This time Perth are the underdogs, might pinch game 1 or get drilled due to fatigue?

Over all if Kings play like they did against united then perth might win it all.

Sydney to win Game 1.

Sydney should win the series really. They have the more talented team, they have home court advantage and they've been #1 all year.

BUT- if you look back at Perth's record in grand finals in the Gleeson era, it's positively fearful. They have over achieved against the pundits' expectations EVERY SINGLE TIME.

eg: United was $1.80, Perth $2.00 heading into last season GF despite Perth having home court, off the back of United's demolition of Sydney in the semis. But Perth killed them. It happens every year. Perth just lifts to a new level in grand finals.

How's Plumlee's ankle?

I will be the individual battles that will be most fun to watch this series.
Cotton vs Ware
White vs Cooks or Newley
Plumlee vs Bogut
Kay vs Tate
Marto and Norton vs Lisch and Bruce
Wagstaff and Steindle vs Didi and...probably Taylor because they'll find a way to get him in, Perth should hire protection for Lucas Walker.

Will be fun

it*

Perth have traditionally been the most hated club. But with the shenanagins of Kings ownership, it's hard not to hate the kings more.

Cooks and Tate are the 2 guys I'm worried about, I think Kay is the only one that can stop either of them and he can't play on both.

After watching all the SF games, Perth and Cairns just looked a class above Sydney and Melb.
If Bogut's defense continues to be limited to just sitting under the ring, Perth will destroy them with all the open space and canter in.

Perth is the better TEAM and, unlike In the NBA, I think this is why they will win.

Sydney still $1.72 favs with the bookies (Perth $2.10). Like most I see Perth winning it so these odds seem off...

Sydney will win the series. They've had a home game last on Thursday and will get a home game on Sunday. No need to travel.

They'll be well rested. Wildcats are playing too much inconsistent basketball to be a threat.

Sydney in 3 games starting on Sunday.

I am expecting home team wins.

Home teams will win each game, as has been the story so far throughout the semi's. Perth may be the better team but even they are inconsistent so Sydney's struggles against MU doesnt hide the fact Perth had the same struggles with Cairns (albeit Cairns a better team than MU).

I hope I'm wrong, but really think it will go to 5 with Sydney winning.

Hoops majority suggesting Perth wins.

But the Hoops consensus was Sydney winning game 2. Then it was United winning game 3.

Last night I was thinking Perth LWLWW or LWWW.

But, I think it depends on Bogut.

If the Bogut from the United series shows up, Perth wins.

If 2019 MVP Bogut shows up, Sydney wins.

What gimmick will Sydney ownership spruke to annoy Perth?

They tried it with Hoops Capital against Melbourne... what narative will they force against Perth?

This Championship is the Kings to lose

The Kings looked pretty suspect in their series against United but I think some of that might have been due to underestimating their competition. I don't think they'll be doing that against Perth.

Despite this, I think this series is going to follow the trend of the home team winning, which will mean Sydney in 5. But if Perth can snatch game one, they will win the series.

I believe Sydney will win overall but Perth will give them hell.

I agree with LV and the majority of sentiment t on this thread. We have see so many times over the years that PERTH just seam to fi f another gear in a grand final series. Every year we look for reason why they won't but we all know they do. 10th title coming up folks.

Was more nervous playing Cairns than Sydney, think the ref's will be in the spotlight after the last game in the harbour city.

For me Sydney is to old and to slow, lucky they didn't fly here and have day break heading into game 2.

Sydney remain firm favourites.

Their defence is the best and defence wins Championships.

They have HCA, we have seen how that works for them.

Cotton has not been playing great the last 2 games.

Even if Bogut is on reduced time, there is still Cooks.

My default prediction is to go with the home team unless some other compelling reason presents itself. I'm not seeing one atm, so Sydney deserve their current favouritism.

Bogut couldn't defend Long and was destroyed

Plumlee struggled against Oliver.

Now we have a like for like matchup, and it'll go a long way to determining the champion

Sydney is favourites

$1.75 to Perth $2.10 with TAB

$1.72 to $2.10 with Sportsbet

That seems about right to me.

Sydney has the most talent, #1 all year, and the all important home court advantage.

But Perth has an incredible history of success in grand finals.

Both teams scraped through their semi finals by a whisker, although Perth looked much more convincing than Sydney.

And, two of Sydney's best players- Casper and Bogut- were well below their usual standards in the semi finals.

That makes it interesting and almost a 50/50 series, with Sydney remaining the slight favourite.

Cooks the xfactor

Perth will be extremely tough to beat

Fantastic series to be had!

I don't mind Plumlee as an MVP smokey at $71 odds.

IMO would have preferred HH AA H instead of H A H A H

I would've preferred HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA but United didn't manage to eliminate Sydney.

Lets Go Wildcats Lets Go..clap clap...and repeat..Velly good...OK OK OK...

Bets, just for fun (hence the $1 amounts)

$1 each:

White $15
Bogut $67
Newley $151
Plumlee $151

$2 on Perth 3-1
$2 on Perth 3-2
$3 on Sydney 3-2

Essentially giving myself a chance of a big win off a tiny bet, and will get all or most of my money back if it goes to 5 games or Perth wins 3-1

If Sydney wins in 4 or less or Perth sweeps then I lose everything. The whole $11 :-P

Sydney has been crunched on the market. I can't resist. $100 on Sydney with a -9,5 start.

Sydney will be winning by double figures. You heard it here first.

Newley looks super pumped to be in a Grand Final series for the first time.

Cotton all over it

Rare lapse by Martin leaving Bruce wide open after he just nailed one

Sydney more switched on so far.

Cooks on Cotton

the chess match has officially begun

If you're ever going to have a brawl over a decal it should be this Hoops City abomination.

Cotton double figures already at QT after two donut halves vs. Cairns.

Those 26 Kings points came way too easily

Wildcats need to start crashing the glass otherwise this game will blow out

Refs have been fine IMO. These teams aren't giving them too much to call.

Cooks three fouls.

Wildcats needs to look after the ball, crash the boards, stop the second chance points.

Sydney busting their guts but only down by 3. Not sure how Sydney can play any better than what they are doing.

Good game. Both teams getting stretched defensively.
No issues with refs

Not sure how Sydney can play any better than what they are doing.

Sydney out to $1.94, refs will find the cook book in the second half and start home cooking.

Sydney $100 at $1.94

Casper in particular is playing like rubbish.

Casper will light up the 4th quarter. You watch, he'll score 15 at least in the final quarter.

Plumlee needs to guard Bogut up closer, in his face. Need to prevent Bogut getting that initial step. That will stop Bogut driving to the hole. Kay will have to show some weak side help then.

Mayberry missed his calling as a school headmaster.

Damo putting up a 3 after a timeout is an awful option

Why is Martin shooting? Not good.

Refs forget the rules when kings fuck up. 8seconds!!

11,647 in attendance.

11,000 rent-a-fans

Yep casuals.

Sydney go on a run and build a 7 point lead.

Right on cue: Weaver subs out the players that made that happen.

Fortunately for him, Perth lost the plot that quarter.

Sydney has this shot to bits. Wildcats far to inconsistent on the 3 ball to worry the Kings.

Sydney to win by double figures and we all get rich with my earlier tip.

Felt like it was starting to slip away until those threes at the end. Very timely.

Nick Kay's 3P% these playoffs has been cray

Ware scores his first points of the game... gets subbed!

LK to hit the red alert button soon.

Martin!!!!1

WTF that was legal. It's starting.

That screen was illegal??
:/

100% legal screen. Lk you're so obvious.

How is that the first 'moving' screen they've managed to call all game?!?

That shocking illegal screen call keeping the Kings in this. Disgusting.

Hopefully we can kill as much time as possible after these Ware free throws with 0:23 left.

And Cotton just got all ball.
Perth deserve to win by 10

It's never easy, is it? Ware misses and they nearly tie it up. At least ten seconds burned after the scrimmage.

Finally in the bonus.

Wrap this up Terrico.

Argh!

Thanks Casper.
You were the difference.

YESSSSSSSSSSS. 'Cats win despite being only five-on-eight.

Those 'calls' towards the end were so dodgy. They're clearly trying to rig it.

Casper was our GF MVP last season as well.

So funny - Sydney "let's buy a premiership“ Kings lose game one!!! Imagine if they lose the series - who will they bring in next year? LeBron!

Tate just conveniently steps on cotton.

Should of been an unsportsmanlike foul. He clearly pushed his shoe into Cotton.

Cats will need to lift a gear because I don't think Ware is physically capable of being that useless again. On the plus side, Terrico was ice cold too and I'd hope that Plumlee doesn't get his butt kicked by Bogut so badly after that.

Sydney has this shot to bits. Wildcats far to inconsistent on the 3 ball to worry the Kings.

Sydney to win by double figures and we all get rich with my earlier tip.

"Yep, tate plays dirty and carrys on like he never fouls"

The most correct statement in this thread.

What a win by the Wildcats. Bryce Cotton is elite.

"PW10"? Nice!

Any chance now that some of the hater might actually acknowledge that Gleeson is the best coach in the NBL.

Unless Gleeson paid Ware to have the woeful performance of a lifetime, not sure tonight does much to cement his coaching legacy either way. Wildcats didn't do 50% of the defensive effort on Ware that United did, and he still had a shocker

Enjoyable game, Kings had every chance but Weaver stuck with the cold hand in Ware. Weaver has consistently seemed 2 steps being this postseason, and that's been the biggest worry as a Kings fan. A win in RAC is never easy, but game 2 has basically become an elimination game now

Who would have thought the difference between winning and losing is a damian martin 3 ball Lol

You beat me to it, Bol. Was just about to post

Damo for 3? nooooooooooo!!!!!

YESSSSS!!!!!!!!

I still think Sydney wins the series from here

Kings 0 Perth 3

LK must be sooooo pissed off!!

Weaver looking very ordinary these days.

Kings will be upset with poor backcourt violation call at the end of the third, which resulted in a three by perth. Calls like that can determine a game.

Still some poor decisions by the kings. Lisch sitting in the fourth.

Tate a disappointment. Absent sent most of the game and not driving on the final possession. As a breakers fan I couldn't believe that. Second time this season perth win in the final seconds (ngatai in perth) as players freeze under pressure.

Still didnt play as bad as Ware mind you.

If I'm Sydney I'm annoyed but know we can do better.

Typical perth moaning knobs complaining about refs when they got the better whistle.

There weren't too many bad ones IMO. Pretty minimal impact on the game.

I have never seen a bigger finals melt than Casper. I feel sorry for him. Not sure I'd be taking the go-ahead 3 at the buzzer after 1 of 13, but hey, each to their own.
Cotton is the real deal. Quality player.

I can confirm. The back court violation in Perths favour was the only bad call all night.

Damian Martin's defence is still good, those couple of steals he got at last quarter were big and of course that 3.

Nick Kay is consistently good.

The Wildcats stay composed all the time.

Tate is dirty.

Refs helped Sydney but only slighty, that illegal screen call on Plumlee was awful.

lol @ Tate being dirty. He would need many season's worth of consistently dirty behaviour to be mentioned in the same book as Jesse Wagstaff, let alone all-timer Shawn Redhage.

The call on the Plumlee screen was terrible, agree on that. I thought the refs were better than most games this postseason, but still enough head scratchers and guys in green shits anticipating calls rather than seeing them to have me forget that I was watching an NBL game.

^ shirts, not shits, but hey, either works.

Happy to be corrected but I thought it was only a backcourt violation if your team has possession. Newley had possession and Plumlee tapped it (didn't take possession and pass it. Tapped it) into the Cats backcourt. I thought it was legal to do that.

"lol @ Tate being dirty. He would need many season's worth of consistently dirty behaviour to be mentioned in the same book as Jesse Wagstaff, let alone all-timer Shawn Redhage."

That's not an argument against Tate being dirty...

Anyone know why Moller didn't get any game time?

Luuuc you might be right

lol @ Tate being dirty. He would need many season's worth of consistently dirty behaviour to be mentioned in the same book as Jesse Wagstaff, let alone all-timer Shawn Redhage.

Actually no, don't think he's dirty at all. Just think it's also very rich coming from Perth fans

Lovebroker. Tate is not dirty.

I'm a breakers fan. Tate is anything but dirty.

AngusH

Correct

Re the "back court violation":

"30.1.1 A team is in control of a live ball in its frontcourt when:
• A player of that team is touching his frontcourt with both feet while holding, catching or dribbling the ball in his frontcourt"

So, while Plumlee might have deliberately and controlledly tapped the ball back to his team's advantage, he didn't hold, catch, dribble the ball as required by the rule.

So, fair non-call by the refs

Quality game

I enjoyed watching some great basketball after the netball match the other night. 6 of the 7 playoff games have been well worth watching.

Perth's D broke down a few times, and Sydney made them pay by nailing open threes. A bit lucky perhaps that Bruce, Kickert missed gettable shots in the last minute and then Casper missed the game winner.

Sydney showcased their depth without Casper firing. Kevin Lisch is the forgotten man, but he's only 33 years old and a former MVP. Not a bad 4th or 5th option on the team.

Sydney thought their backs were against the wall after game 2. Wrong. Now they have to do it on the road.

Three to make two


Well there you go. There were no bad calls then. Thanks for clarification.

Well maybe the Plumlee screen. But hey. Pretty minimal stuff really. Certainly not worth moaning about.

Non.

He's not my sixth import mate. I'm a breakers dude. Never cheered for the kings in my life.

Can't remember play your talking about.

Either way. You Perf dudes will find something to moan about

And yeah, refs were pretty fair tonight. Thought Plumlee was hard done by on that screen, but on the whole a few calls went each way and not too many obvious errors or misses by the officials

Sydney should consider themselves lucky because if they had tonight's reffing on Thursday, they would've been watching Perth host United from their couches tonight.

More importantly, people were allowed to compete for rebounds tonight

Fouls that were called usually resulted from contact that was clearly visible!

This is Perth's series to lose now. They'll take care of home court and take this whole thing out.

Bigdog are we going to mention tje backcourt violation that wasn't called leading to didis (your 6th import, I've lost count) uncontested dunk?

Casper 12 from 51 over past 4 games including 6 from 34 from 3 (4 from 8 in Game 3, 2 from 26 in the other 3)

Ouch.

Thought his D, and Sydney's on Cotton was Ok. Cotton was just superb, again showing why he's MVP.

Although Bogut was Sydney's best, feeling good about my 2 $1 bets at $67 for MVP. Ridiculous odds

"shot clock was on 16 before the ball crossed"

Yes, and it needs to read 15 seconds to denote that more than 8 seconds have elapsed.

Typically means anything from 16.999 to 16.000
i.e. not a backcourt violation

Havent watched game yet. Thought just post for fun. Sydney to win home coudt. Perth need cotton and white to be unstoppable for whole series. Can see sydney containing for periods but not for the wins. Sydney best team all year will create history. Sydney need one win in Perth to secure championship and 2 at home. Class to rise.

Pressure on the Kings now, Perth have a free swing and Perth have no fear playing in Sydney.

Perth don't get carried away and I'm sure they will want to go two up before they go back to Sydney but Sydney are stacked and fished on top.

Don't think Lk was banking on a Perth win this arvo.

"No if it hits 16 it is already 8 seconds, 24-8 is 16, therefore math would suggest the 8 is already used up.... how that requires explanation is bwyond me, your logic must be clogged with the years supply of toilet paper you probably have..."

As other posters have pointed out: evidently you don't know how the shot clock works. How you have the audacity to shit-talk my logic is pretty ballsy.

Keep doing you, King.

Watching the press conferences - Weaver really is a bit of a smart arse, isn't he?

#026 the call leading to the Didi dunk wasn't a missed backcourt violation, it was an 8second call.. Hard to say from TV wether it was right or wrong as the shot clock on TV isn't always perfectly lined up with the one at the actual arena.

I timed it at 8.5 seconds, starting as soon as Tate touched the ball on the rebound and stopping once the ball was touched in the front court. Bearing in mind I knew the play, and could thus start the count the split-second Tate had the ball instead of having to realise he had the ball and I was supposed to start counting, that seems entirely fair.

You would like to think that if the Kings can draw over 17,500 to a regular season game against Illawarra then Grand Final games would attract similar....

Official attendance was 11,647.

Lamelo Ball drew 17,000, kings need free tickets and a merch giveaway to crack 8,000 in the regular season.

Regardless of the freebies given away for the Lamelo game, you'd think they could draw better than what they did for a Grand Final. Its not like there was a whole lot else going on in Sydney either. T20 is done, NRL doesn't start until next week. I mean, there wasn't a whole lot of competition for attracting spectators.

For all intents and purposes only 64% of the seats at Qudos were filled. For a Grand Final game featuring the top two teams in the league, that is pretty poor.

Not a whole lot more than half the place was filled and you think that's exceptional.

Yep.....

If they had half filled the 83,500 seat ANZ Stadium, THAT would have been exceptional. But the two top teams in the league getting not a whole lot more than half of an 18,200 seat arena filled for a Grand Final game is not exceptional.

Lets put it this way. If the game had been in Perth and they only had 3 days to promote it ... they still would have just about filled RAC Arena. And if their venue was as large as Sydney's they probably would have gotten a lot closer to filling it than than we saw on the weekend.

Perth can fill 135000 stadium in 3 days, well, because it's Perth and there’s literally nothing to do in Perth

Maybe a factor was that it was only game 1 of a best of 5. You could argue that its not really a grand final just yet- this is like the equal of say a preliminary final in football with bigger games to come. Because it wasnt a deciding game just yet, people might wait until game 3 when things really heat up.

In saying that though, the Kings could have at least matched the 13,300 they got for game 1 of the SF, so yeah the 11,600 or so was a bit low. On the flip side though, the Kings have never had these sized crowds before ever, so its still a good crowd.

Yes, the terrible performance by Ware - given less minutes and Sydney would have won.

Cotton has embarrassed Ware, and the saddest thing is that they were defended the same way in large part throughout the game. All Sydney needs to do is make a couple of minor adjustments -- including the big hedging on Cotton/White/Steindl to give the chasing defender enough time to catch up -- and they will win the series.

Sydney have done well to win the rebound count, and if that continues they'll be golden

Not hard showing on Clint Steindl is absolutely ridiculous imo. The man can't make a good decision to save himself. Instead they're letting him shoot open shots coming off screens. Madness

"Bearing in mind I knew the play, and could thus start the count the split-second Tate had the ball instead of having to realise he had the ball and I was supposed to start counting, that seems entirely fair."

Where do you coach KR?

If you can explain to me the connection between coaching basketball and running a stopwatch, I'm all ears.

Sydney most definitely can win in Perth, they have the on court talent and experience.

Bogut and Lisch were very good, although they may not shoot 'that' well again and revert towards the mean they will still be more than serviceable, same can be said of Casper who should improve.

This will just be a game of adjustments and counter adjustments.

Even a team like Cairns could go back to the video room and address Cotton's 40+ point display to make it not happen again.

I'm not saying Perth will lose in Perth but it's no certainty, especially if they don't bring the intensity and hunger (which they mostly do).

That said I am very very impressed with the Wildcats defence in the first 8 mins of Q4. They often took away the Kings' first play and had them scrambling for the secondary, this is normally NOT a bad option when Casper is 20ppg Casper, but that dried up.

Whether you want to use the word Lucky or whatever, Perth were fortunate that open shots by Bruce and Kickert missed (and that was preceded by bad play / missed FTs), and less so Casper's last 3.

So far this is very entertaining.

Actually no, don't think he's dirty at all. Just think it's also very rich coming from Perth fans

if you swish a 3 pointer, why then weaver will sub you out...

Sydney lose game 2 it means they will have to sweep Perth 3-0 from there on to win. Highly unlikely so game 2 is virtually the season

Cook and Newley contributed 9 points for a minus 24, playing through the three spot, surely it's time to get Moller back.

Cooks also does not play the 3.

Cooks recruitment mid season was a very shrewd move, I'm setting aside another rostered player was let go (forgot his name), or that Boti said Cooks is on 300k.

He is a big reason Sydney have been able to maintain their defensive efficiency with Bogut load managed.

See the block he did on Cotton, would you expect Kickert to do that? Kickert would still be at half court line.

The recruitment at Sydney has been top notch.

I only wish the Sixers had $3m + 10% of Propriety to give away.

Plenty of people would also not play Moller if they had Tate, Newley, Cooks and Didi as options in the 3 and 4 spots

The fact that Weaver has a team that's good enough to squeeze Moller out of any minutes indicates how spoiled for talent Sydney are.

Yet they still only made the grand final after an all time United choke in Game 1 and an MVP performance from the refs in Game 3.

I have never been huge on Moller, the guy is a decent defender with good athleticism and length so he is a good role player.

People here talk of Moller like he is the defensive glue for the whole team.

Moller's minutes can easily be gobbled up by Newley and Tate and they wouldn't bat an eyelid.

LV...give the Kings due credit for Game 1, the choke on one side was married up with hitting big shots (see Tate's threes) on the other end.

I think you gave the 45 point thrashing in game 2 too much weighting, as if the Kings were broken and couldn't come back from it.

Fact is, it was a new game.

People have moved on from that now and are discussing this series.

Is relevant because it illustrates how Weaver is struggling in this playoffs to win with a team that is stacked with a capital S

Inexplicably, Barlow and CG took 3s a second or 2 into the shot clock late in Game 1. McCarron got a half court violation under no pressure. United capitulated. Yes Sydney hit shots but that only matters because of United's continual brain fades, one after another.

Weaver is 4 games into his first foray into playoffs. So far a massive failure.

They can turn it around though. Not saying they're done. Just very unimpressed with Weaver at this particular point in time

"To get 11,600 to a basketball game in Sydney is exceptional, but the fact it has very rarely been done before. To get it in less than three days after the semi finals is incredible."

Sorry but I'm not buying this 3 day excuse, that it was only Game 1 of a possible 5, or that "exceptional" or "incredible" BS. Nor am I buying any excuse like there is nothing to do in Perth (what major event was on in Sydney on the weekend other than the NBL??).

I hate the Wildcats as much as anyone, but the reality is that if Perth had an 18,000 seat arena to play out of, even on just 3 days notice and for a Game 1 of 5 ... they still would have just about filled the place. In fact, they'd just about fill it for every game.

But it took time to establish themselves and build that fanbase. It didn't happen overnight.

I think < 3 days is a reasonable excuse.
We will see at game 3. That's a fairer test.

Could the Carona Virus be playing a part?

Neither do I, tbh. Cats individual game tickets are exxxxxy.
Still gives me sticker shock every year at playoff time.

Keep not playing Moller, Kings.

Thanks in advance.

Watching the game again...

Ware is an elite flopper when hitting a screen.

What's worse is the Refs fall for it every time.

I won't be upset if they play Moller in front of Cooks, go ahead Will jump the shark so to speak :)

Did the Moller love start ironically and some people picked it up seriously?

Moller is a good player at this level, but there isn't a single thing he does better than Cooks. And i'm not even a Cooks fan.

Cooks is so susceptible in on ball D (every. single. time. he guarded Melo in the SFs he got burnt and gave up and And1. It was incredible).

Moller actually is just a 5-10m player in this league. And those players don't get minutes in playoffs.

Cooks is an above average post defender, help defender, elite NBL rebounder, and chips in with scrappy points. Moller has nothing to add except some energy and a few fouls.

I still think this is a 50-50 contest though! And really looking forward to how it plays out. I think Sydney slightly outplayed Perth in the last game and just choked it away and had a few bad bounces. If they settle a little, and Ware can find a way to contribute (he will) this could be a massive game 2.

Lovebroker was spot on. Ware is elite at throwing himself to the ground when he gets hit by a screen. He didn't say he does it every time but when he does, he is world class.

I agree, Cooks is a better all around player than Moller by a fair bit, but Moller uses his length really well in defence, Cooks can't without fouling.

"The kid made the Boomers squad for a reason, Moller could never."

Moller was in the Boomers squad for the 2019 World Cup qualifiers, announced in November 2018. Not arguing the merits, just stating the fact that belies your conclusion.

Highly likely they won't need a game 4

There are some serious Moller haters on this forum, and a few absolute lovers of the guy. How about some facts.

*Preseason scrimmage, it has been in the media recently - J Tate scores 2 points the whole game and thought he was going to be sent home - he was guarded by Moller. Turned out to be a great wake-up call for Tate, and luckily enough he has been a great recruit.

*The starting 4 man in the NBL 1st Team in 2017-18 Tai Wesley which was a breakout year for him in the post, 2019-20 J Tate - partnered at training against Moller.

*2017-18 Melbourne Championship - Casey Prather gets injured, Moller's time increases to over 20 mins per game in the middle to end of the season as he shares it with Carrick Felix - Melbourne go on massive win streak and enter the finals in 1st position after struggling early.

*2019-20 - Moller playing circa 20 mins per game at the start of the season - 11-1 before injury. Kings conceding 84 points per game with him in the lineup - concede 90 points per game after he gets injured.

For those who doubt it, perhaps rewatch the game when Melbourne played against the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA preseason a few years back, and watch who was guarding Ben Simmons after Barlow conceded a couple of fouls. There is a play where he starts 2 strides behind Simmons in transition, catches him and forces Simmons to kick it out. Good luck finding another athlete in the NBL who could not only catch him, stop him but also not foul. Vickerman decided to amend his whole starting line up against the Raptors and put Moller against Leonard (who didn't end up playing).

HOWEVER:

He has had an awful year shooting the 3 which is the reason why he must be out of the rotation. Defenders have laid off and are clogging the lane. He has shown before to be a 40% shooter from 3 (in the NBL, Seabl and NZ NBL), if he can sort that out, who knows what kind of player he could be.

He would be a ideal candidate to spend some time marking Cotton. If he could slow Cotton's scoring that is worth so much more than traditional stats like points rebounds or assists. Ware, Lisch and Didi are burning too much energy on that end.

I didn't realise Moller is personally responsible for the success of Tate, Wesley, and that he was better than Prather during United's championship season. How is this dude not in the NBA?

Seriously though, I'm no Moller-hater and you presented some good statistical evidence, but you're really reaching with your first three points.

That ^ post started off talking about Moller and ended up talking about someone who would be an ideal candidate to guard Cotton and I haven't yet worked out at which point it changed and which player it changed to.

and that he is a Simmons stopper based on one play, incredible!

Moller played a key role in United's 17/18 championship season- he was in the starting 5, and one of their better players through their mid season winning streak where the team established itself. Moller also played a role for United last season, and for Sydney in their 11-1 start to this season.

Moller has already proven he’s a potential starter if it’s within the right situation. You don’t get minutes on the top teams without having something to offer. He is a quality defender. He needs to improve his jump shooting, but his defensive abilities mean he’s deserving of NBL minutes. How many exactly is the only matter for debate.

The only reason Moller’s no longer getting minutes is because Sydney signed Cooks mid-season. Sydney is the most loaded team in the competition. This is very disappointing for Moller if the rumours of last off-season are true- that he signed for more court time!

Too bad, you signed for the NBL's new money team.

You guys are just pushing a story that isn't really there....

Cooks has been amazing.
13,9,4
6,7,1
14,9,1
5,11,2

Those are numbers that Moller just wouldn't ever get. And Cooks has had huge impact on both ends.

We're comparing him to a guy that's a solid off the bench defensive pinch hitter. The conversation is laughable.

Moller isn't getting minutes because his offensive deficiencies aren't being covered by his defensives positives.

Cooks contributes on both ends, and is playable at the 4,5 due to his rebounding and interior D.

Moller would only be playable at the 3, he can't shoot, and clearly is too much of a negative on the perimeter compared to, Lisch, Didi, Newley, Tate, Bruce who he is stuck behind.

It's pretty simple to me.

On a more positive discussion note: this is the reason I still think Sydney will win the chip (now against the odds).

Sydney had a fundamental flaw against Melbourne and were lucky to scrape through. Melbourne was a match up nightmare on both ends. Sydney had to win with no flow, no game style and no easy buckets.

On Sunday night, Sydney started to play like they are meant to. Like a team that finished on top of the ladder. They still had some lapses, BUT their D looked solid and they were generating looks from their offense. Something of which they absolutely didn't get against Melbourne.

Sydney have been the better team. I think they will gain confidence from competing on Sunday, and start to get some more flow and lock in on D. Confidence that got totally stripped from them against Melbourne.

On the flip side, I think Perth will gain confidence from their game 1 win, and this will result in them not making the change that I think would've won them the series (playing more time without a C (Plumlee/ Majok). I think we will see Sydney start to get stops and run and play like they have all year, and Perth's personnel play into that. Playing off Norton/ Martin will work, and Sydney look so strong when they clog the key like that.

You all complain that Sydney has spent all the money to have 16 imports and 3 times the salary of every other team, and that's why i think they can pull back this series. They've got too much fire power on both ends, and the cream will rise to the top when it matters.

Should be a great series. Very unpredictable playoff series but if i have to, I predict Sydney to upset on Friday, then games to go to the home court team the rest of the way. Sydney 3-2.

Unlike me? I didn't bag anyone.

Selective stats? Playoff series... where he's been one of the only players to perform.

Talk about the start of the season all you want, but it's clear as day that Moller is unplayable on the perimeter the way the Kings have been guarded this post season.

We can keep comparing a solid NBL role player to an internationally touted, NBA scouted, Boomer selected player if you like, but the facts are I think Moller isn't able to see the floor much in the playoffs, and Weaver seems to agree.

It was one game and they were gonna sub out Terrico White, but he swissed 2 threes. Stendel and Gleeson agreed to leave him on while he was hot.
No wonder they are a top team. Weaver does the opposite.
Seems unlikely they would leave a player on for 32 minutes getting one in outta 14 shots....

I just checked the numbers from this regular season.
When Moller played > 15 minutes, Sydney were undefeated vs Perth with an average winning margin of 19 points
When Moller played < 15 minutes, Perth were undefeated vs Sydney with an average winning margin of 14 points

It is clearly suicidal to leave him sitting on the bench, so the only explanation is that Sydney are intentionally throwing the first 2 games with the intention of unleashing Moller in the last 3 and making history by coming back from the dead to win it in 5. It is brilliantly audacious.

Brilliant Luuuc

Sydney let themselves get 2 games down. Bet their next years salaries on Sydney championship. Unleash Moller ftw. Then next year they can afford 4 next stars, 6 imports, 5 marquee players, and be able to resign Moller on a 100 year deal.

Genius in its simplicity and effectiveness.

Greggo...some good points re Sydney.

They can be buoyed that they weren't far off a win.

Near the top of their list would have been to stop the Wildcats offensive rebounding which they limited.

If Ware didn't have such a bad game I think things would have been quite different.

Kings play the percentages and gambled and Martin came up trumps on the 3. three quarters of the time that would likely be in the Kings favour.

Kings were not unlucky and the Wildcats were not lucky, both played to their plan and took educated gambles.

@ Greggo
Perth will make adjustments, dont think for a second that just because they won that they wont make adjustments... Perth are in the finals year after year for a reason.

They snatched game 1 in Sydney, now if they win Friday its going to be near on impossible for a Sydney team to beat them 3-0 given regular season (1-3) and finals (0-1) has them at 4-1 for the year against Perth.

Gleeson is a better coach than Weaver, whilst Sydney has a lot of talented players on the roster, Perth are the better 'team'.

Damien Martin stripped KD35 of the ball once. I'm shocked he isn't in the NBA and auto-nominated for DPOY.

Could just be me but I've found it really hard to get into this season's playoffs.
That 12 days that they had off between end of regular season and playoffs really ruined it for me - attention diverted elsewhere and haven't watched a game since.
Not sure if other people are in the same boat?
What was the reason for the 12 day break - the break now only gets us closer to NRL/AFL season and probably draws more casual fans away?

So you missed that it was called the FIBA Break and that your national team beat ours during it?

(I should really use an asterisk for our National Team* since it was missing Ben Simmons due to NBA commitments and Craig Moller due to the upcoming NBL playoffs)

I think Simmons refused to join the team as he is sick of being Moller's bunny.

Moller should do a Blanchfield- ask for his contract to be cancelled and then sign with a lesser team.



These guys made solid NBL careers over the past 10 years:



Brendan Teys

Kevin White

Greg Hire



None of them had much to offer, but got through on hard work and team first attitude. Moller has limitless potential compared to those 3, but he's bench warming because he’s on possibly the most star studded team of all time.



What about these starters on multiple championship teams, who had significant limitations or weaknesses in their skillsets:



Warrick Giddey

Mika Vukona

Damien Martin

Dillon Boucher


Moller just needs to find a situation that’s right for him. Not sitting on a bench is a good start. #AnyonebutSydney

Wait Boucher might not have been a starter? Well he did play serious minutes anyway

From memory, Blanchfield had a year left and asked the Kings to cancel it. Moller could do the same.

It'd be the right thing to do for the Kings to let him go, since they screwed him over by signing a World Cup Boomer selection to take his spot in the rotation.

"^How did that work out for Blanchfield?"

If you just go by the stats, he went up in nearly every area after moving from Kings to Hawks. eg, playing time from 26 to 27 1/2 mins, shooting % up from 41 to 48% and ppg from 9 to 14. However, apart from minutes, he went down this year.

But the stats don't show everything about how it went for Todd. Other things could come into play like does he still enjoy playing, what's his relationship like with the club and coaches, can he improve for next year, does he want to put the work in?

And, if it was just minutes, he's never really struggled for court time, consistently getting 25-30 mins across most of his career.