With the disruptive Tyler gone and Lisch back I could see the Kings coming out breathing fire at least initially.

Only one of our three wins against the Kings this season has been by single figures but I could also see this being a slightly close win.

I'm looking forward to seeing Lisch playing off the ball, like he should have been doing all along.

Would like a Sydney win but think Adelaide will win by 8.

36ers love losing these games...standard thing for the 36ers to lose a should be win game.

Lisch straight into the starting 5. Drewey limiting him to 15 minutes. Sensible. Says he has only completed 1 full practice session? That is alarm bells IMO. I don't like that.

Now un-named from the starting 5

Hodgson has the worst hands of anyone that tall I've ever seen.

Hodgson can't even catch...

Crying shame, this, seeing the Kings without Lisch for the bulk of the season. Lisch is doing nothing rn, but you can see the impact he's having

Coupla nice threes by Newley .... subbed out , of course.

From a rebound that should have been called goal tending first

Gaze on fire during that timout

Sydney are looking ok so far today :O

Why are they advertising a nude dating show during the nbl? Lolp

This is going pretty much exactly how I thought it would. I still expect us to get up but full credit to the Kings this is probably as good as I've seen them play this season.

Lisch returning even if he didn't do much was always going to give them a shot in the arm.

Not a lot of effort on defence for Adelaide. High scoring game but sloppy all round.

It didn't look good and perhaps Gaze is genuinely feeling the pressure to keep his job next season.

Gaze is a genuinely good guy but man coaching is not for him

Nice one, Abbey.

I've realised that acting as though you didn't hear the question is a stalling tactic employed by interviewees that want to think of a lie or a narrative they want to spin

Now he is going off on the poor bench players

Gaze - how does that happen?

Team thinking - you're the coach, you tell us

Gaze popped the hood and the radiator cap is long gone. Engine's been running too hot. It's cooked

The big Indian guy looked terrified

When Gaze tries to look angry his face is still trying to be smiley.

Such a scrappy game

Man's stressed af. Shawn Dennis, Mick Downer are a couple of decent candidates for the job.

Shawn Dennis is a very good candidate

There's no real stand out players in this game. It just seems so sloppy.

It's sad watching gaze finally lose it.

Is that Andrew Gaze or Mr Bean?

JR is a selfish player

That's terrible

Oh dear...

Wesley disnt get the usf for that last night? Are we consistent?

Really?

This is one of the sloppiest games I have seen in a while.

And WTF is up with Sobey?. Childress is having an off-game, but Nathan is having an off year it seems.

This game sucks.

Ha ha ha. Comedy capers again

Guys like Scott Fisher, Andrew Vlahov, Willy Simmons David Stiff, Andre Moore and many others would foul out in 5 minutes in today's soft league

This game is like a naked, fat chick (I wish I could unsee it....

We will beat the Perth softcats

Johnson has no business getting to the line for that

Gaze acts like a Dad of an under 14's kid on the sidelines of a rep game.

When I said Cotton is the best perimeter iso guy in the league, I forgot about Randle.

Also, Tommy Greer sound effect alert

Wow tokoto must be frustrated watching randle get gifted ft for no contact

Randle just got fouled by some air

Sobey has done SFA all game but coming up big down the stretch

Creek again gifted free throws, lish was there, thats crap.

Hmmm did that foul on Lisch make up for Randle's where he was fouled by air?

Sobey and Creek clutch!! And great move by J Chill.

They no called loads of contact then called a few soft ones. NBL refs: don't get your hopes up everyone!

36ers have been ruthless in the last few minutes. Executing & scoring pretty much every possession.

Randle just fluffed it

Heal is crazy if he thinks that is a USF by Randle

What was going on that last 30 seconds?

Sydney is a joke

Well Gleeson is no longer the worst late-game strategist this round.

Ridiculous shot clock protocol (surely it's protocol because they do it every single time) by the NBL. Don't like it

Sydney could have very easily won that game.

Its like they don't know how to win. That was the difference.....Adelaide knows how to win and did it.

I have no idea what I was just watching but it wasn't basketball

Ridiculous shot clock protocol (surely it's protocol because they do it every single time) by the NBL. Don't like it

Sydney definitely could have won that game ... if only they were better at playing basketball.
Adelaide sleep-walked through a lot of it, but stood up when it mattered.
Some good signs for the Kings though, especially if Lisch can stay healthy.
If they start playing defence I could actually see them winning some games.

You could see Randles heart breaking when he was sliding down the court after that turnover. He had no intention of fouling. He'd given up.

Anyone got one of those mind erasing pens from Men in black? I could really use it right now...

Yeah You're right, Kobe. Just don't like a game ending that way. But the Kings did it to themselves.

What if Randle went, "nah hold up I don't want to play on, I want a stoppage"?

Was that Creek's first 30 point game in the NBL? I can't recall him doing that before.

About a dozen games too late to try and be a hard c&^t Andrew. Stick to being Mr Nice Guy of the NBL. You're a shit coach

Textbook Kings finish. Would any other coach in the league not foul there? What we saw was literally the best case outcome which was a defensive rebound followed by a prayer heave to tie the game. You foul early, hope for one FT miss, go for a quick basket, rinse and repeat. Just garbage.

I feel uncomfortable watching him.

Gleeson definitely would have had his team foul.

Then he would have drawn up a play to try to score 2 points.

Even Marty Clarke would have had his team foul in that situation.

What was Gaze thinking?

I was fine with the Creek USF call. As a leader of the team he can't be doing that sort of thing. That a side a fantastic game by him. We have been so lucky to get him originally (Perhaps the only good thing Marty Clarke did) and to retain him.

"Creek again gifted free throws, lish was there, thats crap." lol yeah right.

In my opinion Sydney has a very talented team but just banked on a 19 year old Humphries being a lot better than he is. He will most likely end up being a solid player in the league but he will need time. They also weren't expecting Lisch to be so injury prone. If the story was different for those two then it would have been a different story. Have faith Sydney fans you have some talented young players. Next season will be different

"as a 36ers fan i will take the win and forget about this game for good because no team sitting in the top 4 should be losing to the worst team in the comp."

Is that you stud boy? Every team in the league is competitive. Anyone can beat anyone. Sorry if you don't know that.

"Don't think I've ever seen Creek drive to the basket and not get free throws."

You haven't watched much basketball than. He is tough to stop.

"Next season will be different"

Not if the "coach" continues to take money under false pretenses for the last year of his contract

Surely tokoto is a little harder ro stop with his elevation, seems visit the line less

Surely Gaze goes by next season...

Gaze has a 3rd year on the contract that probably pays him as well as any other coach in the league.

Johnson also gets too mamy freethrows for mine

I've never noticed Creek getting fouls that weren't there. Players that go strong in the paint force the opposition to commit and play defence.they get calls by being proactive. He's strong and quick and just one of the many offensive threats for teams to contend with.

Because they are hard to defend because they are good players.

Have a sook though

I think the game went to script and was entertaining. Almost no defence from either team and the better team won after bring pushed by the lesser team.

Lots of fouls called on drives once more, I am beginning to suspect officials have been directed to make opposition players more "Hungry" to "Jack" up foul shots.

Now, time to bring on Christmas.

DJ has been getting to the line for a long long time. It's why he has been one of the best, if not the best offensive big man in the league over the last 7/8 Years. His quickness and mobility make it difficult for other big guys to guard him and his ability to shoot plus his good touch around the rim make it hard for shorter defenders. He has been damn good at drawing fouls for many years and it is one of good offensive skills he has. This season is no different. To say he gets to the line 'too much for your liking’ is a rather ignorant comment.

Creek also attacks the rim relentlessly - hence why he regularly gets to the line. He has built significant strength up over his time in the NBL making him a difficult cover for a lot of nbl defenders who can’t match it with him pound for pound. This is why he gets a number of three point plays - because where others would just go to the line for 2 and not be able to finish with heavy contact, Creek can because of his strength and he does it on a regular basis. This season he has improved his footwork and craftiness around the bucket meaning he is better at drawing fouls also.

Randle got gifted to the line multiple times in the last 5 minutes including a foul on shorter where there was ZERO contact. I just don’t get the complaining about the 6ers getting to line - they are the best in the league at getting there and their game plan is centered around getting to the rim. Instead teams and coaches should be trying to ensure their players keep their hands out and play vertical.

In general I do think the NBL is being called too tight at the moment and the offensive player does have a bit too much of an advantage with them being allowed to use the off arm to clear space far too often. However, defenders in the nbl need to adjust and they haven’t done this well so far this year. Handchecking and bumping the ball carrier is always going to get called at the moment as is the case when the defence doesn’t play vertical also. It doesn’t help with the low standard of reffing this year but I am sick of reading idiots comment on here about disparity in free throw attempts and foul counts. Depending on differing styles of play, it is quite common for there to be free throw disparities, just because your team is on the wrong side of it, it doesn’t mean the other team was favoured by the refs.

FT differential means nothing by itself. Adelaide play a style (or, have players that play a style) of basketball that draws fouls. It's that simple. Home cooking might influence a shot here or there, but it's not the major factor.

"Ever watched a Sixers game @ home and looked at the FTA comparison? The last 4 games they have had +13,+9,+12 & +16 more then their opponents. Home cooking at its best. (They played away today and were +2 FTA)"

Ever watched a Sixers game and see that the opponent shoots a lot more 3's than them? Perhaps you might start to understand why Sixers get more foul shots when they are going to the basket a lot more times then their opponents however don't let a fact like that get in the way of your story.

Good on Adelaide for playing attacking ball and forcing teams into fouls. Fearne said his guys were "sticking their hands in" on Friday. That sums up how they manage to get to the line so much. It's their game plan.

Maybe the problem is no calls in away games? Like the Brisbane game.

Seeing Adelaide demolish Sydney today its clear that they are the team to beat :)

Just like Perth.

Gaze was a bit looney today. Haven't seen many Sydney games but they look like they’ve got zero motivation to look or act potent. Even Randle who played well seemed more casual than back in his Adelaide days:

to compare raw FT stats is just sloppy thinking. To do it right first - you split FT calls in to ones made on contact when the ball is inside the zone, ones called on shots attempted outside the zone, and ones drawing FT due to team fouls.

I would be surprised if the 36ers were not leading the league by a considerable margin on the number of shots attempted from drives to the rim, they may or may not have more fouls per drive - but raw parity may be due to the number of drive-&-dish out attempts being more from other teams, while IMHO 36ers tend to have more rim shot attempts per drive.

"If it's there style then why only during home games is there such a big margin? Yet away games closer? If it's there style there shouldn’t be a difference whether it’s home or away.... yet there is."

Please let me know which team shoots more foul shots away than they do at home?

It is not just at home, they have had a +14, +17 in recent times away.

I'm gonna bite on the anon post,

Having a look at the last two games - taipans vs Sixers on Friday night in adelaide and today’s game va Sydney.

On Friday - Adelaide at home

Adelaide FTA - 34
Cairns FTA - 18

Today - adelaide away


Adelaide FTA - 32
Sydney FTA - 30

Clearly there isn’t much difference between the FTA for the Sixers between the two games meaning they are essentially drawing as many fouls at home and away. The difference is the opposition in that Sydney shot 30 free throws while cairns only shot 18. The difference is the fouls being called on the 36ers. There are a few reasons why this is the case - firstly adelaide were pretty bad on the defensive end today compared to thursday night allowing the kings to penetrate far too easily meaning we were often out of position and fouled as a result. Secondly, and probably more significantly, Cairns shot 32 threes on Thursday compared to the Kings 23. That is potentially 9 less possessions that cairns were likely to get fouled on than Sydney, which probably indicate the style of game they were playing compared to Sydney and why they had less FTA on Thursday and is likely the reason for the differential trying to be blamed on home cooking.

This is why looking at free throw disparity tells you very little - there are so many other factors in a game which leads to a team attempting more free throws then another. But
As Brunson said, don’t let the facts get in the way of a good home cooked meal.

Cairns average 27.1 3PA/g. Adelaide average 18.7 3PA/g.
Adelaide average 26.5 FTA/g. Cairns average 18.6 FTA/g.

Anyway, efficient performance from Creek and strong support from DJ and Shorter. Probably more remarkable given Creek wasn't getting clean looks. Would've been a really satisfying win for the 36ers to get over there against Randle.

Gaze has obviously not got or is ignoring any feedback about how he acts on the sidelines. His body language responding to every player indiscretion on court can't go unnoticed by his players. How is that not seriously distracting?

Never seen creek get to the line when it wasnt a foul, try lishs fifth today. I have no problem with yo saying how physical creek is etc, no one in the league can match tokoto in the air yet he was getting incredibly frustrated at not getting calls on drives last night, yet creeks physical advantages never see him in the same position. We have elite wings, call them the same. Or male them earn it. Right nkw some get the call more often some have to earn it more often

Oh. Now I get it. Perth have been losing so we're looking for excuses.

Tokoto shoots jump shots, Creek rarely shoots outside the keyway, often getting there off a run up therefore generating challenge by the defence hence he shoots more free throws. It's not hard to understand, unless you are from WA it seems

No just confused as most nbl fans are when it comes to refs

To use J Level logic, Tokoto averages more free throws per game then Creek, therefore Tokoto is favoured by the refs!1!1!1!1!1!!!!!!1 (sarcasm)

Also, based on one call in a non wildcats game Tokoto doesn't get the calls he deserves.......

School holidays are fun : /

Thought this was Sydney v Adelaide thread anyways

Oh so someone cites an example from the current game (context) and you assume wrongly the opinion is formed from just that one play in that one game. Your school holidays comment has so little relevance its silly.

Tokoto was an example to counter an earlier comment suggesting creek gets to the line due to his physical advantages, pretty sure tokoto is a logical comparison for physical advantages. And yes it was fresh in my mind after last nights game.

Different games, different players, different styles, different refs.

Same rules, different interpretations.

What a surprise that we are undefeated since the change of the starting lineup has occurred and we no longer play 2 lumps at the same time .

Our offense has far more spacing , player movement and ball plus our transition game both ways is vastly superior .
Our D tonight was sluggish for the most part but we still got the W on the road .

Hodgson was horrid and clearly needs to get back to basics which is interior D , hustle the boards and step into the gaps for the easy finish .
Post player he is not . 12-15 minutes per game is plenty .

Creek and Moore were at their efficient best as per usual and it was good to see once again no matter how badly my boy Sobey is playing he comes up clutch in the 4th . Shorter has been excellent the last half dozen games and is really lifting the team .
Deng has grown and could be an x-factor come play offs .

Chemistry is slowly building , still think Moore needs 6-7 more minutes per game . There is hope now that we can click come finals .

Even Teys has looked good post fatherhood .

Was encouraging to see Sobey come through in the clutch despite playing poorly for 3 quarters. Takes some big kahunas to take some of the shots he did in the 4th when things haven't been going your way. He could have gone into his shell but instead he was key in getting the W for the Sixers.

Just quietly, how incredible is Mitch Creek's field goal percentage this season. 67%!! He's become so good at getting to the rack and finishing with either hand it's scary - he's such a unique player for a forward in that he hardly takes any jumpers at all unless he's wide open for the 3 like he was today.

And J, how is Tokoto a "logical" comparison to Creek when is comes to drawing fouls? Just because he's more athletic why does that mean he should get the same calls? Ever considered that Creek is just better at drawing fouls? Or is that inconceivable in the one-eyed Wildcats world you live in? James Harden gets to the line the most in the NBA - is he the most athletic player in the NBA - no. But he is the best at drawing fouls due to speed, craftiness, aggressiveness etc.

J said

"Surely tokoto is a little harder ro stop with his elevation, seems visit the line less"

He probably would if he stopped settling for those (mostly) shithouse jump shots he takes.

He also spends a lot of time just standing around on the weak side wing rather than slashing or hitting the O boards. For a guy with his gifts he should do a LOT more.

But if Perth start dropping games the hunt for excuses and blame is on. Hence the Creek always gets a foul but our guy doesn't comparison.

1/ Adelaide aren't a big three point shooting team
2/ Adelaide play an uptempo run and fun style
3/ Adelaide babe drive to the basket a lot with Shorter, Creek, Johnson, Deng, Sobey

That’s always going to get more fouls and free throws.

The difference between Home and Away games is it’s harder to get called when the defence is physical away.

Creek doesn’t just tank himself through, he’s athletic enough to move around defence, so there’s no reason when contact is drawn that a foul shouldn’t be called. If you draw in the contact that makes you smart.

Gun*
Have*

Autocorrect is awful

Watch out for a ramping up of whinging if Perth lose to Brisbane. It will all be Mitch Creek and the refs fault.

"His body language responding to every player indiscretion on court can't go unnoticed by his players. How is that not seriously distracting?"

Not only is it distracting Isaac, it's demoralising. His players can see quite clearly that he doesn't believe in them or the team with every error written all over his face. Big reason why they drop close games and give up leads

But hey, according to Andrew it's just him being himself and he's not going to change. So feedback is useless.

He's just not cut out to be a coach

I agree to the above. Gaze is riding every pass, every shot, every decision like its the last one in the game. Players can't perform in an environment like that.

"Hodgson was horrid and clearly needs to get back to basics which is interior D , hustle the boards and step into the gaps for the easy finish .
Post player he is not . 12-15 minutes per game is plenty . "

For some reason Hodgson has gone backwards since he returned from the Boomers series. On the other hand, DJ seems to have found more consistency....but as always he needs to get tougher on D.

I still think that the only thing that has held DJ back from being a part of the Boomers (even if only the B or C teams) is his perceived lack of a defensive game and the thought that his lack of physical toughness would see him get bullied compared to the likes of Bogut or Andersen. Which is a pity because offensively at least he has arguably been the best big man in the NBL for the past 6 or 7 years.

As for yesterday's game.....I don't think FT's were why Adelaide won. It was because Sydney have forgotten how to win. A better side would have wiped the floor with the 36ers yesterday the way we played, even with Creek, DJ and Shorter all scoring 20+.

A better side would have wiped the floor with the 36ers yesterday the way we played, even with Creek, DJ and Shorter all scoring 20+.

The Sixers weren't playing better teams, they played the Kings, who were on their court, playing for pride/contracts and not backing up from a game only 2 days previous.

They won a game they were expected to win, objective achieved.

Better win here than most give credit for? Kings go on to beat Perth on their home court next game...