EC???

Maybe have another look at the finals format


Elimination Round 1
5vs8
6vs7
winners advance loses out

Elimination Round 2
3vs (winner of 6vs7)
4vs (winner of 5vs8)

After that it goes into the best of 3 series.

So finishing 6th means you play a home elimation final in round 1 and if you win that you play an away elimination final in round 2.

Finishing 4th means you only play ONE elimination game at home.

So I'm sure anyone would rather only play one elimation game at home than one at home than one away.

I think only playing 1 elimination and that being at home is a massive amount better than playing 2. Especially seeing as if you get thru the 1st one at home, the 2nd one would be away.

I to agree tho that the format is in need of some tweeking. Im not a fan of it being a top 8 tho. Shouldnt be rewarded for finishing in the top 72% of the league. It should be no more than a top 6 with best of 3 playoffs until the final with a best of 5.

You answered your own question. One elimination vs two is a big difference for a team that can be beaten by Hunter on our home court.

Finish 4th, and we'd play 5th at the Dome for a chance at a series.

Finish 6th and I think we're playing 7th at the Dome in a must-win, and then playing 3rd on the road in another elimination game.

If the Hawks, for example, got into 3rd, and we were 6th, would you think it not a big deal to have to beat a team like the Bullets at the Dome (flashback!) and then have to travel to Wollongong and beat them on the road where we have a pretty horrible record?

I'd favour our chances far more highly in the earlier case.


And I too support a top 6 as suggested by Skip, all series, then best of five in the grand final. That's the obvious way to go I think.

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Sixers are 17-10. Hawks are 15-11.

Sixers run home is Perth A, Hunter H, Cairns A, Townsville A, Brisbane A. Going 2-3 is feasible. Should be able to win at least one.

Hawks run home is Hunter H, West Sydney A, Sydney H, Brisbane A, Tigers H, West Sydney H. You'd tip them to win 3, and maybe even 5 if they were lucky -- only that Brisbane away game is that bad, the other decent teams are visiting the Hawks.

So, Adelaide could finish on 18 or 19 wins. Hawks could get 20, but might be 18 or 19 too.

Cairns have Tigers H, Kings A, Wildcats A, Tigers A, Sixers H, Crocs A, Kings H - pretty tough run. I think we should be able to hold 4th.

Bullets could still win their last five to knock us out. They are currently on 13-14 with games against Sydney (A), NZ (H), West Sydney (H), Wollongong (H), and Sixers (H). Four home games to finish the season and, other than Sydney tonight, Bullets would probably start favourite in all of them.

A win in all five remaining games will put them on 18-14, with one of those wins at our expense.

Could come down to the last game b/w Bullets and Sixers. Season series will be on the line, with a potential fourth place berth into the finals...

The real point I was making was that their form at present won't see them progress much further than the first 2 rounds of instant elimination games. Who are they going to kock out to make it to the grand finals, Sydney? or Melbourne? It seems very much a case now of delaying the inevitable. I would not have spoken like this earlier in the season, but the team are not playing as well and like everyone else, I am still waiting for a noticeable improvement. All we can hope for is that they are hungry enough to win the championship and that may turn their game around. Everyone has to start getting serious about the job that's ahead of them.

If the Sixers manage to get past the elimation round, I simply cannot see them winning a series against the Kings or Tigers. I know I should be more positive, but I feel this team would have achieved all it can achieve if it gets past the elimination finals.

They have been playing and continue to play crap basketball. I haven't seen a game out of the Sixers that would have gotten it done in the playoffs for a month a half. The last game was against the the Tigers on the 26/11. Since then at their worst they have been utterly pathetic, at their best they have been ordinary.

The Sixers are soft. They have been soft for years on D, but for the last month or so they have been soft on offense as well. The offense was great during the first half of the Breakers game but was passive tissue basketball im the second half. That is what I have seen in the second half of the season. Passive, crap basketball with no one playing like they have a pair of nuts at either end of the court.

They are running out of time and they have a long way to go if they are going to achieve anything meaningful this season.