Creek has hit his peak, Sobey or Hodgson for MIP

Not sure how you could have a predicted finish without all teams finalising their roster, but at least you put it out there.

I think injuries will be an issue, Randle is soft and when things don't go his way on the court he seems to get injured

Johnson in at 4 just seems to be a better spot for him.

That starting 5 would be very fast and slippery on court

Geez, I wish I could be that confident about the 36ers. I think we're too young and will have to settle for a lower position.

"Randle is soft and when things don't go his way on the court he seems to get injured"

I only recall the one injury late last season, from which he came back early in an effort to get the 36ers into the playoffs. That occurred in the Illawarra game that the 36ers won. Have I forgotten another injury(s)? Or are you saying this based on his overseas experiences? I don't follow overseas leagues, so I don't know how he's played there.

Drmic will be better than a lot of people think. Watch and see

PeterJohn,

After last season Randle went and played in Lithuania and his team won the championship and he was named Finals MVP.

Honestly I think if everything went right for the Sixers and other teams got some bad luck only then would they be a chance to make the Top 4. With the way all the other rosters are shaping up I would think 8th is more likely than 4th.

"Joey Wright will always keep this team competitive and there is no doubt the high-tempo 36ers will have games where they blow teams out of the water. Yet the inexperience and youth of the team will ensure we see some brain-fade moments and unexpected losses. However, this team has to much talent and is too well coached to not make the playoffs, whether or not they can contend is another thing..."

Just remind of the time Joey over achieved without a talented roster. He loves the Randle types (Ervin, Deleon, younger Ebe etc) who can just take people off the dribble and create for themselves because he puts very little structure into his teams at ether end of the court. He has still been unable after quite a few years to teach DJ even the bare fundamentals of team or individual D or has he been a good enough coach to hide these weaknesses.

The team may do well on talent alone if the 2 new imports are top class. Randle and DJ are certainly good enough at playing off the cuff to keep you in many games.

Joey is great at yelling though, particularly at the refs.

Don't forget about punching opposition coaches. Joey is great at that too.

Remember when Marty Clarke was our coach? I wouldn't complain too much about Joey

On Paper, this league is shaping as extremely competitive at the top end.
I'm glad the Cats hit 30 least season, because this could easily be the year the streak is broken.
We have to wait and see, how well all these new rosters play together, but as it stands I don't see the 6's making top 4.

Cairns will finish 8th

"Remember when Marty Clarke was our coach? I wouldn't complain too much about Joey"

Do I remember when Marty Clarke was our coach?

I sure DIo - So I wouldn't complain AT all about ... Phil Smyth...or Gary Fox,,,,,,or Mike Dunlap,,,,,or Shane Heal... or Clarence the cross-eyed lion... or the dead parrot from Monty python...or Shane Heal.

:)

theres alot of young potentials on this team. Its really hard to predict where this team will end. Potentially it could end up 3rd or 4th. If some of these young guys dont live up to their potential or Randle gets injured, could be looking at 6th or 7th. this will be a test for Joey.

Lol at this thread

It's far too early for these predictions without knowing full rosters and seeing a bit of the 15+ New imports and the other new players in the league.

I'm tipping United because David Andersen wins a championship every year no matter who he plays for

@LV, you till think united will win...thats so cute ;)

What numb nuts say Cairns will finish 8th when you don't even know who their imports are?

I like Joey's approach this year, we obviously do not have the coin to compete with other teams so he is thinking out of the box.

Sydney have 4 of Australia's top 20 players in Newley, Lisch, Maric and Khazzouh (debatable on Khazzouh). We obviously can not compete and with other teams having great bigs in Bairstow, Andersen, Ogilvy and Jawai I like the strategy of out running them.

The club does not have the $ to buy a championship like Sydney and Melbourne seem to, so go easy on Joey as his hards are tied and I think this year has done a great job.

You are so critical. First of all, just because a team is young does not mean they cannot win a championship. This is the NBL not the NBA, 36ers have the talent necessary, anyone can see that. Secondly for the expert who does not seem to understand basketball and passion, watch basketball outside of Aus. Coaches in the NBA and around the world lose their mind on the court at refs, it's called caring and being passionate about the game and loving your team, would you rather a coach sit there and collect a paycheck while not showing he cares? Let's see you coach I bet the pressure would have you crying into your morning coffee. I personally think Joey is great for our game. Lastly, for some reason people are getting lost in the fact Brisbane have Bairstow? Yet have a worrying lack of scoring and seem to think going big will win them championship? Bairstow, Young, Petrie, Kickert and Jervis? Then what a banged up Adam Gibson going to do it all for you? Torrey Craig? Bruce? Te Rangi? Give me a break, I have coached, watched and played basketball to the point of obsession for 24 years and you would have to be blind not to see that team will be shooting bricks from outside the arc and struggle to score at times. I have faith in the Kings to pull it back this year and make up some ground, but I never rule out any of the other teams winning the title. NBL is a volitile league, nothing is set in stone.

Hard to make predictions for this team, but entertainment is a big part of sport and this should be an entertaining roster. Probably too young/raw to do much if they make the finals where experience counts, but should be a fun journey.

Cairns look a bit behind the eight-ball before imports and Wollongong have lost experience too.

I think NZ could slip and miss the finals too.

We always new that Adelaide would have less coin to spend than MU (and now Sydney under new ownership).
Teams like Adelaide just need to weather the storm, wait for the inevitable Sydney implosion, and hope LK gets bored quickly.

On paper, and assuming no injuries to start with, we'll have some very competitive teams this year. Very hard to see the 6's being top 4.
But we have to wait and see. A couple of injuries could derail the Kings, and there's also the fear that Gaze may actually try to coach.

Sixers ceo didn't know about Ferguson or Jacobsen , back when Boti was writing that they were close to signing.
First day of training today, but closed training
to fuck us around.
The old days are gone forever....

Biggest question mark for me is how Joey goes. But like I've said before, great initiative by the club.

Getting Drmic on a two year deal was the biggest scalp for me. This guy is a quality young Australian player. Probably didn't get the hype it should have because of the spotlight taken by the big spending clubs, but seriously good work.