IMO will need to start Johnson and persist wih him and keep Balls in the PF position. Johnson was a major off season signing with us and has potential so we need to see if he can deliver or at least show the potential he can get there. I am sure he didn't come over here from Melbourne to sit. Best way to find out is to start him IMO.

I like our current guard rotations and feel we are well covered in this area. I'd like to see a gun SF acquired e.g Liam Rush. If this cannot be achieved through either points or cap space I'd look at someone like Mottram to give us some more depth in the front court. If Balls go down for 2-3 games with his back we could be struggling.

The game I saw I thought the structure had been mixed up a lot and didn't know if it was MC's way of testing out players to get their best positions, or just the pre-season experimentation. It looked like a lot of the rotation was 3 guard, but MC "Hammer" was obviously testing players.

The ball carrier was mixed up a far bit, but generally down to a couple of players. It looked like Jeff Dowdell even had a go a couple of times. Generally, the talls were as expected. IMO Ballinger seems more comfortable at 4 than 5, but only he knows how he feels.

I think we are going to go for a very fast team this year. They seemed to want to get it up there quickly and without much risk, which is smart. Don't be surprised if there is a lot of penetration and kick out for a 3PA, or plenty of "sucker fouls" to go for the FT. They liked to swing it more in the game I saw. The last few seasons I thought we hung onto it for too long and then we got a bad shot off before the shot clock. Reckon this year we will see a more effective, but fundamental offence, which to me would be:

* Get the ball down court quickly and safety
* Score quickly if you can
* Attack, penetrate and if met with opposition, kick out for a shot
* If not, Swing and look for gaps, or
* Swing and look for a 3PA

Every play needs to end in either a good shot on goal, or a foul on them.

The foul count in the pre-season games has been pretty high as well, which signals to me that defence will be pretty hot this season. Deny, deny, deny. Reckon we'll see some good, but clever fouls. I don't think too many shots will be put up without a palm in their face. Reckon it'll be "Hammer Time" at the Dome.

I cannot see Daly being signed this season, I am guessing he is just filling the gap until Herby's replacement is settled. IMO it is an indication on the direction the coaches are taking for the replacement, not taking Sam, so I think we can expect a smaller replacement.
DJ will start, there is just no logic not doing so!
As mentioned, he was a priority signing.
Dowdell has impressed me, think he will give us a lot more than we are expecting.

Ok, so a couple of you still expect Johnson to start. That was what I thought too, when we signed him. I'm just a bit concerned, because from what I hear, he has not been playing a whole lot of minutes. If the coach is expecting to start him, you'd think he'd be getting as many minutes as possible in the pre-season. Does anyone have an inkling as to why this is not happening? Is it an injury niggle, or what?

The other thing I wanted to know was if Holmes is primarily playing as a big? If he does that and we can get good minutes out of Johnson and Dowdell, I think we have enough (just) in the frontcourt.

But if that is what is happening, then Hill is going to have to step it up at the 3, because he is the only wing with any size on the team.

One more thing, does anyone think there is a chance Carter starts at the point and Winder and Devries complete a small, aggressive 3 guard rotation with Balls and either DJ or Holmes doing the rebounding and interior D?

The game I saw was very much outside-orientated. We only had one or two post entries for the first 3 quarters and then went inside a bit more at the end.

Generally our possessions were slow once we crossed half court, we stuck to the offensive structure to the point without throwing up a stupid shot even if it took us to a violation.

DJ came off the bench and Dowdell looked far better.

I didn't see Holmes play SF for more than 5mins. Which is a very good thing and the reason another average big would be surplus.

Winder looked our best PG but went to a wing when both he and Carter were on court. I think I recall a Carter/Winder/DeVries/Balls/Holmes lineup at one stage.

Probably worth mentioning that Jake was the one defending the centre when he and Balls were on the floor at the same time. I guess Balls' offensive output when being defended by bigger opponents is the main worry. Holmes defending centres isn't a worry for me, in fact he's probably more reliable than DJ despite giving up 10cm. He won't block too many shots but he won't be backed down either and is amazing when it comes to boxing out bigger guys.

Daly will be a garbage time player IMO and luckily I think we do already have enough to cover for Herbie as long as DeVries can successfully play the 3 for 10-15 minutes a game.

From the 15 mins I've seen of the team, I was impressed by Carter's control at the point, so I think the three guard lineup could work well at times. Could we see an opening night lineup like this?

Carter Ng
Winder Daly or ?
Devries Hill
Ballinger Dowdell
Holmes Johnson

It was nice to see a bunch of guys who could find the open man and make shots! That alone will make for a better year I think.

We are still going to struggle to counter the Wortho's of the world and if teams are able to establish guys like Schenscher, Nevill or Khazzouh down low that is going to hurt too.

Other than that, the jury is out. I'm looking forward to see how the team goes in the NT this week. I'm hoping to see that our little guys can pressure the ball and cause turnovers and that DJ and Dowdell are going to have an impact.

An interesting possibility Anon. The thought crossed my mind that Clarke could be keeping DJ under wraps. I'm just not sure he could afford to do that, though, when he's got a young player in a critical position that he needs to integrate with the rest of the team.

On good authority ..... word on the street is the 10th player isn't Daly or Harris. I'm just saying and I'll stand corrected where I sit, but that's the word on the street. Signing is very close.

Moses I hope your right we have 8 points to spend and if we signed either Daly or Harris I would have been very disappointed,

I agree with Big Sexy, in that i hope Moses is right. does anyone know who the potential signing could be? according to Boti, Aaron Bruce and Markovic have been approached but both showed disinterest as they are happy where they are.

Lian Rush

Liam Rush is currently listed at 9 points, so as much as i would like to see him in a 36ers uniform, i dont think it can happen.

I dont think Carter will start any games, but he will certainly finish a lot of games. Clarke has a perference to protect lead with good ballhandlers, 5 out, ball movement, get to the rack, should be entertaining. ( noting accurate observations from Zztatik )

DJ will start as soon as his board work improves. Pre-season rebounding was the only obvious weakness i noticed in his game.

Tactically, the big difference this year will be the approach to the way games are finished.

Moses; is the player they are signing to replace Herbie a positive, negative or a line ball from your perspective?

Patience Tornado, patience. Not long to go. You'll be happy. Hard to say better than Herbie - is different - but you'll be happy.

You suggesting Brett Maher coming out of retirement Moses?

Ballinger put up his best numbers when he spent most the game at 4 when Sam Harris was playing. Even though Sam Harris didn't do a lot it really freed up Balls to score much more. So perhaps the signing has to be Sam Harris and just persist with him or as mentioned above persist with big DJ at the 5.

You have me intrigued Moses. How about another hint?

I like the sound of Liam Rush. Any chance we could get him re-rated to 8 to squeeze him in?

Tornado and Beantown, hope you're smiling now. Rhys Carter, Mitch Creek, Daniel Johnson - patience folks. Coach is building a team and whilst they won't win this year, let him build the team. We just have to hope that one day soon, the club let the coach pick his own team without interference/selection from owners. Proof is in the pudding.

Re Creek - the cat can play.

Moses, are you saying Marty is not picking these players?

Other teams have elected to play small ball too. New Zealand run Pledger off the bench and otherwise have Vukona (small PF) and Wilkinson (PF rather than C) in their frontcourt. Blaze aren't giant either - Petrie, Pero, etc. Perth have Matt Knight who wouldn't be more than 6'9". Wollongong have Behrendorff but barely play him off the bench - their frontcourt is Davidson, Gruber and Forman.

Let's see how Perth fare against the Tigers today.

Yes - i think so - Many of us coaches from afar
want him to start johnson ; but hearing him open up on the way he handled him for the game against his ole team and his potential to start - I think he's gotta a great coaching talent.

"Its on", am I saying the coaching isn't picking the team? The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree with that one but you be the judge. I'm just saying to be patient with what he's trying to build and give him the reins. You won't be disappointed.