Adelaide up by 3 start of the last quarter 75 - 72.

Peter Walsh doing a fantastic job for ABC Radio. My 2 hour train ride up into the Blue Mountains is far less boring than it previously has been.

Come on Sixers!!!!

damn.

102 - 107. Oh well, here's to next season.

so who won??

Once again another joke of a coaching performance by Smyth. Fair enough it was a competitive game and could have gone either way. However, do you HOMEWORK SMYTH!!!!! Last game Horvath tore them up at a very high percentage but didnt put up enough shots. This game excatly the same thing happened he went 9/10 from the field and 3/3 from the foul line for 21 points. This is playing against the smallest front line in the whole league!!!!! Its not rocket science its common sense!!!!

Then Majstrovich hits 10 points in the 3rd quarter and plays about 3 minutes in the 4th and gets subbed out for copeland who went 1 from 9 from the field including 0 from 7 3's. Unbelievable!!! Majstrovich probably has his best game for the sixers and he gets benched for a guy that was having a shocking game (Not to mention playing piss poor defence at best!) and once again as a result we have a shocking fade out again!!! NOT GOOD ENOUGH SMYTH!!!!

Sure everyone will say farley was shit in this and he sure was but still him and franklin pretty much erased each other for having bad games.

I guess one good thing is Nash got benched for the whole second half. Also does Smyth have something against timeouts?? just 1 time out in the second half.

All I want for Christmas Santa is a new coach!

dragons on a charge get it level with in a couple minutes of the 4th and phil waits till they get 7pts up and 45 secounds left to call a time out , not to mention he keeps Ng and Copeland out there who were stone cold, no correct FROZEN, when sitting on the bench is AJ who was solid ALL NIGHT and Timmons who at least banged bodies and the boards

im sorry but as bad a season we are having we are better then that, we are now like St Kilda fc, if we had a coach we would be dangerous,

im joining stephons call, for ninnis and richard hill

Wow I didnt realise that a time out would have won the game, shit if its that good maybe we should only call timeouts instead of letting the players play.

My winge though is my thoughts on why we always loose at home, once again the umpires have helped another team over the line. I dont care if the umpires make bad calls, just consistantly make those bad calls. Im sick of going to games that we would win if the players got a fair chance. Horvath stopped scoring because of his high fouls, but everytime he steps up to make a shot he must come away with atleast 3 bruises a play. Its bullshit and I am sick of it, we have had better umps the last few games and tonight we resorted back to the useless bastards that we had at the start of the season, Brad Hill knows them well.
Ofcourse Shane Heal knows them better.

What I hated is everyone in the building but Farley wouldn't have gone for Franklin's piss-weak pump-fake near the death. On 3 possessions straight Farley couldn't keep Ingles or Franklin out the lane and everyone but Smyth knew he was incapable of doing it. Ingles went for his usual jab-faked and pulled the ball across his body and attacked Farley's high foot (Willie's footwork is horrible and once someone gets on his hip is in no place to recover). Of course Joe wants to attack the high foot and get in the lane because Cooper was waiting in help on the baseline.

Next possession Farley comes back and has isolation on the wing, he gets open for a second with a dribble on his right hand but needed to pull the ball predictably back onto his left before being shut down and passing off to his team-mates with the shot-clock running down. Once again, who doesn't know he needs to get left? Too easy to force into a difficult shot.

What angers me is the mind-set of the two teams. Dragons = play thru contact; get to the rim, at worst get to the line. 36ers = Run no sets, isolate on the wing and try to take a soft jumper, if you can't get it pass off to someone else to take another contested jumper.

Anyone know the saying about the team adopting the personality of their coach? I know a lot of guys in this team are lazy, soft and out-dated at this level. Brett can't do it all.

Loved how Joe gave the look to Phil after knocking down that clutch 3.

I though Ingles lacked class the way he was carrying on tonight - You didnt see Holmes rub it in to us. Whilst obviously an exceptional player he has alot to learn. The guys a Tool!

Rebounding killed us tonight. They had 18 rebounds to our 6. That's one thing that we desperately miss with the loss of Holmes and Dusty. Both were excellent offensive rebounders.

Also 0 steals to the Dragons 6 meaning no fast break points. I can't remember us scoring on the fast break at all except for Timmons being fouled hard by Ingles on one play.

And why play a brick-laying, no rebounding 41 yr old over the Maestro who was having an excellent game.

Also interesting to note that Horvath only missed one shot for the entire evening. We struggle to get Nick the ball and Ellis who is possibly the strongest player in the league was holding him off well so he couldn't get good position on the post. The problem with Horvath is that he seems to need the ball in the post to score. Once he has it there he is almost unstoppable with his hook but he needs to be able to receive the ball in different areas and score in other ways to be more effective. He should be taking 20 shots, not 10 and going to the line more than 2 times.

Ingles is a snotty nosed obnoxious kid. Lacks manners and class. His excuse is his meagre age. He better grow up quick because I don't want to watch him play any more games while displaying that sort of attitude. No matter how well he plays, I am in no hurry to get him here in Adelaide.

WTF? "Snotty nosed obnoxious kid...I am in no hurry to get him her in Adelaide"?

Ingles was superb tonight. 23 points, 8 rebounds,5 assists no turnovers and instrumental in getting the Dragons a win. All at 19 years old while we have guys that Smyth spent more time recruiting in Copeland, Wheeler and Timmons contributing next to nothing.

I didn't see what Ingles did wrong tonight that has upset people? What, he isn't allowed to smile or act confident knowing that he had destroyed a club that rated him so highly that they offered a spot for him in their top 13 but not 10!

Sour grapes perhaps from the Smyth supporters who argue that this league is all about recruiting veterans over up and coming players such as Ingles? I mean why would anyone want to spend their hard earned dollars watching players such as Newley and Ingles when we have Copeland and Timmons.

The Ingles 3 and then stare at the 36ers coaching staff was play of the game in my opinion. Good on him!

What will Smyth's next move be? No doubt he will be speaking to Andrew Gaze and Warrick Giddey over the Christmas break about making a comeback to save this season! At least then we will be able to add the back-door cut to our offensive structure.

LOL EC.
Can you give me a more detailed description of how those sour grapes taste?

Ingles is a snotty nosed obnoxious kid. Lacks manners and class. !?! Are you kidding EC?!

I don't blame Joe one bit for his actions on the court. Whats wrong with a bit of attitude anyway? If you knew how he was treated by the 36ers then you might understand. Here's just another typical example of how we treat our own young stars. Did you ever stop to think what kind of aspirations a young player in Adelaide has? Surely to represent his home state at the highest level. And at his age, surely he would prefer to be here with family and friends!? Then to comprehend the treatment he received from the 6ers, I don't blame him one bit for looking at Phil the way he did...

Stephon youve just shown that your also a snotty nosed obnoxious kid. The worst thig for Holmes and Ingles careers is to play for Shane Heal. He is hated for his arrogance, some of what Ingles showed tonight. In his day Smyth was one of the best in Australia and therefore has Earnt respect that was not shown by a mere kid who has had more advantages through basketball than Smyth could have dreamed ov 50years ago.
I would love the have Ingles on our team more so because hes South Australian than that hes a good player, but if his attitude is going to match Heals Head then he can get stuffed and go somewhere else.

next thing the davis and green will be suiting up ,

anon (#112425) - no i think the worst thing for thier careers would have been to play/stay with phil,

look for brad to move one and any of the other kids who have half a brain,

so your telling me ingles and newley are not starting material but a development players ???

that is where your argument falls dead.

Anon? You didn't answer my question? WTF did Ingles do? Smile? Keep his shooting arm extended an extra second after hitting a huge 3?

With performances such as tonight how can you possibly say that playing under Heal is the worst thing that could have happened for Ingles.

Doesn't Ingles have NBA teams knocking on his door already? How many Smyth players can you say that about?

Before you resort to personal insults how about backing up your post with some facts.

I stand by my comments that I did not see Ingles act in an offensive manner whatsoever.

If he had gone the Shane Heal middle finger to the crowd then ok but he didn't. Fair enough you not liking Heal. There is a long history there but Ingles did not act in a 'Heal' like manner.

What did Ingles do that pissed you off Anon apart from beat us on court?

If he had accepted a position on the 36ers roster, how long do you think he would have been kept on the 13th position playing as well as he is? Ingles was still the driver of his own destiny. Did you all expect Smyth to take a chance on an inexperienced junior in his top 10? I don't know how many people watched him play ABA before this season began, but while I thought he was good, he has surprised me immensely at NBL level. A dark horse if ever I've seen one.

There is the problem EC.

You saw more of Ingles at ABA level whilst he played for the Southern Tigers than the 36ers coaching staff probably did whilst he was the top rated player at the AIS.

He wasn't really a dark horse. When you are recruited by North Carolina, rated as a young Australian Toni Kukoc by Goorjian and actively recruited by the majority of the league it is fair to say that just about everyone apart from Smyth rated Ingles.

Smyth by offering Ingles a spot in the 13 lumped him in the Marcus Ng, Burdon and Jordan Dodman category.

"Did you all expect Smyth to take a chance on an inexperienced junior in his top 10?" With a talent such as Ingles, it was an absolute no-brainer in the same way as Newley over Nash and Jason Williams should have been a no-brainer and Brad Hill over Ng and Copeland should have been a no-brainer.

"If he had accepted a position on the 36ers roster, how long do you think he would have been kept on the 13th position playing as well as he is?" I don't know the answer to that one but the way Smyth has treated Brad Hill causes me to seriously doubt that Ingles would be averaging anything close to 15, 5 and 3 if a 36er.

I was at the game tonight, my first against the Dragons - why does everyone boo Shane Heal when he gets the ball?

Because Shane Heal is a toss.

Interested to see in the huge Quiz in the Sunday Mail this morning.

Who took over ownership of the Adelaide 36ers?

Answer: Eddie Groves and Mal Hemmerling.

Either this is meant to mean the Dome aswell or they know something we don't.

anon(#112439)

You're too LOUD

This argument is falling into the Phil apologists' v the sack Smyth crew, as usual. Surely the former are running out of excuses.

Yea i didnt see the game, but how come Horvath didnt get more shots?? i think he should get like 20 shots a game, is it they just cant get him the ball??? or is Horvath only interested in getting it in the post, which in the past hasnt been the sixers strongpoint, post up offenses. As i think Horvath is a awesome player, but im not sure if he is a good fit for a Smyth team as Smyth teams are more perimiter based and dont really use the post up players well, like even Rogers wasnt used greatly in his brief stint here under Smyth. Also if you look out our previous import Forwards being KB, Garrison, Dusty all had good mid range games and didnt really post up much and KB also had a awesome perimeter game, i think that type of player suits the 36ers (under Smyth) better, is Horvath capable of hitting the mid range shot and playing that kind of role?? What are peoples thoughts?? I think Horvath is awesome and wouldnt mind seeing him in 36ers colours for years ahead but yea i think we definatly have to find a way to use him better if he is to stay (ie set him up in the post or where ever for his 15-20 shots agame, as he is so efficient once he does get it in there). Oh speaking of Horvath does anyone know when he is getting married?? as then he will be able to play in the NBL as a local, and that would be a huge bonus for the 36ers!!

in the smyth offence the big mens job is just to try and rebound the farley, maher or copelands missed shot!

the team next year should be ? maher ? horvath ? bench-? ? ? ? ?

I think the attitude showed by Ingles was fantastic, particularly if he was heckled by Smyth. For a 19 year old to show such gusto and confidence and then be able to back it up is great to watch and IMO exactly what we're missing from this year's team.

One of the reasons Cat was so popular was he had that 'never take a back step' attitude and could back it up. That sort of attitude helps fire your team mates up. Maher has the game, but not the attitude, Farley has the attitude, but seldom the game, Horvath doesn't get the ball enough and Cooper and Nash are just too timid.

Mal is no idiot. I'm sure he's already worked out that until we get some of these exciting youngsters in the team that offer some upside rather than just downside, crowd numbers will continue to be disappointing and the Sixers will struggle to make a profit - something he's not willing to tolerate.

"For a 19 year old to show such gusto and confidence" funny, I thought it was more a lack of manners and respect. He is a new kid on the block, who does he think he is displaying that sort of attitude towards seniors in the game? The toes you step on today could be attached to the arse you may need to kiss in the future. This may be particularly so for Ingles as Adelaide is his home.

Smyth showed Ingles no respect when he offered him a development spot on the roster and then again when heckling him from the side lines (which to me lacks manners).

If Ingles was a Sixer and playing, say Perth, those who are bagging him today would be saying "gotta love the way Joe got in Fisher's face after being heckled and then nailing that three".

I've never met Ingles and so have no reason to stick up for him, but he has nothing to answer for so good on ya Joe!

Spot on Sawmeinhalf,

If Ingles was in Sixers colours we would all be loving his cocky brash attitude towards his detractors.

Dare I say it but if Heal was a local Adelaide boy and played with the Sixers, the majority of us would think he was great for the game and stands up for himself at all times in the face of authority.

BUT seeing as he hasnt I still think he is a goose!

I love it how u people get on here and bag Joe... never even meeting the guy, saying that he is a snotty nose little kid. YEAH THAT KICKED THE 36ERS ARSE.

Its great to see the progress that Jingles has made in the last 6 months under Mark Price and Shane Heel.

Sounds like most of you are just jealous that Joe is making something of himself while u sit there in the stands eating ur hotdogs and blaming either Phil or the Umpires. LMAO.

How bout Farley who should by now learn how to pass the rock instead of trying to shoot over a 6"8 Guard.

JINGLES UR A CHAMP. A LOT OF JEALOUS PEOPLE OUT THERE....

I cannot believe that Heal got dragged into discussions about Ingle's attitude. Incredible.

The kid puts on a show and plays an excellent game and cops it for a smile at the club and coach that thought he was worth $20k/yr and a spot in the 13.

Agree with many of the other points here - not enough of Horvath on offense, Maher can't do it all on his own, why take out Majstrovich when he was playing close to the game of his life (hit a couple of buckets that would've been 10%ers), Copeland was stone-cold and kept getting on, etc.

They were here without their centre Burston. They had very average games from Franklin (7/20) and Heal (4/13), and Holmes (Top 10 3P in the NBL) was cold from outside (0/6). We were on our HOME COURT and lost a critical, winnable game.

Out of the 12 remaining games, this was the most likely for the 36ers to chalk one up.

At least the crowd showed up - 5,200 must be one of the best in the league this year?

'Because Shane Heal is a toss.'

ummmm ok, thanks for clearing THAT one up for me....! lol

The 36ers last night played the game in a completely negative light - they played as though they had already given up....... they all looked tired, annoyed & just plain fed up!

They had MANY opportunities to dunk that ball, but missed on many that we very unmissable!

Maybe these guys need to realise that it aint over til the fat lady sings, after last nights performance.... she sure is singing DAMN LOUD!!!!

Sad, so sad!

I think Copeland has been a plus for Adelaide this year, but in a handfull of games he has gone 0-9, 1-10, 1-9... and yet still been on the court for 25+ minutes. To me, this demonstrates that Smyth has no moves to make as a coach. He literally has no idea. How on earth is it possible that Nick Horvath only gets 10 shots, against a team with NO centre? Where in the hell was Majstrovich in the last quarter? If Mark Nash is such a great defender, why wasn't he guarding Ingles (the answer to that one is Nash isn't a great defender, and that Ingles would have killed him)? What was the point of signing Marcus Timmons if he is hardly going to play?

And perhaps most importantly, why should I pay money to watch this team play at the moment? Where is the passion, the intensity?

As for the Ingles thing, he is entitled to stick it up a franchise that didn't believe in him. Good for him.

Yeah I agree. It is good to see Ingles giving shit to Smyth. I have nothing against what he did last night. He is very impressive and looked like he would destroy us every time he was on the court. I still can't believe that we missed out on getting this kid. If Smyth actually did give this guy shit during the game then not only is he a terrible coach but he now also lacks class.

I don't know about Copeland's effort, I think he has pretty much busted his ass everytime he has been on the court. But at 41 years of age, he isn't going to get the job done every night, and on those nights where he doesn't it is pretty obvious very early in the game. Smyth should be able to see this. He does have other guards.

Agree re Copeland - sometimes he is just not going to have the hot hand. That's fine for a guy coming off the bench. He has proved to be worthwhile and our record would be worse without him in the team. Just needs to be swapped for someone like Majstrovich when he isn't scoring.

The brutal thing about Ingles is that he's exactly what this club needed this year - young, local talent. And also what the team needed - an injection off the bench who plays some excellent defense.

Good point Isaac, Ingles plays D, who on the 36ers roster could be classed as a good defender?? Coops only.
Farley no D,Copeland no D, Horvarth schooled by 6'5" centre, Darren tries but cant, Nashy 3 years ago,
Mahersy great player but suspect D
Timmons in no condition to do anything, Sutton I think he can but he's dissappeared out of the rotation, M'Vich defense has never been his strong point.
Many of these guys could do better but they appear to be able to bring second rate defensive effort and get away with it, also check out the individual rebounding stats of some of these guys who play good minutes, they must be running away from the ball. In short we cant, or dont appear interested in stopping anybody.Who's responsible???

ATTITUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Some here have touched on it, but don't have in perspective.

The DRAGONS have ATTITUDE. Heal is making them into what he himself is; TOUGH, UNCOMPROMISING, ABRASIVE IN YOUR FACE WINNER. No one should ever underestimate those qualities, and if that squad stays together, they will be worth putting money on next season.

Having been close to an ABL player last season, and seeing disunity envelope a playing group, I sometimes wonder if we're not blaming the wrong coach for some of the 36er's problems.

Blue Collar, the only grapes I eat are sweet. Unlike many, I am not at all disappointed that Ingles is not with the 36ers. If he had joined the 36ers, we may not be having this debate because he would have no reason to stick it up anyone in Adelaide. That's not the reason I have a problem with him. I just don't like cocky little think they know it all brats. He is playing extremely well but he still lacks a lot of skills. Hopefully with a bit of maturity this may improve.

EC you are a fool

If your cocky and think you know it all, and deep down know you are superior to your opponent then this is not a negative trait at all - its the trait of a winner.

I'm sure a lot of people think Kobe, MJ, Bird, Lebron, Heal god even Schumacher, Woods etc all these guys are cocky know it alls - there also winners because they believe in themselves.

Theres no dark horse here EC, as a 15-16 year old this kid came to ABA training and declared he was the 'Franchise' guess what .. he was right. Everyone there at the time (myself included) knew he was one of the best juniors we had ever seen.

There was no doubt that this guy would tear it up at every level ABA, NBL and onwards.

The way 'the Franchise' was treated by our franchise will go down in the annals as one of the great blunders of all time. Personally though it was one of the best things that ever happened to hoops in this country. JI will now develop at a faster rate, be pushed by a tougher coach and go on to the big dance sooner.

Enjoy this kid while you can cause soon the only place will be on ESPN. Dont believe me .. just ask Jingles .. he knows where hes going ;0)

GrapeGripe, I don't know if you have posted here before under another alias but this is the 1st post from you under this name. You will do well to remember that not everyone shares your passion for anything in particular and different people have different ideas. There have been many posts supporting Ingles and so there should. He is a great junior player and I never questioned that. I questioned his attitude. Sorry, Brett Maher is a great player also and no doubt a great junior in his time but I prefer his class to Ingles. You don't have to show cockiness and disrespect for seniors in the game to prove you are good. Your game does it for you.

GrapeGripe, I hate to rain on your parade but there is no way Ingles will make it in the NBA. He would probably play the 2 spot there and get eaten up by much quicker, athletic and stronger players.

He may sit on the bench in the NBA, but that does not equal Playing in the NBA.

EC
I am so angry about what u said bout Joe. How DARE you make an extremely harsh judgement about someone you dont even know! The one with the attitude problem is Phil Smyth. As Joe went up for the 3 he was yelling out "step off him, he wont make the shot" which is why Joe turned around and gave him a smile.
Joe handled it with grace, and how pathetic for Phil to heckle a 19 year old kid.
Joe does not have an attitude problem either, maybe if you actually knew him then you could make a judgment.

No I don't know Ingles personally just like many who watched him play on Saturday night. I am no fool as to deny that what I saw was a magnificent display of basketball from someone so young. At 19 years of age he joins an NBL team and in his first year already in the starting 5. His game is what will get him a long way not any cockiness or attitude problems that needs him to stick it in anybody.

simply attitude or not it was a Monumentous (if thats how you spell it) cock up by the previous administration and current coaches to not have signed this Kid in the 10 not offer a f##king development spot.