Dragons were not overly impressive but really didnt have to do a great deal. They never got out of 2nd gear as the Blaze (after half time) were inept.

I ended up putting a bet on the dragons line being greater then 3.5 points so it was a good night! Thanks Isaac for the tip!

Speaking of betting, what the odds David writes novels under the pen name Peter Carey? You know, with his views on punctuation and all.

A few notables from the box score:

Adam Gibson starting instead of Cortez and only putting up 3pts, 2rbs, 1ast on 1/8 shooting in 34mins game time. -bring back that 'most overrated player' thread and he'd be up there.

Mika Vukona- 10 boards in half a game.

Burston splitting the minutes at C evenly with Horvath and doing far better (16pts, 9rbs, 22mins).

Pero Cameron's statistics were full of donuts but then he ate them. -9mins game time. reaching the end?

SOJ (D.Joyce) going 0/3 for ZERO points in 26mins. TERRIBLE!!!

Cortez has been coming off the bench all season, no real surprise there.

Burston and Horvath will both share those minutes pretty equally and can only really see one of them firing on any given night. Neither of them are over dominant players but each can have 'their' night.

If Whitehead was back, and everyone else played, that many minutes for Joyce is crazy.

You'd think with a stat line like that, it would have taken far less than 26 minutes to realise his time on court was not productive. But then again, we are talking about his father having to make those changes. To me it sounds like a clear case of nepotism because the amount of court time given to his son is not to benefit the team but to benefit his personal development.

Isaac - Whitehead was back but IMO shouldnt have been. He was clearly hampered by his ankle and by half time was limping badly. He also missed a couple of easy layups and I think he only got 10 mins.

The one for me was Pero - Sure he aint the fittest guy on the squad but he needs to be playing 25 - 35 mins a game - his work on the low post demands a double team most times and then he is an excellent passer. This woudl allow Frank to slash to the hoop and in turn open up Harvey and Heal outside. Last night Pero didnt even get 10 mins on court and for 2 long we had 3 guards on court + Hawkins making us totally reliant on outside shooting. We ahve supposedly got an overload of bigs and Vanderjaagt as +11 if only we would start using them!

Oh and in regard to Cortez not starting - it seemed to work well with the team balance. He came off the bench and was clearly into the game with a lot of chest bumping and attitude. At one stage in the 3rd he got the hot hand - and in a flash the lead was almost 20.
Ingles was quiet and seemed frustrated as his shot just wasnt dropping - he even missed a break away dunk! He will definately have some games this year where he puts up huge numbers - very very talented indeed!
Worthington I think top scored for them and really knows how to get to the hoop. He is definately a player that every team would want and the one that every opposition player (and fans) hate. He loves to niggle/push and stretch the boundaries just to get the job done. He and Macgregor had a bit of a push and shove at one stage - ended up with Wortho dunking on him - emphatic way to get your point accross

I think what gibbo brings to the dragons is his defence more than anything. But yes he did have a ordinary game.

what is it going to take for Joyce to realise his son is not up to the standard (at all). Blaze have some impressive talent, wasting and rotting on the bench, young Demos CAN play, given the opportunity?!

We saw snippets in pre season this year and last year and nothing since. Is Joyce worried Demos will show up, out shine and simply out play his son? Well Joyce that is not even a challenge. Demos is all over SOJ, bite the bullet, swallow your enourmous pride and give the bloody kid a go!

It is apparent after 4 straight loses, that something needs to change.... get your son off the court and play some quality, powerful and enthusiastic players.

Surely the board/owners can influence change?

anon, obviously I didnt see the game but there is not much in basketball other than defense that doesnt come up in the box score these days.

Just the ONE assist from such a 'great floor leader' is nowhere near enough if he is taking minutes away from Tez who is just as good a playmaker and a far more dangerous scoring threat.

Oh and if he's not required to score then maybe he should put up a few less shots (1/8).

I know it's just one game and that Cortez can be effective off the bench but Gibson should not be getting 34mins on such a stacked team.

And just about Pero, to me it hasnt looked like he's been using his body to great effect in the last few years. I agree with Statman in that he CAN be an imposing presence in that low post. When you have someone carrying that kind of weight you kinda want him IN the low post rather than on the perimetre looking for cheap outside jumpers.

ok, 2.25 assists and 1.75 turnovers in 33 minutes a game as starting PG so far this year.