Look I am not a fan of Rees, but Gower, are you serious?

I've also heard the Gower tale, but here's why I don't think it's that ridiculous (and you'll have to account for my Gower-bias because I think he's a useful contributor).

With Hambour, the team has someone who's more in the mould of Rychart or Holmes. Gower gives the squad something quite different.

Recently, the team has rightfully been criticised for lacking physicality, intensity, defense, etc. Gower is the grouch who will go out there, throw himself on the court for the loose ball and harass the crap out of opponents (easily led the ABL in steals last year). A lot of that won't show up on a stat sheet but it doesn't hurt the team. It's an extra 6 fouls and a chance to frustrate and maybe get a steal.

Some people will remember a game against the Melbourne Tigers last year - Round 18 at the Dome and Maher was injured. Up against a full strength Melbourne team from what I remember. We were down by about 11 very early on. The coaches put Gower in to the shock of everyone - two coaches with a pretty fixed rotation, who favour reliable and experienced players like Nash and Rees, missing their captain, up against a huge team, putting in a more or less unplayed no-name nowhere near garbage time.

Gower didn't win the game (Farley had 41, 9 and 7, from 36 FGA!), but he played 11 minutes, got 4 boards, hit his only shot, and had an assist and a steal. I distinctly remember thinking that he was a pretty key player in stopping the Tigers run and allowing the main players the chance to reel in the lead. We ended up winning 121-107 after looking all but gone in the first.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if this is what Breheny has in mind - someone they can bring in for 3-4 minutes to piss off Wollongong or Sydney.

Also, an extra player gives them a bit more backup if someone got injured just before or during the finals. The cost of giving Gower eligibility is sitting Reesy for a few games, so maybe they see it as worthwhile.

come on isaac....playing gower in finals is absolutely absurd. That is the one of the most ridiculous things you have ever written IMO. NBL finals we are talking here.... not just a round robin game against the tigers last year where we had nothing to lose, and it somehow half paid off.

I tend to agree with Isaac, Gower gives you that surprise packet teams won't be expecting. He does the little 1%ers like diving for the loose balls. Give him some credit he can do some very good things.

If they are just qualifying Gower so they have the option if needed I dont see anything wrong with that.

You can never have too many options when it comes to finals,

As for Reesy in finals I think his experience will be invaulable and he will still be a very big part of the sixers whether it be for 1 or 21 minutes of a game!

We didnt get to last nights game but according to the box scores last night Gower did not play ?

Only 8 players got on court so if the qualifying for finals is the motive then its not working.

Don't the players have to step on court to qualify ?

It's obvious that a Wayne Carey/ Anthony Stevens situation has occured.

Everyone knows Reesy is a ladies man.

One too many cheerleaders after the NYE game?

Expect Reesy to make a public announcement some time today.....

Just a quick clarification, does a player have to actually have minutes on the court to qualify. If the idea is to qualify Gower why wasn't he given any minutes last night?

So does Gower have a contract at the moment ? Whats the go with the number of players we have ?

I agree with most of what you said Isaac, but why then dont they sub him on for 1 min / game to qualify ?


Suspiciously quiet on the Rees out of favour call though !

I don't think that they have to get on court, just suit. But I'm not sure on that.

They have the 10, then the two dev guys (Madgen and Gerlach) and others that train with the squad. I think 13 have suited this year - 10 + 2 devs + Gower filling in for Nash ahead of the dev guys.

Gower has nothing to do with it and is just a red herring. IMO

come on isaac what is the story, who has he upset or what has he done wrong??

The truth is out there.

Rees was not on the court last night becuse he was sharpening up his elbows for the real part of the season.

Was in Apollo before game and Breheny adv all players were interviewed during week off and talks re where the players were at and what is required of them to get to the finals.

Then the news that Rees was not suiting for game - Isaac's Gower explanation being the reason.

Real Deal, Red Herring, Raw Deal?

Possible that sixers are putting rockets up some butts by using Reesy as an example .

The coaching staff are serious about getting some action on court....

The best 10 will suit on any given night. Additionally, overlooking Reesy for a game or two to give them an extra player option could be a worthwhile tactic and works on a couple of levels. And like I said, Gower gives them something different as an option - that's my view anyway. He doesn't need to be a star of the future, or even a star of a game - just be available to make a bit of a difference when required.

i am not having a go at isaac at all, as like anyone else he is entitled to his opinion, an don most occasions his opinion is very close to spot, but gower for NBL finals, who wants to put money on it, that he will not play one second....hell i will give you 5 to 1......you cannot be serious!!

john. he's a scenario for ya

Kings meet Sixers in the semi's, 1st game, kings win comfortably, 2nd game, Maher drops 40, Farley 35, sixers win on the buzzer. Goorj blasts the refs for not calling anything, cops a $5,000 fine and we head to game three.

Coops and Rychart pick up 3 1st quarter fouls and sit. Rees has to guard Webber, who steps around him 5 times for 10 pts in the second, they switch Holmes to webber and J.smith drops 2 threes.

Enter Gower, roughs up webber, both cop 2 double fouls, holmes goes back to J.smith and shut him down, CJ and Maher enter a classic shoot out, while Gower and Webber, both sit, letting our guard shoot it out against their. Sixers win!

Okay, so it may not turn out like that, but at least with Gower, it gives us options which, i think Isaac has only menioned half a dozen times so far.

I agree with Isaac. I'm certainly no fan of Gower (who!) at NBL level, but the little he has played, he does deserve credit for being a hard, 110% effort player each time he has hit the court. He knows his role in this team.

Resting Rees before the major round knowing that the other teams have some size advantage over the sixers. You certainly can't substitute Rees and/with Gower. That would be like replacing a cheer leader with Bizzy, just wrong!

Dr D - exactly right. Nashy can play defense, but he wouldn't know how to get two double fouls if you gave him a bat. Gower can do that sort of thing just by looking at people. It's funny that he plays Halo exactly the other way (hiding and avoiding the brawls)!

Some good points made, and Gower would add a certain toughness that is often missing.

What surprises me though is that last night in the third quarter when there was a distinct lack of heart, effort, balls, and discipline from the main playing group that Gower and/or Hambour were not used, even if for no other reason than to try something new?

Isaac, does it piss Oscar off to be so frequently subbed out straight after hitting a jump shot? It happened twice last night and seems to have been a recurring theme over the past four games or so?

I've not asked. Should find out if that banked three was intentional!

Yeah but it was funny though! So was Nash's free throw!

With all that is said and done about Gower, why then did Smyth/Breheny decide to make Hambour the 10th man in the first place? The choice was between him and Gower. What has changed?

Oscar looked a bit out of sorts at times last night, and was having a little trouble on the boards (he had no real help !! ) - so it seemed logical to me that Dusty would rotate in when we got killed 79-42 on boards ???? Jacob did a good job , but cant be expexted to be a perimeter guard and rebounder too.

I am starting to come to terms with the fact that he (Oscar)is a 2-3 player stuck in a 6'9" frame, not the 4-5 player we are so desperately lacking these days.
I say let him shoot the 3 ball like he has been and get Cooper's ass on the boards a bit more. Let Hambour bang around in there too .

I disagree. He's a not-particularly-aggressive, decent-shooting 3-4, and just isn't getting on the boards every game this season.

kinda like dirk

Dirk who? you cant be talking about nowitski becuase he gets around 9-10 boards a game.

I'm with John.

I find it comical that the 36ers are considering not playing Rees in the lead up to the play-offs to get Gower to qualify.

They have played Hambour about 20 minutes all up all year!!! If the coaching staff were such fans of Gower and believed he was a 'difference maker' then why not have him as 10th man from the beginning of the season and make him a regular part of the rotation?

Salary cap and points cap were not a problem in relation to signing Gower considering they were going after Rogers.

Their grand plan cannot be to elevate the 13th man to 10th man at the 27 game mark, not play him a minute in the regular season, and then play him in the knock-out final and if luck allows the semi finals. Totally clutching at straws if that is the case.

If there is an off-court problem with Rees then fair enough, but on-court Rees has given the 36ers everything the coaching staff could have expected.

Cooper deserves the 'rocket' more than Rees. 6 ppg, 5rpg and 1 bpg from our starting centre whilst shooting 40% from the field when the vast majority of his shots are within 5 feet of the basket!

Even Behrendorff was more productive than Cooper with 10pts and 8rbs in 16 minutes last night.

Cooper was very impressive during the later stages of last season and unless he can rediscover some form (at least on the defensive end) then we aren't going anywhere.

Good Point Stephon - I love that stat!

I would have loved to seen Cooper play on Behrendorff (finally a worse surname than Pero's) - Cooper always seems to struggle offensively on established centres - it would have been interesting to see if he could match it with a young gun.

Cooper needs to step up.

But Reesy though, can't see him been benched for slack training - I spoke to him before the game (and before I knew he wasn't suiting) and he was rather upbeat, positive and look forward to a good night - and then during the game when he was laughing and throwing winks to the Seals and the lone Posse member when they chanted "We Want Reesy" - to me, this does not look like the actions of a man in trouble with the coach.

I think Gower is the injection of speed, desperation and excitment we need occasionaly off the bench - pity we don't ever see it!

I mean - he could do worse than "No Pass" Hill

65208, Rees is on a single year contract. Don't know re his chances for next year - one day you hear he could get a two year deal, the next you're not sure. Even though we've stocked up on forwards, I think Nash will likely get another run based on current form.

It smacks of desperation. Time for fresh blood in the coaching ranks!

It smacks of desperation. Time for fresh blood in the coaching ranks!

I would be supporting the Gower move if he got atleast 5min a night but to be truthful i can't remember the last time the guy played!?!

If there is a chance he could be played in the finals what about something called "match fitness"???

thanks for the support stephon.....you guys are absolutely dreaming if you think gower will make the court for even one second in the finals....lets remember he has not hit the court FOR THE WHOLE SEASON!!....i can just imagine goorjan hearing the sixers secret tactic for finals...."bring gower off the bench".....he would not exactly be rushing to find video of the guy would he. dont be stupid guys, for god's sake!!

Gower has played this season in a road game (11 minutes against NZ: 0/2 FG, 1 rebound, 3 fouls, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal, no turnovers), getting on in a near-30 point win when Hambour didn't. I remember Oscar said that he'd played really well in the time he got.

Not saying he's going to play again this year, but an opportunity might arise where his use would be appropriate. It's happened and worked in the past.

An interesting discussion indeed...however the origianl question is yet to be answered with any confidence... Why has rees not played in the last 2 games???

Imagine this was the footy, would the media not question if one of the Adelaide Cows usual first choice players was not being picked, where is Boti on this?

anyone tell me please...why has Paul Rees been "dropped" for the last 2 games?

If as the coaches say they are picking the 10 man roster to suit the opposition why would Rees be left out when we were playing a team with both Rogers and Burston? Sure with 20/20 hindsight both players were a non factor in the game and possibly even a liability for the Wildcats but if they played to their potential I would have thought having Rees as a backup option on the bench would have been a sensible move.

Hmmm me still thinks there is more to the story....but who will be the one to spill the beans?

hmmm indeed, I watched the game on fox..and saw the interview with Brett.

He was asked..wheres Rees?...his comment was along the lines of.. we had player/coach meetings over xmas about mindsets etc...and now its about those that are training well...

so..you people seem to know the guy...What is wrong with Rees...why isnt he training well...has he lost interest?

Instead of asking if the coaches know what they are doing..perhaps we should be asking the big man??

Yer, I was thinking the same thing after seeing Reesey not suiting up against Perth. For starters Maher wasn't playing so shouldn't that mean if we are putting Gower in the team to qualify him with Maher injured shouldn't the big fella be back in the team? Is Phil saying that Gower and Hambour are training better than Rees???

Gower got some time in the wildcats game didnt he?

Look guys...although reesy has been a great player for the club and has helped bring the club a long way while he has been on the roster..i'm sad to say he just doesn't have it anymore. The sooner he retires the better off the club will be. Although that sounds a bit harsh...after watching gower playing abl for sturt many times i know for a fact that he can give the 6ers some quality minutes. Hell what has david cooper been doin...

Im glad to be honest, if i was 7 foot i could burn Rees in every aspect of the game... he just kind of plodded around, he had an alright shot.... im just surprised he even gt half em up with how slow he is. We need young blood and its time for him to take his leave. im surprised he played for the boomers at one time! shit thoes mustve been the dark ages!

He might be slow but he is still a hell of a lot smarter player than a lot of other guys. Based on the time he played in December I say he still has something to offer the team for this season. I dont believe he should play on tho. It would be sad not to see him out there again tho. He deserves a good send off.