This was a bad week for injuries in the NBL. Matty Knight was ruled out early with a strained calf, Kings guard Aaron Bruce will miss the rest of the season with a fractured leg, James Harvey has been penciled in ac ‘out indefinitely’ and Chris Goulding fell to the floor clutching his knee. Did we miss anyone?
Wildcats make short work of Blaze, 92 – 80
If recent history was anything to go by, the Blaze have been one of the bogey teams for the Wildcats and coming into the Jungle, the Blaze wanted to solidify that fact even further. Early on in the game it was looking as though the hoodoo for the Cats was going to continue, but just as it seemed the Blaze were going to make it a long night for the Cats, the league renowned defence kicked in and the Cats started to gain control.
Adris “2Hard2Guard” Deleon was finding it too hard to score and even though he ended up with a team high of 18pts to go with his 7reb and 5turnovers he was given a lesson in lockdown defence from Damian Martin who was instrumental in holding Deleon to 6/17 from the field.
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| These soldiers have lost their sea-legs |
Chris Goulding looked like he was primed for a big game but a horrible knee injury saw him taken out of the game early with a suspected MCL injury, we can only hope this is not to serious for the Blaze with the injury cloud hanging over James Harvey which may potentially rule him out for the rest of the season.
With the Cats defence in top form, the rest of the Blaze struggled for all of their offence, Adam Gibson shooting poorly on 6/15 for his 15pts 6reb 4ast which also saw him have a high turnover number (6) to go along with his running mate Deleon to have 11 turnovers between them.
Will Hudson played as good as can be expected against the Wildcats frontcourt, even with the absence of Matt Knight he was hounded by Luke Nevill and Jesse Wagstaff most of the night, Hudson had10pts 8reb and was also involved in the highlight of the night when he had a dunk attempt blocked at the rim by big Luke Nevill.
The Wildcats of late have been having minor issues offensively, being inconsistent and stagnant at times, they have managed to stay in it by defence and hustle, but winning despite of inefficiency offensively is a problem most coaches would be more than happy with, this game saw a little more fluidity but the Cats have room for improvement, scary for other teams considering they could do a whole lot better but are still dominating opponents.
In the absence of Matt Knight, Jesse Wagstaff knew he was going to see more minutes and he used them very wisely and went to lead the team in scoring with his 25pt output to go with 5reb and a steal going 8/13 from the field including 3/7 from 3pt range.
Shawn Redhage is still finding his game legs after last season’s horrific injury and is gradually playing himself into better form and regaining his shooting touch, Redhage had 15pts on the night but didn’t have the best shooting performance and will start hitting those open looks as we get further into the season towards the playoffs.
Cam Tovey while not shooting to well recently seems to be highly under rated for the way he controls the tempo of a game on both ends of the floor, being such a great defensive rebounder who pushes the break every chance he gets changes the Wildcats defensive efforts into fast break offence, not many do it quite like Cam and while his stat line may not be something to marvel at (8pts 7reb 3ast 3st) statistically, his control of the game and the ability to instigate the offence or push a break is something most dedicated Cats fans don’t take for granted and greatly appreciate.
Ever reliable Kevin Lisch did what Kevin Lisch does, score points, play lockdown defence and just generally hustle, even though he too also had an off shooting night and had 4 turnovers, which considering how reliable he is with the ball is unusual for him, he still ended up with 21pts 3reb 4ast and 3st.
So is the fact that the Cats are the highest ranked team who seem to be not yet playing their best basketball a scary thought, well it was for the Blaze this round and may well be for many teams in the rounds to come, be afraid, be very afraid.
Breakers shut down 36ers, 80 – 63
The 36ers it seemed were a team on the rise recently, but with every rise there is always an occasional fall, this was one of those games when they faced the Breakers who seem to be in great form.
The 36ers struggled mightily in this game with only 2 players even managing to score in double figures and only managing a total score of 63 points, they seemed to be like a bottle of soft drink that had been shook and opened too many times as they seemed to lose all of their recent schweppervesence and were all fizzed out.
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| Daniel Johnson went missing |
Recent player on the rise Daniel Johnson struggled like no other time he has this season and had a terrible game with only 7pts 1reb and 4turnovers and even his front court running mate Diamon Simpson couldn’t produce in his usual way with his 8pts 6reb and 3blk which is well below his season averages in points and rebounds. The 36ers shot a combined 36% from the field for the game which in any language is bad enough, in hoop talk, that’s just a long night on the pine and one you hope never to see.
The Lone Ranger in this game was Chris Warren who had a team high 14pts 4reb 2ast and 4turnovers, playing Tonto to Lone Ranger Warren was Stephen Weigh who was the only other player in double figures with 10 but who also had 3 turnovers. This was one of the 36ers off weeks, and after having a few seasons of that, hopefully this is just a slight fall for a club with a bright outlook to once again become a team feared by most in the league.
The Breakers are playing Breakers style ball and are just rolling over everyone, with such a balanced team on offence, defence and on the boards they would have to be considered as one of the deepest teams in the league with players who are able to play all types of roles and do what needs to be done.
Cedric Jackson seems to teeter on the brink of a triple double every round and again showed his versatility with his 12pts 6reb and 7ast, he is bound to register at least one trip dub this season, the question now is when and against who will it come, not since Rashad Tucker played in Perth has there been a player who has been so close so often to one of the holy grails of basketball stat lines.
CJ Bruton saw his return from injury and barely seemed to miss a beat, the wily veteran may be getting older and entering the twilight of his career but he still knows how to get his shots and when his team needs them most, he had a 10pt output including 4reb.
But the main culprits again were Gary Wilkinson and Thomas Abercrombie, Wilkinson again putting up consistent numbers of 17pts and 5reb and would have to be one of the most consistent players in the league as far as week to week production is concerned, the Big Red Rocket is full of fuel and ready to blast off.
Abercrombie is starting to solidify himself as an elite player in the league and has also started to become more of a consistent player himself which was one of his downfalls in previous seasons and his 22pts 4reb 2ast 2st 2blk showed just that, were it not for the rebounding of Mika Vukona and Alex Pledger who each had 9, his numbers would have more than likely been much higher.
The Breakers are in scintillating form, but with a tough schedule still to come we will have to see if they really are as good as people think they are and if they still have that special something to make them a legit title contender once again.
Taipans steal one against the Hawks, 61 – 59
Things just seem to be going from bad to worse for the Hawks which is a shame considering how much history this franchise has throughout the years of the league and even though being in a small market who have been renowned for being giant killers and a team to be reckoned with.
It seemed as if the recent bad fortune would change for the Hawks on their home court in this game and fans were thanking their stars when the Hawks, after an average first quarter held a double digit lead late in the 2nd quarter and into the 3rd but alas for the Hawks, it just wasn’t meant to be.
In one of the lowest scoring affairs of the season both teams only managed to put up 120 points in total which represented well the struggles of both teams in this game.
The Hawks were once again lead by Oscar Forman who seems to be the only shining light in the dark season the Hawks are having, Forman had 19pts 7reb to lead his team and was joined by Rhys Martin who chimed in with 16pts of his own, but no other player even had more than 6pts which highlights the Hawks struggles.
The Taipans statistically weren’t much better but did manage more than 2 players in double figure scoring with 4. Imports Jamar Wilson and Andrew Warren lead the way, Wilson with 10pts 5reb and Warren with a team high 17pts to go with his 4reb and Alex Loughton, who is still struggling offensively at least did a great job on the boards with 9reb. Ian Crosswhite and Brad Hill rounded out the scorers with 10pts and 12pts respectively.
There isn’t much to write about with this game that can be given a positive spin, both teams struggled, both teams need to find a spark somewhere if they have any playoff aspirations, we can only hope for them that somewhere somehow fortunes can be turned around. In saying that, watching the final minutes of the game was intense, everyone’s heart stopped beating when Rhys Martin had a good look to win the game but the ball clanged off the rim.
Crocs edge out Kings, 118 – 114
On the other end of the spectrum, there was this game, which had a combined 232pts scored, almost double of the Taipans V Hawks game, to say this game was an offensive explosion would be a huge understatement.
The Kings were playing with some fire in the belly after losing in form player and starting point guard Aaron Bruce for the season with an unfortunate injury just as the team seemed to be on the way up.
Julian Khazzouh was unbelievably matched on the boards by team mate Graeme Dann, both players had 13reb and Khazzouh adding 17pts to that for what seems to be an endless number of double doubles in the season.
5 players had double figure scoring outputs for the Kings had had 21, yes 21 more rebounds than the Crocs which is just an unbelievable stat considering that control of the boards is usually a recipe for victory.
Young guns Anatoly Bose and Ben Madgen brought the highlights to their coming out party, Bose having a team high 25pts to go with his 7reb including a monstrous dunk that wowed the crowd and Madgen having 24pts including 4/6 from 3pt range.
Kevin Ratzsch was workmanlike and put in a 14pt 7reb 4ast game and Luke Martin with his 18pt 4reb 4ast game wanted to show that there is still some hope in the kings back court even after the loss of Bruce for the season.
The Crocs however just willed themself to win and had 6 players in double figures including another double double from Jacob Holmes who had 20pts 10reb 4ast, not bad for a guy who before the season ending injury to Russell Hinder was in hoop purgatory with nobody having interest in signing him.
lazeImports Elvin Mims and Eddie Gill were instrumental in the Croc victory, Mims with 14pts 5reb 2st and 2blk was only overshadowed slightly by Gill who had 20pts 9ast, who even though shot poorly still managed to rack up those 20pts mostly from the free throw line where he went 12/13.
Michael Cedar had one of those types of games Crocs fans know he is capable of, leading the team in scoring with 22pts 4reb and 4ast and usual suspect Peter Crawford with his 13pts 5reb 3ast game and Todd Blanchfield who had one of his better scoring games of the season with 15pts rounded out the stat sheet for the Crocs.
The fact that this game went into overtime proved that both teams season fortunes were on the line, the Crocs looking to solidify themselves as a playoff team and the Kings hoping to put a more positive spin on the loss of their starting point guard.
Unfortunately for the Kings the experience of the Crocs seemed to do them well and saw them to victory, but the Kings can take some positive signs moving forward that they are a team to be reckoned with and will not just be easy beats.
We wish Aaron Bruce a speedy recovery and a return to the Kings next season.
Blaze defeat Tigers, 73-60
The Gold Coast will be happy enough to come out of this week splitting their two game road trip. After a schooling at the hands of the Cats the Blaze resettled and regrouped to come out against a fired up Tigers unit.
With James Harvey and Chris Goulding M.I.A the underdone Blaze didn’t let a depleted roster deplete their spirit, shooting out to a seven point lead in the first quarter before the Tigers bought it back to three at the first break. After talking about things the Blaze took control of the situation and let their natural game flow though the league’s excitement machine Adris Deleon and his more rugged cohort in Adam Gibson.
Ayinde Ubaka appears to be a figment of the man who tore up the league a few seasons back. Although he shows glimpses of yesteryear he largely looks like a man not wanting to take control of the game. Cam Tragardh was finding it tough inside against the Blaze’s not so big bigs. But then again if 14 points equates to a quiet night (at a lousy clip mind you) that shows the sort of season you are having.
In a week for uneven rebound counts the Blaze owned the boards 50 to 26, effectively creating an extra 9 second chance points (14-5). Then again the Tigers aren’t renowned for their rebounding abilities therefore the Tigers being outrebounded is hardly an earthshattering stat.
The Blaze although with more inside prowess than the Tigers decided to win this game form the outside. Going 9/22 (41%) as a team the Blaze were led by Adris Deleon who finished with a game high 21 points (4/8 from outside) and an impressive 8 boards for the little man, Adam Gibson added 16 points (4/7 from deep) whilst it was Mark Worthington’s 1/5 from outside that bought the Blazes long percentage down. None the less Wortho added 15 points, 8 boards and 5 assists. Good Boy Mark, we all like a team player.
Cam Tragardh just can’t do it all for the Tigers, Tragardh shot 5/13 to finish with 14 points and 6 boards. Support was provided by Ron Dorsey (13 points, little else), Daniel Dillon, Liam Rush and Ayinde Ubaka added 10 points each. Hmmm, wait a minute these 5 guys are responsible for 57 of the Tigers 60 points. That means Luke Walker, Tommy Greer, Benny Lewis and Matt Burston are sponsible for 3 points in a collective 41 minutes on the floor. Very ‘Stock Exchange’ indeed..
Can’t Buy a Damn Thing Award
The Breakers v 36ers game wasn’t the prettiest game, not only did the 36ers get out-rebounded 50-24 (which if worthy of this award), both teams show in the low 60% from the line and the game was a blowout.
Given that there were 37 turnovers in the whole game not one team managed to capitalise on that and score a basket off a turnover.
Points off turnovers count: 0-0.
Gimme my Change Award
Sticking right on the theme of turnovers, the Perth Wildcats win this weeks ‘Gimme my Change Award’. Their hardnosed, in your face and on your toes defense managed to force 22Blaze turnovers, but what is more surprising is that the uptempo Wildcats managed to keep their own turnovers in check, losing the ball only 7 times in the game.
When a team forces you to lose the ball 22 times it makes it harder to win, when that team loses the ball only seven times it is near impossible
