sorts of things that separate professional basketball from basketball played purely for sport. Systematically different implementations of rules. Just like the oft cited example of not calling travel in NBA to encourage more spectacular dunking.

I've gotten used to these things and usually (but not always) can ignore them. However, I also think it's this dichotomy between the amateur basketball experience and the professional rules' implementations that leads to a lot of the arguments about what happens and isn't called during NBL games. It's also a source of confusion for casual watchers of the NBL who have prior experience only of social or junior basketball.

Melbourne needs to use the low post more effectively.

Watching Perth on Friday night, I noticed they need the ball from the wing and then cut past the post. This can create confusion in the D and if the cut is done well it can lead to a score.

Both Kenny and Martin got a score doing this on Friday night.

When Melbourne feeds the ball to the low post inevitably everyone else just stands there watching.

United needs to have some off ball Movement happening in these situations. Otherwise they're making the defenders job too easy.

Perth and NZ are the best teams at creating scores from the low post, it's something Melbourne could improve on and Adelaide can do much, much better too.

Ebi's shot them at 33%.

That's a higher clip than names like Randle, Gliddon, Cadee, Thornton.

And about the same as Goulding, Beal, Craig....

I'm not defending Ebi here, because an import should be judged by 1. What role the coach expects them to play and 2. How much they’re getting paid. And we don’t know that.

But to say Ebi hasn’t been a threat from outside is simply proven wrong by the numbers. Defenders know they need to get a hand in Ebi’s face when he catches it a metre outside the arc. That’s worth something to the 36ers.

Boti's article in the paper version of the Advertiser today:

"Melbourne duo Stephen Holt and Warwick Giddey stood up in the frantic last stanza"

Had to laugh. I reckon Warwick Giddey would feel great about the mistake but I wonder how Hakim Warrick feels!

Giddey's developed some ups in retirement!

I got the impression of Melbourne Coach being a fan of Randle and Adelaide winning had dj played for MEL

sixers=spooners