Ben Knight not playing. Teams warming up now. Gaze and Carfino commentating. Can't wait to see Khazzouh play as he's almost been the talk of the pre-season.

Whats with the dodgy graphic of a scoreboard???

Whats with the dodgy graphics full stop? I've tried every resolution setting I have and they render terribly.

Got to say I'm a bit disapointed with the commentary so far, theres no real excitment to their voices, almost just a continuous drone. Need to fix that ASAP if they want to get people watching

Too much chatting and not enough calling the play.

Sydneys second import to be sacked before 3 games.

Melbourne looking very very big and dumb

Yeh your right skip, thou the games has been a bit lack luster...in saying that a big assist and dunk and even then the excitement was minor, watch the NBA steve and emulate lol

Kings 28-19 early in the second quarter. For Melbourne, Nevill looks good and will dominate if given the chance. Helliwell has a haircut my daughter would be proud of and must - I repeat must - be tied down by his teammates and have his head shaved at the earliest opportunity. As for his play, he looks too big and slow for the NBL but that might be unfair alongside Nevill. Burston looks good, Trigger looks lost that far from the basket, and the rest aren't inspiring me at all. The team looks too top heavy, playing two legit 5s most of the time and it shows. They will be middle of the road at best and backcourts like Perth and maybe Adelaide, are going to give them fits.

Sydney look much better balanced. If they had one scoring stud, they could be OK. Kazoo looks strong and the team look to him, Grizz is back to Tigers form, Damien Ryan looks like a skipper, and their role players are playing like role players.

As for fantasy league ..... going nicely so far, thank you very much.

And One HD? Oh, who cares if the commentary is Andy Kay and Lyn Parnell? I don't. It's back on FTA TV and I'm loving it. Living the dream, baby.

"And One HD? Oh, who cares if the commentary is Andy Kay and Lyn Parnell? I don't. It's back on FTA TV and I'm loving it. Living the dream, baby."

Moses the reason I critized it is people wont watch if its boring to listen to.

Melbourne REALLY need to work on their passing, its killing them right now. Sydney still look much more settled

So so so was loving work knowing that the NBL was waiting for me when i got home

I love bball thank you so much 1HD

Moses, +1. Tigers looking awful so far.

Actually I watch the game and ignore the commentators. Both teams look like they need a couple of games to settle in to their structures. pretty poor and inconsistant standard to half time. Best move so far has been Mal Cooper to spectator.

Campbell's not been out there much. Walker's move was awesome, especially for a rookie.

My god, what is Bradtke wearing!?

Very interested in anyone who can explain the reasoning behind Trigger playing on the wing. A couple of crappy tattoos does not a wingman make.

If Khazzouh can dominate like this against a team of bigs, he could be really scary for the smaller teams.

Tigers could've had Hoare, Crosswell, Burston, Corletto and built around that affordable base. Current backcourt is not inspiring. Add Walker and Nevill, two imports and they'd be decent.

not the game i was expecting at all.

Does Yanev look like Andrew Svaldenis or what?

Dann just has no feel for the game at all

The big kazoo just hit his career high for points and it's not even three-quarter time. Coincidentally, he's the captain of the Pittsburgh Pisces in fantasy NBL. One very happy coach here.

It's three-quarter time. Anyone know how to update the picture for your Avatar/icon thingy?

Isaac, no way in hell Hoare wold have ever played for Westover again is what Ive heard.

Skip, have to agree, quite liking Khazzouh at the moment ;)

not the game i was expecting at all.

The tigers have the most immobile and unimpressive defence I have ever seen. Early call, but I don't think they can make the finals.

LOVIN' the OneHD broadcast. I love you One. NBL on my TV, doesn't get better. Commentary is fine.

Such a shame this game isnt in Sydeny. Imagine the atmosphere the crowd would be building with the Kings out in front like this.

NBL on One HD, livestats on nbl.com.au

Seriously good times, good times.

Khazzouh with 17 rebounds 3 mins to go, thats insane against the height of the tigers

Wow...this is a shellacking.

Melbourne proving that bigger isn't always better.

Khazzouh - 24 points, 17 Boards, 3 steals, 3 blocks and a dime.

SEASON MVP.

So now the game's over ..... how do I do this Avatar/icon thingy? Pisces for the NBL fantasy title.

Fat man will have both imports gone within the week.

And besides Khazz and Cooper, the Kings didn't look *that* good yet still killed them.

Grizz looked back to his best - the Sixers got nothing out of a guy that has quite some talent. Kazzouh is a star and will be hard to stop, but I doubt the Kings will win enough for him to win MVP.

The Kings will play with heart, but I doubt that will get them through a long season. Tiges on the other hand looked clawless. And clueless.

Big call Skip this early, are you offering me a trade?

Pleased to hear just then that Mahersy is calling the game on Sunday on ONE.

big probs for the tigers.......where is their instant offence going to come from??

historically slow starters,but.....looked like they were very badly prepared by the coaching staff!!!

tigers looked like all the scores were lucky and didn't look like a consistent offense- it was "hey im free ill shoot" regardless of whether the shot clock was at 23 or 5.

A few quick hitting points
-Jarrod Scoines looks a lot like Craig Reucassel of the chaser.
-Tigers were slow, oh soo very slow
-Taj McCullough came to life and that lay-up/dunk on Nevill was nice
-Devendorf is a selfish shot first player
-Daryl Corletto carries a whole heap when he dribbles
-OneHD need to realise that this was round 1 and not the grand final- they interviewed just about every single Kings player and coach- way too many!!!
-Kudos to Daryl Corletto (I did bag him a few poitns ago- but credit where credit is due) for doing the interview after a loss

Ahhh it's nice to see horrible recruiting exposed, especially when it's Melbourne.

That offense was just embarrassingly stagnant. Seeing Helliwell and Burston both camping on the perimetre at the same time is quite a sight. Burston had one effective cut and Nevill had a few but still. Devendorf was horrible and TJ wasn't much better.

"-Jarrod Scoines looks a lot like Craig Reucassel of the chaser."

Great call haha I noticed that. Kind of a cross between Craig Reucassel and Cam Tovey. Good calls all around Tyrell.

Way ahead of you skip! Luckily I got un the big man at $21 before Luxbet removed MVP betting.

The commentating didn't bother me at all but some player stats would be nice and Roger Oldridge was horrible. Hearing "basketball is a big man's game" three times during the first FTA telecast is not a good thing for the little kids watching.

What about his have a good week comment to two kings players, bet he does not know the kings play again tomorrow night. Would like to think ten are still ironing out some creases.

How many allys and dunks were there that Carfino barely mentioned. the mccullogh baseline right handed was rediculous.

Hope Sundays game will be better as I am going to a game for the first time in a long time

I wouldn't write off the Tigers just yet. They have a knack for being at their absolute worst early in the season and dominate the bottom rung of the ladder. When it comes to the second half of the season, thats when they awake from their slumber and start making dart up the ladder again.

Just finished watching the game. Things that stood out for me:
- Taj's high wire act is going to be good for the NBL. Great attempt at dunking on Nevill. Keep the highlight reels coming mate.
- Lucas Walker nice dunk and some good plays. Got burned on D by McCullough but showed some good signs for a rookie.
- Wasn't a very smooth flowing game, but I liked the physicality under the basket and there were some nice flashes of athleticism.
- Khazzouh great game, but get a haircut mate. That mop looked awful!
- I didn't think the Tigers guards were that bad. They suffered cos there were too many bigs standing around near the paint and so there was no cutters to pass to. Hence Devendorf, Campbell and Corletto being forced to go one on one and jack up crap.
- Dunno what the Tigers were thinking recruiting so many bigs. Their team balance was horrible tonight. Westover should forget the twin towers crap with Tragardh playing SF. Too slow and no perimeter shooting.
- I'd start Nevill, play Tragardh at PF and put another perimeter shooter out there with Campbell and Devendorf. Run Burston as Nevill's backup and dump Helliwell. He is a solid centre, but they just don't need him and he would do better on another team.

Also, how hard is it to spell Nevill? Seriously.

Agree re cutting Helliwell. They'd be a better team and so would the 6ers after we sign him an hour later :D

Lets just call him Big Nev, X. That'll save any embarassing selling pistakes!

lol that wasn't at you by the way. You spelled it right. Goood boy.

I can't believe it's only been mentioned briefly , BUT Eric devendorf kept melbourne out of the game tonight . Took way to many stupid
selfish shots even after that timeout prior to half time , they were gunna run 41 or something , came out and he did a lousy 1 dribble jump shot .

There was big raps on this guy and I was really looking forward to watching him . He was the biggest dossapointment for me by far tonight !

Melbourne have some serious issues they need to adress !

Tigers will look a lot better when Tommy Greer gets back on court . Just watch the impact he will have.

How many airballs went up in that game? lol
A lot of players looked to struggle with the extended 3point line and the no charge zone is going to promote players like Taj attacking the rim.
Khazzouh was everywhere all game doing everything, Sydney went straight inside to him at the get go and it paid off. Melbs bigs were rendered ineffective and their guards just tried to force it offensively especially Davendorf

No disrespect to Sydney, but Melbourne were terrible.

The Tigers were slow, had no offensive structure, culd nto contain anyone off the dribble, and had too many of their players playing for themselves. Devendorf was selfish and donright horrible, whilst Campbell was nearly as bad.

Nevill, Walker and Corletto were the only Tiger players that contributed positively in this game IMO.

A back up point guard at best, Cooper smashed whoever was guarding him. Khazzouh was all class and all over the court! That stint in Europe has done him the world of good. Ryan showed he can still shoot the ball, whilst McCullough showed enough to suggest he could be a very good pick up.

One's coverage was decent, they did not miss any game time through ads whcih was terriffic. As someone else mentioned, too many interviews with too many players before the game.

And I agree, what was Bradtke thinking when he left home wearing that top?????

For me, I think you will see a change at the Tigers. I almost fell off my chair when I saw a team with that size trying to run shuffle offence. I was screaming at their guards to just setup a simple 3out 2in with some on balls and lots of throwing it to the post. Not tice that 80% of the time the ball was inside they scored. Heliwell had some nice post moves but did't see the ball down there very often. Neville was good in the post. Tigers play Neville low and not in the high post.

As for the kings. Thought they would try and play a lot quicker. They looked slow at times also. Khazzour was a monster. Reminded me of Maric at WC. Cant see any Holmes, Ballinger or DJ being able to stop him. Damian Ryan was hitting some moster 3s. Remembering the line has moved out and he was still another metre outside of that.

One HD - I love you...... Enough said. Except for the pixelated scoreboard. But it was readable so who cares. I love you still. Basketball on Free to Air.

Commentators - I agree with the masses. They needed to create more excitement. Too much chatting or describing the reason for a call. Walker makes that wrap around his waist dunk whilst a guy tries to still it. I lifted off my chair at home for that (which my wife laughed at) but the commentators should have gone nuts. Walker wasd pumped, crowd was pumped, commentators were not. I was

I just dont understand how the coaching staff at the Tigers went about their recruitment. Did they think they could re-invent the way the game is played. While there may have been a few NBA teams over the years with a frontline of that size (although off the top of my head while I can think of some that played with 2 7ft-ers, I cant think of any that also added a 6ft 10" 3rd peice) they had some complimentary skill sets. The Tigers have 3 guys with zero perimeter game. Trigger playing on the perimeter is a joke. If you look back to when he left the Hawks I predicted on ozhoops that it was a bad move. He needs the ball a lot and within 10ft of the basket. He is a terrible defender and average rebounder so if he is not getting a volume of shots he adds very little. Last night on reinforced that belief. Nevill was good but struggled with Khazzouh. Tigers should cut Helliwell (not needed at all) and Davendorf and spend the money they are paying them both on a high quality 3 man who can swing to the 2 and a cheap back up PG (Tait, Kench or Kendall if he will play for peanuts). Start with Campbell, Corletto, Import 3, Trigger, Nevill. Gives you Greer, Burston, back up PG, Walker(who was impressive) off the bench.
This is so much of a no brainer. FFS

there were some monster blocks in that game, Melbs bigs are going to make it difficult for guards to score in the paint against them, that is all tho

This unbalanced Tigers lineup is an even worse idea than Barlow at point -- and it was obvious well before they even stepped on the floor. Everyone could see it except Westover (and McPeake). Westover is losing credibility by the day.

I like this Kings team. Reminds me of the first season Razors.

Mystro, possibly although Sydney managed to find the gaps in the tall timber way too many times because they are so static in defence. The rest of the time you just pass it round the outside twice for an easy open three.

I really don't think that was a real test for Sydney at all. NZ should be more interesting tonight.

FSTOS, I agree that a major roster overhaul is required. I was always unimpressed by the signature of Helliwell. The Tigers somehow think they can go against the trend in world basketball that has seen teams moving towards smaller, more versatile 4 & 5s. Tragardh has always been someone who needs to operate within 18 feet of the basket.

The offense starts with the guards, but neither of them seem to understand the Australian style. Given Westover's previously reluctance to recruit small guards, I was expecting Campbell and Devendorf to be absolute guns. Tragardh was, predictably, useless in his new role.

This is how deluded Westover is:

"The only thing I can think of is first-game jitters. It was just frustration all round," he said. (The Age)

At least the competition can get some laughs out of the Tigers after years of superiority.

Melb failed on the offensive boards even with all that height

Jacob, I'm not sure, but '41' might have been the time left on the clock rather than a particular play. The main thrust of what Westover was saying was 'we gotta get a quick shot so we can go two for one to end the half'.

I didn't think that shot Devendorf took there was really his fault. All his team mates were just huddled down near the baseline, not moving. Reminded me of the very worst of the Sixers last year. What was he supposed to do? They needed a quick shot, there was no pass on and the Kings were just waiting for him to drive. In the end I think his three rimmed out?

Anyway, I'm not saying Devendorf had a game to remember, but from what I saw of him, he has the tools to really help the Tigers. He can shoot the three and he can create his own shot off the dribble. Needs to look more interested on defence though, and to hide his frustration with his team mates, which was evident.

LC, no love for Matty Burston last night? I thought he was solid, apart from the embarassing sight of him trying to defend McCullough on the perimeter. He will also be more useful to the Tigers than Helliwell, because he has that extra mobility which they will need when Nevill struggles with faster big men.

XY you are very right in how static their D was with all those bigs and yet they didn't own the boards at either end, they did however get a few blocks but none of their bigs were able to dominate in a post situation on offense and no one could stop Khazzouh 1 on 1.
Breakers Vs Kings should be a great match tonight.

Mystro. There is an obvious reason for them failing on the "O" boards. Height is not as much of a factor in offensive rebounding. To use your height you need to get to the hot spots for rebounding and also get past the box out. Apart from the big who operates in the low block and can get to the weekside hot spot and pin his player (who is in the splitline help position) under the basket and gets O boards that way the rest requires speed, explosiveness and anticipation, somthing that none of the Tigers bigs have. Lets look at a few examples of good O rebounders. The most obvious is Dennis Rodman and I'll add a few with a local flavour such as Holmes,Vukona,Sam Mac,Sav. None of them are huge.

I should have added that the gig in the low block can get to the hot spot for out side shots taken on ball reversal or on penatration when his player goes to help

+1 on LC failing to mention Burston. He had a decent game for them. Wish we'd kept him in Adelaide.

Watched some of the game and congrats to One HD. At last able to watch on FTA.

Fair call on Burston. Missed acknowledging him.

Agree with the comments about offensive rebounding.
Another good example is Boucher for Breakers. He is so active and relentless. Uses his quickness to beat others to ball.
Looking forward to game tonight. We should be right if we can get some production out of Braswell and contain Kings big.