totally agree, but I'm still so perplexed at why they all didn't still go to Horvath in the second half.

Brad was impressive when he was on he was making their defence work, he wasn't scared to take it to the hoop.

I for one actually liked Nash's game thought he did a lot out there that went unnoticed.

Wheeler for his minutes, nice work under the basket, again under utilised.

some bad rotations of players in the last six to eight minutes seemed to stagnate the offence.

Yeah agree, Nash was very good last night, has got fantastic hands.

Yeah I would have been chucking it in to Horvath every chance they got becuase they were all fouling him

I think Hill was playing really well, then Phil benched him.

Ng played a good game, tried to take a few charges that weren't called.

Wheeler was working his arse off trying to get boards but then was benched never to be seen again.

AJ under-utilised.

Copes...........won't go there

Coops was good again, missed his shots but was working hard and swatted Sav hard.

Farley seemed to be looking to distribute.

Horvath give the man the damn ball.

You have got to be kidding about Nash don't you?! Tell me one other side that would even consider picking this bloke up. In football terms, he reminds me very much of a good mark stander.
And I thought Wheller looked great last night - in the warm up!

I'm not sure which game you guys were watching but it wasn't the one I was.
Brad Hill missed about 4 easy layups and didn't do much else, apart from throw up some forced shots and turn the ball over a couple of times. Having said that I love his game and demeanor on court and truly believe if we are patient with him he can shine. He didn't look confident though.
Darren is solid, but on defense his player can get whatever they want against him. He did do a very good job running the point, but if he bulks up he can be a star in the NBL. He was lucky he got to guard the coach's favourite chump (also his son) so much because every time he had Campbell or Groves they took him where ever they wanted to.
Coops shoots everything he touches. I don't know who gave him the green light but it needs to go amber pretty quick.
Farley thiks he is the man out there when he hasn't done F%$k all in ages, didn't score at all in the last quarter (half?) (unless it was the last 2 minutes when I'd left), and got schooled in a big big way by Groves. If there was ever going to be a night for him to shine it was going to be last night without Maher. The League has caught on to guarding him, that is D him up tight and give help because he ain't gonna knock no 19 foot jump shots with a hand in his face consistently. His defense sucks, but so does the whole teams' really.
Nash I thought played well. I've been a big critic recently but last night he showed something. Sav still had 30 something though.
If we play like that against a better team we will get spanked. Mind you Maher would have helped, but it makes you wonder what's gonna happen when he's gone.
Nick Horvath is our one shining light. However I too am perplexed as to how he can have a seal with at least one foot in the lane and we swing the ball to shoot a jump shot. He is a credit too himself because he dominated early again, didn't get looked at the second half, but still played his heart out. That has GOT to frustrate you.
Wollongong at home should be a shoe in for a finals team. Maybe they will get better as the year goes on, and I hope they do. I'll be there cheering them on as I did last night, but it's frustrating as a spectator to see them play like that after all the years of great play. Cmon boys

"I'll be there cheering them on as I did last night .. "

I'm sure they appreciate you leaving with 2 minutes to go as well. That's the kind of support we LOVE to see ...

mate game was over. Beating the traffic is more important to me than watching the last 2 minutes of a disappointing game. Sorry if I'm not quite "diehard" enough

lockstock you must have been in the bar brad hill only took 5 shots dont know where the 4 easy layups were, missed an easy put back,got to the free throw line 4 times made 1 turnover, 5 boards and 10 points in 11 minutes, had a steal and brought much needed energy to the team in his brief time on court.
If he looked a little nervous it probably had something to do with the hook hanging over his head if he made a mistake. Easily the most productive player per minute. Would you rather see a rookie making some rookie mistakes or a 41 year old making rookie type errors.

copeland has had years and years of bradtke & timmons being able to rescue his misses no such luxury here

Nah that's fair enough anonymous you're probably right. 10 and 5 in 11 minutes is rock solid and a great effort. I didn't see the Stats, but didn't think he was that productive.

for me just swap hill with coops minutes, sure he makes some mistakes but he has more hustle, he is more athletic, younger, and 10 points in 11 minutes most from the line shows he can penentrate and get fouls.

I thought Hill played pretty well. Missed some buckets he should have made, but got to the line. Can't argue with his output, IMO. 10 and 5 in 11 minutes!

I noticed an obvious lift in the crowd when he hit the court ahead of Copeland - I think it's more than just a handful of forum-posters that want to see him get more minutes. People seem to like that he penetrates when many others don't.

my head

To a certain extent, I agree with Lockstock's comments.

I believe that Hill was dragged the first time because when he had Nick open free on the right low block he instead chose to drive himself. Poor decision, result coach will drag you. The second time it looked like Hill was dragged for missing a point black put back. He was a bit unlucky getting dragged for that in my oppinion, even if it cost the team momentum.

No one has ever questioned Hill's ability, skills or potential. Its just his decision making that he needs to work on.

The 36ers need guards that get the ball to the forwards in good spots over the whole game, and none of the 36er guards got that done last night.

anonymous, basketball has been my life since I was about 4. I have followed it closely ever since, I am now in my mid 20s.
I play ABA.
Sorry if my opinions seem strong or unjustified at times, I'm just putting my view across..

As discussed previously, Brad has lots of talent. However, until he learns when to drive to score, and when to drive to DISH OFF to someone in a better position to score, he won't fulfill his potential.

That is ok, when Hill goes to another team who gives him 30 minutes a game he will begin to 'fulfill' his potential.

It is ridiculous how personal Smyth has obviously made his handling of Brad Hill who has been in his doghouse for over a year now. Hill played more minutes in his first 2 NBL games straight out of the AIS than he is now!

Criticisms as to decision making (ie shooting when a better passing opportunity was available) are criticisms that can be made of players such as Newley and Ingles as well.

I recall Smyth also put John Rillie in his doghouse during his first season (even giving him a dnp-cd).

What annoys me the most is how Smyth put players the calibre of Rillie and Hill in his dog house yet gave/gives players such as Jason Williams, Cooper and Nash endless opportunities.

If Newley had signed with the 36ers he would have collected the same splinters that Hill is now backing up Jason Williams who was backing up Brett Maher. No All-Star Game MVP, Rookie of the Year, NBA prospects, Boomers selection, etc, etc.

I would say that Newley made a heck of a decision.

Likewise if Ingles had signed with the 36ers would have there been any chance that he would have had any role any greater than Jordan Dodman?

spot on stephon

Stephon, You make good sense. I disagree about Nash though. I think his defensive capability justifies his selection.
It appears we're headed back to the "is it time to get rid of the coach " post that was on here last week. Is the problem that the coaching panel are not adapting to basketball in the 21st century, and their decision making is aligned to the "must serve an apprenticeship" mentality that existed in the 1980's? Basketball has changed so much in the last few years, and coaches like Boy Goorj have continually pushed perimeters by demanding that their players be more physical than ever, and by doing this are forcing the referees to change their style. It would seem that Mal and his board have some soul searching to do.

Dribbler, Nash has always had a reputation as a great defender, certainly a theory the coaching staff have advanced. The question is can he guard a quality player, on last nights evidence, no way. Tried hard to guard Saville, totally outplayed, then given the task of guarding Groves - no chance. In the second instance it was a total missmatch. We have no one who can guard Groves. Mark Nash great team man hard worker but certainly not a
starting quality player in the NBL imop. Phil has done a great job of talking Nash up over the years.

I noticed that a few times when Saville had scored, it wasn't Nash who was defending him. From the times when I purposefully watched Nash on Saville, he did a decent job.

Saville scored the bulk of his points quite quickly towards the end of the game.

His output is similar to others guys in the league like Sheridan, Grabau and Castle. Definitely compares favourably with Castle, IMO.

lets not for get 1 week ago when he played a FULL game on saville he kept him to what was it 7pts and 2 ass ???

thats it guys lets blame nash on our problems hell hes probably the reason basa went broke his minimum wage and all

My criticism is more of Smyth's apparent favouritism of Nash rather than of Nash personally.

Nash would miss games due to injury the last few years and Jacob and Oscar would start showing signs of improvement and greater productivity with some extra minutes and then Nash would come back and straight away take their minutes without really earning those minutes from his performance.

Nash was an All NBL type defender but since his back injury has understandably lost a lot of athleticism that made him such a great defender.

Majstrovic and Hill would make much better options not only for this season but for the purpose of building towards the future because they are younger. I can't remember him even getting a single dunk the last 2 years.

Nash is a decent role player to have on the roster but he shouldn't be getting 35 minutes to Hill's 10 minutes. Hill was just as productive in 10 minutes with 10pts and 5 rebounds as Nash was in his 35 minutes. Defensively, Nash offered little resistance to either Saville or Groves to justify his 35 minutes.