Did Wells throw a tantrum during the third quarter slide?

Oh, wait, he already used up his 'one time' during preseason.

I know Wells has only ever been an assistant, but can somebody teach him not to call time outs when the game is over. He did it against Sydney and again against United, it's disrespectful. Stop being a cock. And no, there is no learning to be had in those circumstances. The game is done, win or lose with grace.

Sixers were very good till halftime, they just ran out legs.

Yeh, 4th game in 11 days away against United who punish you physically, was always going to be a tough ask. As soon as they got down double digits in the second half, they let go of the rope unfortunately. 27 points in a half is pretty abysmal, and players did looks very tired/sluggish. However, defence still needs a lot of improvement, have given up 100 in all of their away games so far and in all of their losses.

Agree with Dunkman. Sixers were playing well, but the game on Friday night probably caught up with them agains a high intensity fresh United outfit as they went blow for blow early. Melb shooting was very good. DJ had a stinker.

"Sixers were very good till halftime, they just ran out legs."

They gave up 58 points in the first half, they were far from very good. If they can't find some defensive answers they aren't going far this season, even if they manage to get into the top 6.

Pablo - Sydney did it too, as does Cairns. As does does south east Melbourne.

Maybe change your comment to "literally all NBL coaches"?

NBL is about points differential. If you're losing you need to score on that last possession. That’s why they do it.

DJV showed again why the sixers have made a big mistake trying to build the team around him. He's flakey and if things don't go his way he starts throwing up miracles rather than bring others into play.

Likewise Humphries is too inconsistent to carry the team.

Spending a pile of cash on those two is backfiring.

I hope the sixers fans don't pile into davis again. He's not the problem

Did they all miss the training about guarding the pick and roll? Loe, Lee and White were men amongst boys all game.
DJV is just a chucker and Humphries is the most mentally fragile player in the league, has he got the worst body language in the nbls history when things aren't going well?
Interesting to see Harrell lose his shit with everyone at after game huddle, he just looked disgusted walking to locker room.

Nope, the chinks in the armour were exposed. DJ lost interest when the game was done and just wanted to get his numbers. And he wasn't an orphan. Harrell abusing the group after the game in the huddle and then storming off is telling where this group is at. They will win games on talent alone, But when the pressure is applied will disintegrate into to their own world. Tell me who on that team will sacrifice his game for the good of the group bar Starling and the end of the bench? I'll wait....
Think about it.

Imo Harrell certainly comes across team first, Dech, Humphries does what he's supposed to do, I think the coaches will bring it all back together. They all looked knackered, they came away from a tough weekend one and one. They certainly look if they can make top six.

Great effort by United in applying defensive pressure that 36ers increasingly struggled with as the game wore on. 36ers got away with quite a few offensive fouls too, as they resorted to push offs, unable to get shots they wanted.

Harrell met his match in Jack White, who can handle Trez's physicality and athleticism and is a smart defender who plays the percentages. Trez is fairly simple when going one on one. just barrels through opponents. If the opponents in a good defensive position and they're as athletic as White or as long as Lee, it won't be terribly effective. 36ers guards weren't able to set him up either given the pressure they were under.

DJV suffered the same fate as Cotton last week. Denied early, then got frustrated and started forcing it.

Defensive master-class by United in that 2nd half. Humphries was unstoppable early and Davis made some nice plays early too, but mostly the big 4 was well held.

If alley-oops was a stat, Marcus Lee would be on track to break NBL records this season. White getting a few too. Delly an incredible passer in those situations. Loving it.

United should've had 3 successful challenges- would that have been a record? How can it be a foul if defensive player and offensive player both tap the ball? It doesn't matter that the offensive player was attempting to tip-in. It was a loose ball situation and both guys touched the ball. Bizarre review.

And like the NRL Grand final, if they have an angle that's more conclusive, show it on the broadcast.

Anyway, happy with that effort. 36ers juggernaut brought to a halt.

Kolzee, it's a very small sample size of 1 game to suggest DJV is flakey and inconsistent. Since coming to Adelaide he's been remarkably consistent. Before this game he was the league's leading scorer and had a stretch where he had 8 consecutive games scoring above 20 points. And keep in mind that today he was up against probably the best perimeter defence in the league with Ili and Delly. United shut Cotton down without Delly. So what you've said above is nonsense.

I did feel the refs let an awful lot go in that third qtr - the foul count was very low and the physical nature of the game really wore down DJV and others.

Seems like United are the best team in the league to me. They're well balanced with White, Loe and Lee up front, Ili and Delly are superb defenders and they have some elite shooting with Goulding and Clarke. With one of the best coaches in the league too they look the goods.

United gave Rob Loe their player of the game.

I would've had him 5th or 6th personally

But it does illustrate United's spread of contributors

None of Melbourne's players would be in the MVP conversation. But a lot of players are doing fairly well.

And our best player from last year- CG43- has been nowhere near his best. Probably having his worst season since he first donned Tigers colours. Yet the team's still 4-2.

It's only a sample size of one if you didn't watch him last season. If you did you've seen it all before. Piles on the points against the lower teams then doesn't perform when it really counts. And I'm not just talking about shooting percentages - his defence is poor and he fails to bring others into the game because he's playing hero ball and looking to throw up a three at any chance.

I'm not saying he's a bad player but I think it's flawed to spend large money on him and think he's going to lead you to a championship.

Kolzee, I cannot work out what is that people are unhappy about regarding DJ. He would belong to a small sample size of locals who can put up import like numbers. Humphries is another. Adealaide have both. Yes, he's not perfect, but who is your alternative in terms of a local that actually wants to be in Adelaide? As has already been mentioned, he was on a major streak of 20 plus PPG until yesterday. I hope you were praising him for that too and not just hyper focusing on a bad day that most others also had.

That game was likely a good learning curve for Wells. Really have to be able to defend as well as score. Adelaide definetely looked fatigued and just imploded. I suspect more so a bad day out and opportunity to learn and reinforce. Tasmania looked awful against Illawarra too but we all know they are a good side.

Is it really beyond the NBL to spread games out across the week instead of being congested from Thursday to Sunday? Teams don't play for a week or longer and then sometimes have to play twice in 36 hours against opposition who are yet to play.

DJ averaged close to 18 /5/3 vs Sydney and Jackjumpers last season under Ninnis
Agree they are import numbers as an Aussie

A guy is allowed 1 bad game out of 10

The problem with DJ last year was that the bad outweighed the good. This season that has not been the case and he's been one of the best locals in the comp. He's playing more in control and scoring from a variety of shot types, like he did in the Sydney days except with significantly higher usage now.

I don't understand the negativity of Humphries or DJV, yes they were down yesterday but it happens. If you want a strong team for more than a season you have to start with Australian core. Bevo knew it as did Gleeson. DJV looked tired, probably more to do with fitness than ability.

If Sixers fans are happy with what he's providing for what he's being paid than that's fine. Good luck to them. I certainly wasn't praising him based on scoring 20ppg! Scoring 20ppg isn't necessarily a sign of a good performance from a team point of view.

Firstly, he shouldn't be compared to a local. My understanding is he's on an marquee import level salary and they signed one less import because of that. So judge him by what he's paid and what you could have.

Then when the sixers lost the plot everyone slated Davis... but DJV should have taken leadership and control.

IMO his defence is woeful (he can't stay in front of his player so fouls from behind) and he doesn't fit effectively into an offensive scheme. Yes to his credit he's improved his drive somewhat but mostly he resorts to step back threes under pressure and then complains of contact before the ball's even hit the rim.

There's far more to offence than shooting stats and points. I can't count the number of times he offloads the ball at the end of the shot clock because he's tried unsuccessfully to lose his defender. Or he chucks up a poor shot. Someone mentioned Delly and I'd rather have Delly in my roster than DJV.

But anyway, I'm not trying to bring him or the sixers down. My point actually is that I can't see the Sixers being championship contenders while they revolve around he and Humphries. That's it. We'll see whether I'm proven wrong or not but I certainly wasn't last season.

@ Kolzee, lot good points, certainly re D and you are fully entitled to your opinion, that's why we come to this site.

Kolzee, but isn't that the point? He is a rarer type of local player who can be a pure scorer and therefore he is a marquee who many clubs would be happy to have instead of not have. I can't see how you can possibly argue that prioritisng Humphries and DJ has come at the exspense of imports when Adelaide could very well have a trio of Davis, Martin and Montrezl Harrell! Adelaide are 3/3 with one bad game where everyone was guilty of a lazy performance.

Agree with the scheduling call Master Chief.

I get that crowds are likely to be better higher at weekend games, but it would be nice from both a scheduling (particularly for Cairns, NZ and Perth with their extra travel) and TV viewer perspective to spread games out a bit more.

36ers are in a great position having two quality Aussies locked in for 3 years, just as they're entering their primes.

And, it appears to me, DJV and Humphries are likely to be long-term NBL players. They aren't likely to make the jump to the NBA.

They don't have any elite individual skill or any reason why they'd make NBA- unlike say Jack White (elite athleticism and physical tools- by NBL standards), Magnay (rim protection), Cooks (athleticism and physical tools), Toohey (youth- loads of upside) etc.

So the 36ers can plan around two very good local NBL players, without their salaries fully hitting the cap (if they choose), with a certain degree of confidence they'll see through their 3 year deals.

There's probably about 9 other teams in the NBL who would love to be in that position!

I mean of course DJV is an elite shooter but there's other stuff holding him back, so I doubt he'll make NBA.

But him and Humphries are, or are rapidly becoming, very good NBL players on the cusp of all-NBL level.

And they're locked in for 3 years.

Excellent place to sit, for the 36ers.

Master chief - the sixers will only have three imports because they struck gold with their injury replacement and now would be stupid not to try to extend it. It wasn't by design. And their roster cost will be huge. They planned to have two imports because the funds were tied up by their marquees

Olgun reporting earlier Sixers are closing in on a deal to retain Harrell for the full season

Kolzee, I think that is a bit too simplistic to say they've just gotten lucky, and it doesn't change the fact they were always willing to accomodate another import during the season. People on here claiming to be in the know have said they had some cards up their sleeve. Harrell just fastracked that process I assume. You said signing DJ has backfired. How has it back fired? They are 3/3. DJ torched Sydney the other night. They have only played twice at home. They still have Martin to come back in, effectively playing an import down.

They were second highest roster spend last season and finished second to last.

There's still a long way left in this season. If they don't makes the final with their roster spend it will be a failure. Especially if they have two marquees and three imports.

You can't have two marquees and 3 imports.

That are marquees for part of the season

Kolzee, well you're reffering to last season now. I don't disagree with you, but that is also why Weston has come in to make better decisions. I think the previous 3 years were also partly to do with CJ not being even remotely up to it as a head coach. Likely not helped by many other factors, but still failed pretty badly.

You can't have two marquees and 3 imports.

Signing DJV certainly has not held the 36ers back.

He has been far more mature than anticipated this season. Yes he still feels the need to force a few ridiculous/frustrating/bad shots, but overwhelmingly he has been effective and importantly not just a one-trick pony. The distribution and IQ has been on show.

Defensively, Davis, Dech and Mayen will be important to cover DJVs liability.

They are both classified as marquees for the period Martin is injured. Once he returns one is demoted

If Harell stays

One player will be cut and the cheaper of Humphries and DJV will be taken off marquee