If 36ers lose to Melbourne and Perth this week, then Perth goes to top of table?

Not sure if Goulding will be playing.

I'm tipping 36ers just slightly with Goulding due to their form and home court advantage, and without Goulding I think it'll be a write off.

6'ers at home, Wildcats to be dark horses!

I'm expecting a huge game from Randle after being upstaged by Ware last time. Sobey will also want to make up for his last game against Melbourne.

I expect Adelaide to run Melbourne into the ground and win.

Stop tipping the 36ers...they play better as underdogs! :-)

"If 36ers lose to Melbourne and Perth this week, then Perth goes to top of table?"

Sixers have 3 more wins and 2 less losses than Perth. So we'd still be a win above them.

Gouldings absence puts too much on Ware.
I like the way Randle is picking his moment when he needs to get involved offensively. He looks like he is in charge. He's letting Sobey, Creek, johnson and the bench take the lead. Chimes in when he needs to.
Sixers comfortably.

Sixers easily. 10+

If Goulding, Blanchfield and Moore all miss then 36ers should win comfortably.

With a game coming up on Saturday night, I'd prefer United played it safe with Goulding's ankle and sat him out if he isn't 100%. Save him for Saturday.

Ramone Moore has an "undisclosed injury". ???

Sad this season with the injuries to key players in every team.

"Just Perth fans being Perth fans. If australia is blown up but wa survives the Armageddon do the cats win the title? Sad."

Cats beating NZ in a GF series is far from a given ;)

Yes 36ers shld win if those players don't play.

And 36ers will make sure of that by playing hard. That would consume too much and Cats would have an advantage on Sat.

All punters would benefit from both.

Very good Luuuc!

Adel v Melb yet we have to listen to Perth boneheads make it about them!

Who was it that asked "Why does everyone hate Perth".
This is why, you have been quiet all year,sooking about your team. NOW you win a couple of games and you go OTT as usual.

Adelaide by 5.

Newton's Third Law: to every statement there is an equal and opposite statement.

Perth by 5.

Roy Ward
.@MelbUnitedHQ say Ramone Moore hurt his calf v Hawks and won't return this season Terrible news, Ramone's a good guy, will be missed #NBL17

Melbourne United ‏@MelbUnitedHQ

***CLUB INJURY UPDATE

Blanchfield, Goulding and Moore to all miss tonight's game against Adelaide.

Bennie Lewis in the house.

Odigie and Adnam starting. Let Odigie shoot all day!

Flop. I'm shocked with that from Sobey.

Adelaide in luck again playing an undermanned team, playing cats at home one game without Martin then another without Martin and knight, then Martin injured early in first game. You need luck during season but they've had their fair share.

Adelaide too casual Wake up. Play some D and you'll turn this around.

My god Sobey is ******* good! ADL; wrap this bloke up long term. He is a legitimate Boomers contender IMO.

This home cooking is a disgrace.
im going to watch the cricket

Sobey you soft cock. Flop king

A few threes starting to drop now.
Except for Adnam LOL

36ers beating up on Ware for sure

Great game so far by utd

A pretty undisciplined last couple of minutes from the 36ers I thought. Should be ahead.

'I have Foxtel online. It will often freeze particularly during Sixers games. Netflix always works never freezing so I can't see it being an Internet issue. Does anyone else have this problem?'

Just stream to laptop sorry.

Don't get any freezing but the resolutions cycles from good to horrible all game, every game.

Adelaide played like shit.... Don't deserve to be up there. Randle obviously not doing much.

Whenever adnam gets minutes you know MU are f*cked

Yet he's got 10 more points than Randle atm

Tied game in the third quarter and Randle hasn't scored. Has to be a good sign.

'Whenever adnam gets minutes you know MU are f*cked'

Dude can play a bit

Randle scores.....

United down 3 starters plus Moore, facing some dumb-as-dog-sh!t refs, making it close

Props to United

How 36ers are on top, I do not know...

Haha ... looks like he's been watching some CJ footage during the week

Randle put this one away in a hurry

Out of nowhere, Randle has 19 points. Can't keep him quiet for too long.

'36ers 1-10 paying $3, double winnings up to $50 in bonuses with sportsbet'

Not sure wht the reasoning behind a small win to Adelaide was at home vs undermanned United

Adelaide have kept me in business on sportsbet this year. Only team you can reliably pick to win.

I cannot pick the winner of any combination of teams not including the 36ers to save my life!

Guys quick hop on Cairns against Melbourne...bloody good odds

Moore didn't play, so they didn't have 3 IMPORTS.

Moore didn't play, so they didn't have 3 IMPORTS.

So Adelaide hit a few shots in the last against United's bench.

Still hoping United and its merry-go-round roster can sneak into 4th and play them in the semis, cos they match up against them well.

If Sobey doesn't get MIPOTY, then the awards are a rort.

The first three quarters was just rubbish by Adelaide, they were sluggish, lazy, missing shots and not bothering to be clean with the ball. Melbourne defended decently but it was Adelaide playing just plain bad.

Apart from Sobey and maybe Drmic, the rest played a shocker up until the 4th. We're a little lucky Randle's bad game came against an undermanned side.

Maybe a bit of rest is needed between now and V Perth, Adelaide have played a fair bit lately and trips to NZ and Perth probably don't help mixed in with some very hot weather of late.

I am surprised Adelaide made 100 points - that 35 point last quarter showed some real urgency and the flood gates opened. Randle finished with 23 in a game he only played one decent quarter. Unbelievable. Props to him for showing fight late.

Jacobsen needs to be a little bit more serviceable and tone down the amateur hour, while Ferguson needs to relax and just focus on keeping it simple: lock down on D, get yourself open for a shot and good strong passes. At the moment his defence is what you'd expect from an 18 year old American - terrible and low IQ. We just need to make sure it doesn't cost us come playoff time.

It was a very average victory but Adelaide got it done and the fourth quarter fight along with Sobey's brilliance just keeps providing confidence to the idea of Adelaide being a real player come playoffs time.

Tomlinson once again showed that if he doesn't have 4 stars around him he is absolute rubbish. No wonder the coach put Adnam infront of him.

It is actually tough to play against a team that just lost 3 of there better players because

1. Sixers would have spent all week on strategy to stop the other 3 players.
2. Only just before the game did they know those players were out so they had little time to adjust.
3. United had nothing to lose so could play with confidence.
4. Sixers had everything to lose so didn't play with confidence.
5. When the level of competition drops so does the talented team.

A bad first half but then destroyed united. Other than winning Sixers learned that you put Sobey/Creek/Ferguson on Ware instead of Randle. Let Randle save his energy for offense. Even if Goulding is out there I think they should stay with that defense match up.

Awesome game by Sobey. He shows so much Heart which Gibson never had.

It was also great to see Ware talk so much shit and act like he is some sort of King in the first half and then do nothing in the second half whilst Randle got 19. Ware left the game injured near the end of the game but I think he will be fine for there next game. One bad thing to see was a member of the crowd grabbed him as he was leaving the stadium. Nothing much in it but still not acceptable.

How was he grabbed Brunson?

There always has to be an idiot doing something stupid, just leave players alone, the game is over.

I have to agree, Randle seems to be a but of a liability on defence, we can't task him with someone like Ware. Plus Randle does seem to get fatigued easily (i guess that's what happens when you put the jets on so often) so not much point wasting him in little minigames on defence against rival stars

KET it was behind the closest basket to Melbourne. He grabbed his jersey as he walked passed to hold him there and then had words to him. Ware then called for security to remove the guy. That sort of behaviour is obviously not acceptable.

Absolutely Brunson, simply not on.

Assuming the 36ers took a gamble on paying Randle's contract hoping for increased revenue to cover it what is otherwise beyond their affordability, I wonder if it has done the trick.

7,106 vs Melbourne and over 8,000 vs Hawks, i'd be interested as to how our crowds are comparing to last season, and I guess more so paid tickets. I also wonder how 36ers are going sponsorship dollar wise in comparison to previous years. Hopefully there's enough of an increase in paid ticket sales and sponsorship that it covers for Randle's contract... I suspect by now the 36ers will know from a financial aspect, whether it has been successful, on par or backfired.

The difficult part will be trying to keep both Randle and Sobey from being poached by richer clubs at the end of the season.

Ware showed a weakness tonight. Dropped his chin after being guarded tight. Didn't like it. Stopped working for the ball. Is great in the open court and in isolation, very smart at reading the play, but got sucked in tonight by the sixers manning him up. Welcome to the NBL. Other teams may notice this and try to exploit it.
The United players just whinge too much, and just seem to go on and on at the refs, especially Tomlinson, Wesley, Ware and DD and look more like individuals than a team.

Saw the incident behind the basket. Ware wasn't grabbed, the guy was making the flopping motion having a bit of friendly banter, lost his balance and accidentally touched Ware. Ware felt it, turned around and thought he was grabbed.

Can understand Ware thinking there was more in it but it was pure unlucky accident. The guy in question is a season ticket holder and one of the nicest guys around, just pure accident.

I know it was a full moon but there was a fair bit of trollop posted last night.

Anon, Sobey is not a Rookie, but will get Most Improved. More importantly, he would have a good shot at MVP if he wasn't playing next to Randle (who should win MVP).

went to the game for a change. Fortunate as it meant i missed commentators, just had to put up with the "gold Class" bogan women behind me calling out stupidities and the occasional "MFR" - clearly no problem with their centerlink payments. Bit tough on the other families' preschoolers in my row.

Thought the refs were not actually all that bad, a few mystery guess decisions but no more than what would have been the average in the 80's-90s.

was very happy to see a distinct lack of talking to players by the refs during the game, even waving some away unless they were the designated court captain. Very good to see. Allows the ref to focus and the players to show some restraint.

Always liked the times where some of the old school would just listen , shake their head and when the player finished their rant , call the T. I loved the explanation, "halfway through we both knew he had gone too far, but i let him get his "T,s" worth and let him wind down before the inevitable."

The bench tech on MU may well have helped that.

I have a theory that the more strict mechanics of the 3 official system, and who is supposed to be looking where, has actually trained the players to do particular things in particular places as it means that the particular official is probably unsighted.

the "great" Brian G certainly instructed that in respect of defence and where/when to hold and grab.

A good exciting game, not impressed with MU coaching, seemed zero intentional use of Barlow. Wesley was clearly unfit and his offensive sets were just a NBA style isolation of a back down one-on-one.

Barlow seemed a little "over" the whole organisation to me.

I expect Perth to finish season strongly, and with 2 games in hand will hold 2nd place on the ladder in their own right by end of weekend. Come finals time sixers and Perth may be the only teams with more wins than losses. Quite remarkable. 11 wins from 12 games is even more remarkable in a season where all other teams are only at 50% win/loss record. Going to make an interesting finish to roller coaster season for Hawks, Kings and United . Ladder can be really deceiving with Taipans only having played 18, if they can snatch wins over United and Cats, all of sudden really creates pressure for those final spots. United and Kings really under the pump right now.

Played out like a typical danger game when the opposition is undermanned like that, but ultimately getting the job done.

@KET, I'm not saying you were necessarily bagging Jacobsen, but i think some people who have questioned his ability so far have failed to notice just how serviceable he has been.

How long is Sobey signed for under his current contract? The club should lock him up long term before he comes a free agent.

Can someone impartial please give their opinions on the charges called in favour of Ware (randle and ferguson) and Sobey (Adnam and Odigie) in the Adel vs Melb game last night?
Just interested

Master Chief - He signed for 3 years. so one more season still.

Joey certainly saw his potential! http://www.nbl.com.au/featured-news/the-rise-and-rise-of-nathan-sobey/

Ugly game for most of it, but an impressive last 12 or so minutes to break the resistance and really keep the foot down. Randle is a star, but even so that last quarter was amazing given he'd been chucking bricks all game. Never gives up. Sobey is just ridiculous.

skip,

The issue is though some have said on here that 3rd year is a player option which if so means he can opt out and become a free agent at the end of this season.

@Troppo45 The Randle/Ware charge was right call. Randle ran straight over him. Not sure about the Adnam/Sobey one as that just seemed as if both players just went to the same spot and Sobey went down. Very easily could have been Adnam on the ground.
Ware took a dive against Ferguson. Ware was in good spot to hold his ground and defend against a lightweight posting up Ferguson and got rewarded for flopping. Ferguson made a bit of motion but not enough contact to send flying like that. Most players are strong enough to stay upright in post up situations, unless it's Knight defending Randle and refs should know this.
If players were to get $100 for every post up defence where they don't go down, they would stay upright every time.
Not sure if impartial as a Sixer supporter but that is my take.

Look guys. Adelaide were always going to punish Melbourne... They took their time.

I thought Adelaide were shit for three quarters but soon as they stepped up, everything
was over quickly. Melbourne are not good enough with the three players down.

And if Goulding doesn't play again Cairns, Melbourne will lose again.

Can't see Sobey in the NBL next season. He is arguably the best in the league at the moment with his stocks soaring. His ball control and change of direction is something else. Can play above the rim and then last night was 5/5 from deep. Not turning the ball over and his defence is good.
His crossover on Prather other week had Prather guessing and left watching as Sobey blows by, Did the same to Ware last night and other United defenders. Awesome athleticism, but I think it is his ball control in traffic which is a huge assett for him.

Can someone please clarify something I saw in the game?

Ferguson ran into Wesley and hit the deck, hard. Wesley had turned his body so that Ferguson ran into his shoulder rather than his chest.
I seem to remember other screeners being penalised earlier in the season for turning their bodies like that. From memory, the blocking rule is mainly concerned about the chest.

Was it genuinely a clean screen or was Wesley lucky to get away with it?

Adelaide should lock in Sobey with Euro out if need be - can't let someone swoop in from interstate.

Pretty sure Wesley was called for an offensive foul on that play hoopie

Wesley was called for a foul.

It was a slight lean in with the shoulder. I would've called a foul but there wasn't much in it.

Refs did owe him one though, on the previous play Wesley got called for a foul when he was standing in position with his arms straight up and one of the Adelaide bigs forced a clumsy shot over him...but there was somehow a foul on Wesley.

But nope, they didn't give him one back...

Meanwhile, has Redhage's 10 year reign as the most impressive flopper in the NBL come to an end? Sobey drew 2 fouls last night. I thought after the first one the refs surely wouldn't get sucked in again...but no, they did!

The club should be working now to make sure that he's happy next year with a better deal or coming up with a multiple year deal.

Often in these situations where a little known player has flourished in a new team, loyalty and fairness will play a part in striking a good deal. He can't play for another NBL team though.

Actually, after Sobey got away with both of those flops and then got away with grabbing Casper's arm before the refs called Casper for a travel...I was starting to wonder if the refs had a bit of a man crush on Sobes.... I understand being impressed by his athleticism and dunking prowess, but come on, ref objectively next time fellas.

Haha some butthurt united fans ^^^^^

Sobey goes for 32 8 6 in a 40 minute game and the wolves come out.

Adnam was a charge all day every day, same as Randle trying to create space and got called for a charge on Ware.

Just smile and watch the 36ers take the title losers

good numbers by sobey , and randle also 19 8 2
(ware the worst shooter out there, at this game)

^ me

If you rate Adelaide's title chances then I'm guessing you weren't watching the first 3 quarters last night

I was at the game and yes, I do rate Adelaide's title chances. Just my opinion, don't want to get anyone upset.
Every team has bad nights. I've seen some shocking games from united, cats and kings. Adelaide have won 11 out of 12 games, have the best 1 - 2 punch in Randle and Sobey, best captain in Creek, obvious close knit team ( with no replacement imports ) great coach and the best fans in the country and to top it all off we play the most exciting brand of basketball in the league.

I think we'll be alright ;)

Aaaaaaight!

LV put the Melbourne bias aside for a second -

36ers are 1st position with 14-7 with form of 12 wins out of their last 13 matches, and a strong road record.

The 36ers have the likely MVP in Randle and along with Sobey consistently producing like a star and there is DJ too.

Best position in the league? Check.
One of the best players in the league? Check.
Best form? Check.

You don't rate that as a "title chance"?

The first three quarters aren't indicative of the 36ers in the same way Melbourne getting hammered by 27 points isn't indicative of what to expect from United.

Randle didn't score until a few minutes to go in the third quarter. Adelaide at one point was shooting around 28%. Neither of those things are even close to what we've seen from the 36ers in the last 3 months, why is it suddenly an indicator of anything?

Clearly a sluggish three quarters from a team who didn't have their heart in it until shit got real in the last quarter... and then they got it done easy.

--
About this flopping business...

Sobey did a little balancing gesture as he fell back making one of his charges look like he was extenuating the contact. You can be annoyed at him doing that, but what's the point?

There was clear contact while Sobey was in position and it was still clearly a charge.

Wesley was also a clear charging foul dropping his shoulder - you can't do that, I really don't know why so many on here think you can.

It did feel like Melbourne couldn't get a trick in terms of the refs and I do think Adelaide got a little bit of home cooking.

There's no team that hasn't had some poor patches this season, but you can't write off all 8 teams are title contenders.
Adelaide had 3 mediocre quarters and still won by 27. For them that's a plus not a minus (provided it doesn't go to their heads)

There are still chances for other teams too. It doesn't take much to run into some form, and there's still a month to go before the real stuff starts.

I'd give all top 4 sides as title chances, it's so hard to split them

Sober is the golden child with the refs,been going on all season.

I laughed at that. There were nine really good plays and then that!

They had a clear goaltend in the top ten earlier in the year.