What a round for blowout wins. The average winning margin this week was 24 points. Thank the 36ers for not getting that badly beaten of the average margin would be a whole lot worse.
Crocs take out the 36ers, 79 – 69
The season for the 36ers seems to have hit a plateau, only problem is that plateau is on the level of mediocrity.
With the loss of their inspirational leader and their most potent offensive weapon Adam Ballinger for most of the season bar a few comeback trials, the 36ers outlook wasn’t good early on in the season, the arrival of Diamon Simpson changed that view and the outstanding play of young big man Daniel Johnson gave 36ers fans some form of hope for more than another wooden spoon.
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| The 36ers season has been full of disappointment |
Johnson provided the only real production in this game for the team from Adelaide with his huge game of 21pts and 16reb and showing dominance on the offensive end and on the boards, something he is becoming more accustomed to while putting himself in front runner standing for most improved player.
Only problem for Johnson was the rest of his team couldn’t lift to the level of his play with only Chris Warren and Nathan Herbert bothering to show up to help out, Warren with 13pts 3reb but also committing 5 turnovers and Herbert with 11pts and 5reb.
Adelaide had a total of 5 assists for the whole game as a team, something that doesn’t show a good sign for any team on the offensive end and an issue that needs to be addressed if they are to pass on the wooden spoon award to another team this year.
The Crocs were a little more balanced on both ends of the floor which showed the results in the final score.
Even though Luke Schenscher was having trouble controlling Daniel Johnson on the defensive end his presence and return to the Crocs line up provided some form of size in the paint to change shots and provide a target on the low block on offence, Big Luke is playing himself back into game shape and had a reasonable 10pts and 7reb, his return will definitely be a big boost for the Crocs going into the latter half of the season.
Import Eddie Gill lead the way with his 17pts 7reb, the veteran point guard steers the ship for the Crocs and provides a cool head and tremendous ability to control the offence, Jacob Holmes, who deservedly signed a long term deal with the Crocs had another double double with 10pts 10reb, Peter Crawford continuing his productivity with 14pts and Michael Cedar seems to be finding some resemblance of form with 13pts.
The Crocs needed this win to have any hope of staying in the race for the playoffs, but with a follow up game in this round against the in form Wildcats in the Jungle, they will need to raise it to another level in a short space of time to keep that dream alive.
Breakers smash the Kings, 93 – 64
The Kings recently had been running on adrenaline after the loss of Aaron Bruce and showed a lot of heart against the league leading Wildcats last round, unfortunately that spark wore off against the other top team in the league and the Kings got a right royal spanking from the form team of the competition in the Breakers.
Julian Khazzouh did what he usually does and dominated the game for the Kings, having a low post scoring threat like JK keeps the Kings able to at least be competitive, his 20pts 8reb is close to his season averages and his consistency on both ends of the floor the only real positive sign the Kings have to grab onto.
Anatoly Bose was the only other double figure scorer in this game for the Kings with 13pts 7reb 3ast, his production has undeniably put him in the driver’s seat for Rookie of the Year honours, knowing he will be part of the Kings roster for the foreseeable future gives Kings fans some hope of a revival in the harbour city.
The Breakers on the other hand are without a doubt the form team of the competition right now and a 29 point victory shows they are more than just a potent offensive team, they have also become much tougher defensively.
While there were only 3 double digit scorers for the Breakers, the entire team apart from development player Dion Prewster scored and had points against their name in the box score.
Gary Wilkinson again lead the way and has been one of the league’s most consistently productive players this season with 18pts 5reb, while not the greatest rebounder, Wilkinson does play good defence and is a great help defender which could be a reason why, helping on a defensive assignment leaves other players to rebound when he helps.
Thomas Abercrombie is showing signs of improvement with more consistency week after week, while his athleticism is what is most often talked about, his consistency and production this year are proving he is becoming a smarter and more reliable player more than just a highlight reel.
Cedric Jackson was the other double figure scorer with his 10pts but it is his rebounding ad assist numbers that are the best parts of his game, a great rebounder for a guard he would more than likely be second only to Damian Martin of the Wildcats for rebounding numbers for a point guard and his assists and constant bordering on triple doubles week after week that proves he is a very versatile player who needs to be scouted well.
The Breakers are in a fantastic battle with the Wildcats for top spot on the Ladder, when these 2 teams meet for the first time this season, it’s going to be an epic blockbuster game to be watched by all.
Hawks back on the rise, defeat Tigers, 90 – 68
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| Walker arguable looks better in a mask |
To describe the Tigers of late we will have to nerd it up a little and use the term coined by Unicron in the original Transformers cartoon movie “Proceed, on your way to oblivion”.
After the highly reported shenanigans of owner Seamus McPeake and what is now being referred to as Ubakagate after the sensational firing of the Tigers import, the Tigers just seemed to have lost all momentum and sense of team harmony and chemistry, this game reinforced that fact as they came up against a desperate Hawks team and matchup with their former import.
Even the introduction of new import Myron Allen fresh off the plane to play against the Hawks and a near triple double while dealing with jetlag with 17pts 9reb 6ast, the Tigers were just in a complete shambles.
League leading scorer Cam Tragardh was nowhere to be found with just 4pts and 2reb, only Liam Rush with 18pts 6reb and Ron Dorsey with 12pts and 3ast showed any semblance of the team that were the Tigers for most of the season.
The major question hampering the Tigers and their fans is their rotation, why is Matt Burston playing only 16 minutes a game when the Tigers are being outsized most nights in the paint, why is Trigger playing most of his minutes at the 5 spot, when is Daniel Dillon going to be the player the Tigers hoped they had signed?
The Hawks had been down of late, but there is fight in the old dog left, and it was the old dogs of the Hawks who lead the way, Matt Campbell leading the way with 17pts and the Glen Saville of old with 13pts 9reb providing the driving force of a Hawk resurgence.
Former Tiger Ayinde Ubaka played his first game as a Hawk against his old team and had a 15pt 4reb 3ast outing to give his old boss a little “how ya like me now” flavour. Oscar Forman with 10pts 3reb and Joevan Catron with 12pts 5reb rounded out the scorers for the Hawks. This win had been a long time coming and was a much needed morale booster for the Hawks, with any luck it could just change their season and at least provide some positive signs that can be built on.
Perth destroy Townsville, 87-55
An unenthused Townsville unit dried off their rain soaked clothes a trekked West to enjoy the summer sun. A clumsy start by the Wildcats and some streaky shooting kept the Crocs in the game; but not for long. The Crocs own mistakes were the beginning of their undoing, looking inside to Luke Schenscher who was being frustrated by the equally tall Luke Nevill. The Crocs also failed to look after the ball; at times looking unlikely to even get it past their back court. The tone of the night was eventually set when Peter Crawford gave up after having the ball stolen by Brad Robbins who went on to an uncontested layup.
Coach Woolpert is a very boring coach to watch when he isn’t telling the referees what he really thinks. The Cats defence had the Crocs in a death grip and barrel roll. A rare let down in letdown in defensive pressure saw Todd Blanchfield with a dunk, As Todd back down the court you could see the shocked look on his face that get got the basket so easy. The other highlight for the Crocs was PC forcing Greg Hire to commit the foul on the three point shot leading to a four point play, the second for the league in 2 weeks.
When things were looking dark for the Crocs the Wildcats came out and went on a 14-0 run before a set of Blanchfield free throws stopped the run. From there both teams treaded water and the Crocs found themselves on the wrong side of a 32 point shellacking.
With the referees allowing a greater than usual level of contact the Wildcats could do what they do best, body up and play tight. Instead of playing the game the same way Townsville opted the shrug the shoulders and complain to the referee tactics. It isn’t so much that Townsville turned their attentions to complaining but more so that their heads were never in the game. Never at one stage did they look interested. Perth ran rings around Townsville because Townsville let them.
Townsville have a busy schedule over the next few rounds and can’t afford to dwell on this. Yes they got waxed but it’s time to move on and put themselves in a position to play finals basketball. 10 turnovers from their starting back court is a cause for concern. The Crocs need to bring the ball up the court as a team and not try to beat the press singlehandedly. Jacob Holmes was the pick of a stock exchange bunch. Holmes finished with 14 points and 11 boards.
Perth showed that the team that plays together wins together. Luke Nevill playing the ultimate teammate role dishing out 6 assists and added 11 points and 2 blocks to the teams tally. Shawn Redhage top scored with 16 points and grabbed 6 boards whilst Jesse Wagstaff continues his red hot form finished with 13 points, 4 boards and 4 dimes. Kevin Lisch added another 15 points.
Blaze dominate Taipans, 76-49
In a round with blowout victories the Blaze handed the Cairns Taipans a good old fashion ass whupping. Much like their neighbouring Crocs the Snakes never looked like part of the game, their minds distant in some sort of alternate universe where where they play crips fast pace high scoring basketball.
In the lowest score for the season the Taipans were just horrible, being caught half a step behind all night. Cairns
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| The only thing uglier than this sweater is the Taipans |
This does not mean that the Blaze weren’t without their flaws. The team that likes to run and gun still got caught in Cairn’s slow paced style and shot an unimpressive 41% from the floor including 4/19 from outside. To the Blaze’s credit they did rebound well, winning the battle of the boards 42-27, offensive rebounds 17-8.
Gold Coast had this game wrapped up by three quarter time, if not half time. Mark Worthington almost scored more than the Taipans. Wortho finished with a game high 17 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Anthony Petrie, Adam Gibson and Adris Deleon all finished with 10 points each but Deleon’s 7 boards (4 of them offensive) put him higher in the pecking order. With the right combination of teams losing this week the Blaze have found themselves in the top four; are the Blaze ready to surge? It would be a great time in the season to find some form.
Alex Loughton scored 12 points at an efficient 6/7 from the field whilst Jamar Wilson had a game he would rather forget going 2/11 from the field.
Can’t Buy a Damn Thing Award
One would think that the Crocs should get this one for the ‘effort’ against the Wildcats but they weren’t really playing basketball that night. It is their Thursday night opponents that take this metaphoric cake this week.
The 36ers managed a terrible 5 assists as a team against the Crocs on Thursday night. When comparing it to the 20 turnovers they racked up it leave a hardly impressive assist/turnover ratio of 0.25. Yuck!
Put it this way, the Kings got more blocks (6) than the 36ers, the Breakers had 2 players get 5 assists, Myron Allen got 6 assists for the Tigers, and Brad Robbins got 5 steals against the Crocs a few nights later. Gimme my Change Award
Ayinde Ubaka got the last laugh this week. A fortnight after being kicked to the curb by Melbourne Tiger’s honcho Seamus McPeake Ubaka found himself suiting up against his old comrades and not only got the huge win but finished the game with 15 points, 4 boards, 3 assists and three steals. Not bad stats in 21 minutes on the floor.
Keep smiling Ayinde, don’t let the man who wears the “big pants” get you down.
