Sutton is definatley a brilliant player, I've been watching him play at forestville for years and that boy's got game. The only trouble is Hill is also a good player so I'm not sure what the sixers should do. Just remember, Team Dirty Sanchez, that just because someones out of form right now doesnt mean they have to go. They'll work they're way back into form (just look @ copeland when we played the crocs).

Hill is still a good player, he got some nice close shots in. Sutton played an awesome game and it is good to see that Boti also wrote about Sutton and his great defence.

The only bad thing he did is that he didn't get him self in too many scoring positions but he played a very good team game. His passing is remarkable and defence unbelievable for a players debut who isn't in the race for ROY.

Watching Sutton for the Eagles he is a great defender and he can play NBL standard and i hope he can get 8-10 minutes a game and he will develop well but right now i can't see him capable of playing against the Tigers, Kings, Wildcats.

But played a great game and well done to him!

Smyth gives game preference to those who train well. From Sutton's performance last night and the way Hill has played so far this season, it would suggest that it is evident in training as well. Sutton must have had an outstanding training week to be given so much time last night. It was one of the changes Smyth made to try and improve the team's performance but he wouldn't have made this change if he didn't feel Sutton would cope with the pressure. He looked totally in control last night and was worthy of every minute he spent on court.

The differrence is they have been trying to play Hill as the back up Point guard when I think he plays better as a shooting guard.

Sutton is the better long term option at the point, he had no turn overs, got some good assists in his time on the court and is a very good defender.

I actually think it will be good to have Sutton playing back uo to the Ninja till Maher comes back, copeland lighting up last night really didn't help Hill's chances of playing in the SG spot, but his time will come.

P.S. your fingers smell Dirty Sanchez

Could it also possibly be that Sutton knows Newley's game inside out from Forestville, so Sutton made the most obvious defensive tactic on Newley???

Hill is a shooting guard, Sutton a point guard. In theory they shouldn't eat into each other's time on court.

I agree double clutch - I only know Hill's game from NBL level, and Hill is not a point guard, yes he has handles on the ball, but not point guard handles i.e. decision making involved.

Hill is a 2/3 due to his size and athleticism. If Sutton is as good as what people say he is and considering how good he was in his first game, it would be good for SA to see Sutton as the PG of the future with Ng as shooting guard and Hill as SF. They would all need to throw some weight on their bodies to be consistent starting material.

As I said in another post, I was blown away by Sutton's defence on Robertson and Gardener (I don't know what this business is about him playing on Newley? He only guarded him a handful of times??). As stated his composure under pressure was amazing and his passing was pin point!

why is Hill not playing many minutes a joke?

For some reason his brain isn't working as well this season. Some of those fouls where he jumped at his players head fake were stupid and we were lucky it didn't cost us.

Last week Hill stunk it up, it was turnover city.

So let him go to another team. What club would he join that would allow a performance like last week to equal more court time this week.

The local talent thing is very much over-rated. Besides Brett, what local talent did we have on our teams that won the last 3 championships?

Yea i would also like to see more of Hill, but Sutton is an actual Point Guard not a shooting guard trying to play point so i can see the value in playing Sutton, he is also a young SA player which is good to see. Hills position is probably the deepest in the 36ers team, with Farley, Copeland, Ng also playing it so it is hard to give him more minutes. Farley is easily ahead of Hill, and Ng and Copeland are either ahead or equal of Hill, so who do we bench for Hill thats the problem, i think the simple answer is Copeland, and that is why many people questioned his signing, but Phil didnt sign Copes to bench warm, and at 41 there is no point haiving him unless you are going to play him, and after a 20 point performance, its hard to see his minutes dropping, i personally would try giving Ng and Copeland 5 mins less each and thats 10 mins extra for Hill where he would average around 15 a game, but yea its a tough situation. I hope Hill understands this situation and hangs in with the 36ers for a few more years, as i thikn he is a potential starter and star in the nbl, and his time will come, as Copeland will only be there 1 more year tops id say, so theres more minutes for Hill if he hangs in there. And also looking at other clubs what club would Brad Hill get more significant minutes at, as alot of clubs have deep guard rotations like Brisbane have Bruton, Black, Ere and Mick Hill, the kings have Tovey barley getting on court, the tigers have Crosswell and Corletto off there bench, other to name a couple, so i think Hill is just unlucky and i hope to see him get a few more minutes, hang in there and be a 36ers starter in a few years time!!

Sutton's D was very good but he was also a help on offense even if he didn't put himself in scoring position (he didn't seem to want too.) He help us out big time by having one extra ball handler on the floor.

In the 2nd half against Wollongong & Brisbane we were lucky to get the ball up beyond half court most of the time. Our inability to deal with extended pressure in the second half was a big killer in the last 2 games. The Crocs extended pressure bothered us for a few minutes in the 4th quarter, but once Sutton came back in it was fine. The guy seems to have good instincts and court vision.

Sutton 4 PM!

Matt Sutton,

carrys the ball like Darnell Mee,
defends like Darnell Mee,
calls plays like Darnell Mee,
is super quick and unselfish.
Matt is definitely of the new age.

Hill is still only young, dont forget he spent very little time at the AIS compared to Maher or Maestro. He still looks to be growing and his game is still evolving. As long as he is patient the coaches will show patience with him. He could still learn to play a couple of positions.

Ninja is the oldest by far of the 3 and has the least upside. His last quarter was sub par, and he has not yet settled into playing any particular position properly. He is not going to get any bigger or quicker,and he is the one who will be under the gun.

Was a big fan of his game - have been saying it all year and I'm sure I'm not the only one, but the word for him is "composed". Great performance for his first game - defended very well, looked after the ball (zilch turnovers), worked against the press, passed well - maybe people are only looking for points on the board because we're used to scoring guards?

He got open for threes regularly and penetrated well towards the end - I hope he gets a lot more opportunities. Will make the competition on the bench all that much tougher.

is it a coincidence that Sutton plays & Copeland& Ng both have good shooting games, Townsville only score 86, Farley lights it up & the ball moves through hands.

Its not hard, a true point guard who is playing his role for the team. That is, be safe with the ball, think team mates first score second, rebound & defend hard.

The key is role players are very important in team sport because they help balance the team.

Previous successful sixers team had these types of player. (eg: Sapwell)

Hill is not, nor will ever be a point gaurd. At best he is an off gaurd, but probably a small forward is his spot. If he is to be a player an the NBL, he will need to overcome the in ability to gaurd even his own shadow.

It may be a big call, but I would start Hill at SF and if it looks like he will get burned defensively then bring Nash on to stem the flow.

Again the question is why give Hill more court time?

At present he is not setting the world on fire at either end of the court. When the aim is to win and to win now, then how can you justify giving extended minutes to someone that is not getting the job done.

Well he hasnt really recieved enough minutes all season to decide whether or not he is getting the job done.

What he has showed is a loss in confidence that is evident in things like turnovers, bad fouls etc.

In the 5-10 mins a game he has gotten he has consistently got to the hole though - and that's something we need. Apart from Maher, no other perimeter players do this for us.

Kwest are you missing the amount of turnovers he has per match and the silly fouls he is giving up?

In a close contest these are crucial to getting a W.

Am I missing them? No.. Didnt you read this part of my post:

"What he has showed is a loss in confidence that is evident in things like turnovers, bad fouls etc."

I believe with a starting role, the turnovers and fouls would drop significantly with the extra confidence he would have.

After Oscar's average season in Adelaide (his third, I think), he started getting regular minutes (20-30 MPG) and responded better. This would help Hill I think.

Otherwise, he doesn't know if he's going to be playing 5 minutes or 25. If five, he could be rushing to prove himself, etc.

Everbody is getting caught up in the emotion of this.
Fact 1.We need a good point guard.
Fact 2.Hill isn't a point guard.
Fact 3.Sutton is.
Fact 4.In this whole crazy circus, loyalty sadly means little (just ask Ben Hart)
Fact 5.Hill has loads of potential, but has made loads of bad decisions. The best option IMO, is to put Sutton in the mix straight away & to keep Hill as a back up for Copeland with the guarentee of extended playing time upon Cope's retirement.

Are all you guys with negative comments on Hill just plain stupid or absolute morons? You put yourselves in his position, a guy with all the talent in the world to prove to everyone how good he is by playing just 10 minutes a game(if lucky) every week, when for instance Newley and Ingles since playing their first nbl games have averaged 25+ minutes a game.

I honestly think Hill is a much more talented player then Newley and believe he is the future of the club, but that means shit, cause at the start of next season he will be with another club, and who will I blame? Phil, and if this happens Phil in no way should be coaching in Adelaide next season!!

And for all you simpletons writing all this crap on Sutton, ok he played well but all the guy will ever be is a basic role player.

Master you are kidding. Newley has less talent than Hill?

Where are you getting that from? Who has ever said that? When was the last NBA scout to come and watch a sixers game?

I'm sure that if Brad had a positive impact on both ends of the floor he would be getting more than 10 minutes a game.

Um, its one game guys.

Need I remind all of that one strong game Christian Bell played some years ago. A game where he played more minutes than expected, showed tremendous on-ball defence and Adelaide won the game.

Bell was then touted as the future of Adelaide's backcourt, including an article in the Tiser.

Sutton may end up being a solid player at NBL level. But to start by saying he is a replacement for Brad Hill.....a bit premature. Let the guy play, and don't create unneccessary pressure. Just look forward to Boti's article on Sttion this week.

master? haven't you even considered what I said earlier about Smyth giving court preference to those who train well. Hill's confidence may not increase by getting only a few minutes on court, but I imagine he would be getting many hours per week in training. If he is not proving his case in training, he will not get the court time. NBL games are not a training session for development players. Its cut throat competition and you have to win them. To win them, you get the right mix of players on the court. Each game is also different and decisions have to be made based on the situation. How could you have taken court time away from Copeland last night when he was on fire, and give them to Hill who was just fouling and turning over the ball?

Copes struggled down the offensive end in the game v Brisbane however he did a very good job on defence v Black. I don't have a copy of the game but I think most of Blacks scores came when Copes wasn't on him.

Copes also had zero turnovers, 2 assists and 1 steal.

Brad's went 1-5 from the field and turned the ball over 5 times in 19 minutes. And he only played 5 less minutes than Copes.

If Hill is driven away by someone giving an honest opinion on where he is at right now then I certainly don't want him on the court in crunch time.

Absolutely they both could help, if they both play well. Right now Brad is not playing well and I'm guessing even he would agree with that.

I'd love to see Sutton take more of a role with the team. Not only is he great to watch, he is god damn spunky.

I say - less 40 year olds and more Sutton!

Didn't Hill have a great first game?