I wish the Wildcats nothing but the worst of luck. Bunch of mongrels that are about to meet their fate, had it to arrogant for too long! 6ers will shock them in game 1, very relaxed and absolutely nothing to lose, makes them even more dangerous.

C'mon Sixers. Lets win this in 2.

No immature bad luck comments from me.
Good luck to both teams Perth to win game 1, hope it's a close series.

Cats in 2 I hope.

Fell free to stay on your high horse Steven, call it immature or one eyed, its finals time and Im a proud one eyed supporter. How boring to wish both teams good luck. Not junior ball, like highlander said there can be only one!

And that one will be Perth.

Jack Toft also wished both teams good luck!

Not so sure itll be Perth, the 6ers look very good, and matchup nicely against the Cats, get game one in a mini upset and Adelaide will be hard to beat. Worst case see this going to 3. Thats nice to wish both teams good luck, but seen enough of Perth to hope they sink like a James Ennis award... Cant wait till Monday!!!

I am over Perth and Ennis. I hope we wipe them of the court. Game 1 will be close but the pressure is on the Cats and Ennis has lost the plot.

We will rap it up at home in game 2.

Fair call kobe24. I want Perth to win as much as you want sixers to win. Bring on Monday!!

Cliché as it is but whoever wins game 1 is almost certain to win the championship. I think everyone involved knows this and Game 1 is going to be a cracker!

I don't mind wishing both teams good luck, Perth will need it.

Wish these we're best of 5.

Every one knows, Perth are the best team this year. Just like NZ was in the past two seasons. No pressure in game 1 for both team, still have another game left for who is down one.

Can't see Perth dropping this one, not to Adelaide, I would prefer the breakers than u immature no Iq and one eyed in anything that happens. So I don't wish u luck at all!!!
13 000 + tickets sold already and ready to booooo the fuck out of Ervin!!! Hope doesn't kneed to sit down for a while.

Just hope Ayleen and co don't decide the out come!!!

"absolutely nothing to lose"

Mick Malthouse said, after the heartbreak of losing the 2011 AFL Grand Final, that this saying is complete rubbish.

Compare how it feels to win a Grand Final to how it feels to lose one and tell me with a straight face that there's nothing to lose.

Absolutely nothing to lose based on all the Perth fans that have penned this title in already... so yeah, Malthouse can say what he likes, but the perception is its Perth's to lose.

Best of 5 would be awesome. Two home games each with the decider on neutral territory?

In my words it will a a close series,if Adelaide play D against Perth ,i feel they will win ,only need to tighten the screws on Beal and Ennis. Win to Adelaide and then come home and win championship on home court would be a dream come true.

Cant wait to see game Monday.

I hope and think the 36ers can win their 5th title, and will be hugely disappointed if they don't. But Perth are no pushover and if it goes to a 3rd game the odds are in their favour.

Personally I think the big danger is Redhage. I am yet to see him have a bad game against the 36ers, even in games that we've beaten the Wildcats.

I'm predicting DJ and Big Red to have a big influence for the 36ers. If they stay out of foul trouble and use their height advantage we're a better than even chance.

Redhage seems to do well against the Sixers. Just looked at his stats for v Sixers vs v Non-Sixers. He average +1.7 ppg more against the Sixers, but stats tell an interesting story:

Sixers vs Non-Sixers
OR's - down 0.1 rpg
DR's - down 0.3 rpg
TR's - down 0.4 rpg
AS's - 2.3 vs 2.7 (down)
ST's - 1.3 v 0.4 (up)
BL's - 0.5 vs 0.3 (up)
TO's - 2.8 vs 2.3 (up)
PF's - 2.8 vs 2.3 (up)
PPG - 15.3 vs 13.5 (up)

FGA - 14.0 vs 10.8
2PA - 9.0 v 8.1
3PA - 5.0 v 2.7

FG% - 41% vs 52%
2P% - 42% vs 53%
3P% - 40% vs 50%
FT% - 88% vs 75%

Shooting per 40 min game
FG - 18.7 vs 15.6
2P - 12.0 vs 11.7
3P - 6.7 vs 3.9 (+72%)
FT - 2.7 vs 3.4

It would appear that he struggles on the boards with the Sixers, but is chucking up 72% more 3PA per minute played in a Sixers game. He is also fouling at a rate of 22% more in a Sixers game than a non-Sixers game.

Overall, would appear he has a different game plan against the Sixers - play more outside trying to drag out opponent to open up lanes for drivers?

36ers don't stand a chance if the Cats replicate that clinical defensive display of game 2.As a Hawks fan, I wish the 6ers luck because you are going to need it if Perth are switched on.

For Ennis ADL vs non-ADL

Sixers vs Non-Sixers
OR's - up 0.8 rpg
DR's - same
TR's - up 0.8 rpg (11%)
AS's - 1.3 vs 2.2 (down 44%)
ST's - 1.3 v 1.4 (down)
BL's - 1.0 vs 0.8 (up)
TO's - 2.3 vs 2.8 (down)
PF's - 2.8 vs 2.3 (up 12%)
PPG - 20.3 vs 21.7 (down)

FGA - 15.3 vs 15.4
2PA - 9.3 v 9.7
3PA - 6.0 v 5.7

FG% - 46% vs 47%
2P% - 49% vs 53%
3P% - 42% vs 36%
FT% - 83% vs 77%

Shooting per 40 min game
FG - 20.3 vs 18.8
2P - 12.3 vs 11.9
3P - 8.0 vs 7.0 (+14%)

Going a bit crazier on the OR's and also jacking up more 3's against ADL. Fouling rate up by 12% as well. Assist rate down by 44% so doing a lot more by himself.

For Beal:

Sixers vs Non-Sixers
OR's - down 0.1
DR's - up 0.3 (17%)
TR's - up 0.2 rpg (8%)
AS's - 3.0 vs 3.5 (down 14%)
ST's - 0.3 v 0.6 (down)
BL's - 0.0 vs 0.0 - zero blocks for season
TO's - 1.8 vs 2.3 (down)
PF's - 2.8 vs 1.7 (up 59%) - over DOUBLE
PPG - 16.5 vs 15.2 (up 9%)

FGA - 14 vs 11.9
2PA - 6.3 v 5.0
3PA - 7.8 v 6.9

FG% - 39% vs 42%
2P% - 40% vs 40%
3P% - 39% vs 44%
FT% - 67% vs 87%

Shooting per 40 min game
FG - 18.2 vs 15.3
2P - 8.1 vs 6.4
3P - 10.0 vs 8.8

A lot more shots getting jacked up per minute of play. Fouling at a higher rate and another Wildcat with lower assists against ADL.

lets go 36ers

I feel the cats are the ones to play for everything. they finished top, but the 6ers have the most home wins so perth drop game 1, then suddenly the pressure is on. in saying that, they come out all guns blazing however what happened 2 months ago is over. there wont be e repeat of that.
game one, sixers by 2

Hawkeye with all due respect, the cats were just a better team than the overachieving Hawks. Wasn't really a series. Hawks just not enough options to go at Perth's defense.

Adleaide has proven they can lock in and embarrass teams with offensive talent just as well as Perth can. This series is very even and although Perth have had the hype all year with the big crowds, superstar imports, its means nothing now. Its 1 versus 2, and 2 has had their individual success against 1. Id rather play Perth than Sydney simply for how the teams matchup!

36ers own Perth on the H2H
36ers dropped Game 1 sans Gibson and Frye by 3 points
In the 2 Adelaide home games 36ers were up by over 20 both times
Perth win over Hawks not as impressive as 36ers demolition of Tigers
Tigers won in Perth, Tigers tougher opponent than Hawks

Would be interested to see Ennis' scoring in junk time as a % of his average

Beal is the danger man for the 36ers as too is Knight's ability to stretch D with his deep 2's. Redhage will be Redhage. Martin's offence the x factor for Perth.

36ers will work Ennis' apparent mental fragility. Creek will be amped for that task.

Just bought my tickets to Perth and GF ticks is any other Adelaide fans making the trip

FYI - Matt Knight also missed the first game and Jervis was playing his first game of NBL. Beal's first 4 or 5 games were very average.

Game 4 was a dead rubber for perth, not for Adelaide.

You don't mention the other game?

All that said, should be a very even series between two very good teams.

I'm sure that the Wildcats will also be working on Ervin's mental fragility. Hope he doesn't have a knee jerk reaction to it.

This is a series worthy of a best-of-5 IMO. Pity we don't get one.
I think the pressure is squarely on the Wildcats, both due to their dominance this season as well as the fact they've come up short in the GFs vs NZ. Will be interesting to see how they handle it. I'd by lying if I said I wasn't concerned.
Adelaide being our bogey team doesn't make me sleep any easier about it either.

My only wish is that the best team wins, and that the title is decided by the players & coaches, and not by the referees or injuries.
Would also be nice for whoever wins it to do so in front of their home fans.

I'm hoping for Perth in 3, but nothing would surprise me.

I noticed FYI left that other game out. Reality is these were the two most dominant teams all year round should be a great series.

Yeah, some selective memory there by FYI, conveniently omitting the Wildcats 85-61 demolition of the 36ers.
Neither team was able to win in the other's building this season, with both teams having one narrow and one large win. I really don't see how that equates to "36ers own Perth on the H2H"
Total combined scores head to head were Adelaide 334, Perth 333.

Absence of Gibson and Frye > Knight for impact on a result and Perth only just snuck in game 1
Full strength roster the 36ers would be up 3-1
One point or ten, facts are facts that the 36ers won the head to head this season.
No omission of any game at all simply stating the 36ers have been more dominate over the wildcats in totality this season. That trend will continue..36rers dominated Perth in 2/4 games this season. Perth just won one and won the other well.

I'm about to put a bet on so thanks for the heads up FYI. Perth to win

All I can say is, it should be a 5 game series.

Let's hope it is a greta game.

You can check out the Game 1 review on PnR now:

NBL 2013/14: Grand Final Preview - Perth Wildcats vs. Adelaide 36ers

^ How amusing

For all his off court issues and immaturity, it hasn't actually become an on court issue at all this season. He is far from selfish. He has forced shots at times but he isn't a complete hog like Sam Young. It would be good if people watched games before commenting.

"For all his off court issues and immaturity, it hasn't actually become an on court issue at all this season."
He's been cherrypicking on D and running over players on ridiculous drive attempts all year. Throw in him trying to prove a point, and it could get ugly.

Some good stats and whatnot thrown around jn this thread.

But re: Ennis, Kobe's right. And what's worrying for Perth is if Ennis (because he's the team's 'best' player) looks to take some kind of leadership role.

If he tries to become the voice, Perth will have problems. It needs to come from a guy like Damian Martin who has a level head and is an all-out winner. Ennis is just a punk.

^"Ennis is just a punk". Wow. I'm sure he appreciates the free character assessment.

Ennis has shown this year that he has a lot of maturing to do but with the likes of Martin, Redhage, Knight, Gleeson etc at the club, I'm sure they will have him in the right mindset for the GF.

A lot of wishful thinking on this thread that he is going to lose it. I think he will have added motivation, as will Ervin for the 36ers.

Immature, petulant whatever people seem to think of him there's no doubt he can play. Damo, Redhage and Gleeson will tell Ennis to pull his head in so I expect he will be focused on the grand final series.
Beal is the quiet achiever for us and if he's on fire gives cats a great shot at winning.

The Ennis haters are good for a laugh. At worst he is a top 3 player in the league and neither of the top 2 players play for Adelaide. Can't wait for game one!

Way to take my comment out of context, koberulz.

The last few posts have been good for a laugh. I guess if you guys wish hard enough that something will happen, it might just come true.

I don't understand, Vodka. This forum is about expressing opinion and you're trying to make me look bad by doing so. I'm wrong on Ennis am I?

Now I'm not even going to start on Situation's attempted justification^ (it's a wonder how such an explicit statement could be taken out of context), I know how it will end haha.

I don't know Statsheet, I've never met Ennis. My view is that labeling someone a punk is just petty name calling. If you think it is expressing an opinion, so be it.

It wasn't my intention to make you look bad. I've no doubt annoyed other posters with my view of some players in the past as well.

Anyway, we will know this time tomorrow which players can perform under pressure and which ones can't. Can't wait.

Seriously Statsheet,, you've got some issues. But be my guest, try and start another argument then blame me for it when you've made a dick of yourself again.

Situation, in what way was your comment taken out of context by koberulez?

Ennis is rattled - still cannot locate his silverware from the Yarra to give to his mum. Perth's number one fan @thesituation is rattled and upset while Perth will be one nil down by the end of the night.

Perth are mentally shot and had an easy series against the Hawks that will come back and bite them. Wright to out coach Gleeson who will have the weight of expectations on his shoulders.

@Steven - hopefully you didn't put to much of your hard earned on the Perth win tonight. If you want to make it up after your loss tonight put it on Adelaide series win in 2 with GMoney MVP.

Ennis has been involved in a couple of verbal altercations with fans after road losses. He had a brief to-do with Goulding after another loss. He was in the thick of the melee against Adelaide, and he did whatever he did last week after not winning league MVP. All that immaturity happened off the court ie there haven't been any incidents during a game where he has let his emotions get the better of him.

For koberulz to say what he said about forcing shots and cherry picking (unusual definition of cherry picking, by the way) is irrelevant and taking what I said out of context.

so much love...

or is it passion?

If Adelaide Play Defence like they did game 3 against Melbourne and If Perth play defence like they did game 2 against The 'gong its a toss of the coin...

The defence that both teams played in their last semi final games would have to be their best defensive games all year

Bring on tip off

If Perth don't win tonight it will be over in two if perth do win tonight it will go to three and game three will be very hard to pick... less than 48hr turn around for both teams will all come down to management of players and defensive structures...

Defence wins close games and both of these teams match up so well it should be a classic!

One thing i was shocked is that with the history of these twos teams and the rivalry that dates back to the 80's that this is the first time these two teams have ever met in a Grand Final Series!

#36ersnation

Ah yeah I see what you're on about, Situation. Fair enough. But in my book a lack of maturity can manifest itself in many different aspects of what you do on court, and that's what I've seen a bit fron him. Call the lack of effort and one on five stuff rookie naivety and not understanding the game or call it hubris, that's there for you to judge.

But he hasn't exactly gone close to fighting anyone, no. Apart from Ervin gate.

Woah, Gary Ervin just tweeted his uncle died this morning. Now he is gonna come out with some fire. Very sad for him and his family.

The Cats would be extremely disappointed if they didn't convert their minor premiership into a flag. The Sixers are just happy to be there.

Prepare to get disappointed.

The pressure is all on the Cats and their coach to pull this one off. Can they handle it? The Sixers have a great team spirit and it is the espirit de corps of a team that carries it in these situations. Do the Cats have the same espirit de corps? or are they a team of individuals?

Put on Triple J this morning as usual before work.

First song - Seven Nation Army.

Tonight will be huge.

If the teams are as fired up as we fans are then this will be one hell of a series

All the media wishing the 36ers all the best.
ninetvnews sport is 'live from perth tonite, ahead of the 36ers game.' e.g.

Game nearly a sell out! Under 500 tickets left! Just shows that it don't matter what night they play, there is plenty of love for the red army! Remember, perth was 14 and 1 at hm last season before game 2 of the gf last yr.

Should be good tonight. Would be criminal not to convert the season we had into the title.

But I don't think I should be too worried; reckon this will go much like the head to head. Home team, home team, home team, Wildcats to win all in the deciding third game.

Cat 4 life - And just remember why you were 14 and ONE.

We still need to clock up our annual win in Perth. Tonight's as good a night as any to do that.

Geez, cats4life, you just walked right in to that one!!

@TheSituation, ROFL

Advertiser front page - been a while.

Who else is hitting the Ark tonight?

He was just trying to fix Creek's, er, nose...

Yeah, anon, that's what I was referring to (because Ervin instigated it). Gaz is a little shit stirrer come to think of it haha.

But yeah Ennis is a punk, I'm standing by that.

Blimey! This thread is already 80 long and they haven't even hit the court yet.

Will try and make it to the Ark.

Isn't Ervin around 175cm (5'9").

"All that immaturity happened off the court ie there haven't been any incidents during a game where he has let his emotions get the better of him.

For koberulz to say what he said about forcing shots and cherry picking (unusual definition of cherry picking, by the way) is irrelevant and taking what I said out of context."
I'm not concerned about him being upset, I'm concerned about him trying too hard. And that's exactly what's behind the overaggressive drives and cherrypicking (or whatever else you want to call letting his guy blow by him and swiping at the ball hoping to cause a turnover that results in a breakaway dunk, or heading back downcourt if it looks like there might be any chance of a turnover).

Just as well this is only a Best of 3 series, if it was a Best of 7 it would send the state broke.

Imagine the Ticketek fiascos with four extra games to sell!

Perth will take the title in my opinion. Damian Martin can shut down any of the 36ers backcourt guys that may get hot, but I don't see anyone from Adelaide being able to stop Ennis or Beal. DJ will have to absolutely dominate for the 36ers to have a chance.

Extremely well said Vart

Friends trying to buy Game 2 tickets... site has had a meltdown.

All sold though apparently.

Full house on Friday!

How do we figure Adelaide has the better depth? Perth bats plenty deep with Wagstaff, Hire and Jervis outside the starting five. Burdon hasn't accomplished much, but U'u can also provide useful service. If Adelaide has better depth, it's not by any decisive margin.

I agree Nathan but thats what he said.

BTW perth in 3 & bring it on!!

I am a cats member for 2014 and I've had enough of Ennis. He can go any time he wants. I don't like his post dunk showmanship or alledged attitude with the all-nbl trophy. Together with his post match incidents involving goulding and the 36ers I'll be happy when he goes. Cats would have made it this far without him. Look at last years team. We had lisch and the same pretty much as we do now. Beal for lisch, not like for like but similar enough to git r dun! Resign dolla now I say!!!!

If no pise ass fouls get called! Aint the tigers the 36ers are playing! Ennis is a gun! Like him or not! Every code every one goes 4 the underdog. Its perths title to lose! Beal, martin, ennis, redhage and knight and co they are pumped!

The danger for Perth is that Adelaide really has nothing to lose. Despite the 36ers winning the season series, the Wildcats are rightly the favourites for the GF.

Perth are the ones under pressure here. It will be interesting to see how they respond. They couldn't get it done against the Breakers.

RET ROW RIXERS RET ROW!!!

Nathan of Perth - Are you confident enough of a Perth championship that you'll put your username on the line? Nathan of Adelaide has a nicer ring to it than Nathan of NZ.

I'll go BigAds of Perth if the Wildcats win the championship for a period of two weeks or 20 posts (whichever comes first) starting the moment Larry is hanging from Gibbo's neck.

Game 2 hasn't sold out, they've just put a hold on sales to let the queue run through. I believe whatever's left will go back on sale at some point. Probably best to follow the Sixers on Facebook and Twitter to watch for announcements.

NBL site has a preview write-up where they predict a Perth win in GF1 but acknowledge Adelaide's superior bench. Adelaide bench is averaging something like 36 PPG to Perth's 23ish.

9 current players have hit 17 or more points in a game this season for Adelaide. 7 have done it for Perth.

sixers admittedly have a deeper bench imo but unless injury or foul trouble kicks in I don't see it being an issue.
I'm prepared to be Steven of Adelaide if Perth don't win title. Are any sixers fans prepared to do the same?

They've put a hold on sales? Why on earth?

Ticket system overloaded. Need to process purchases so far before releasing remainder.

Imagine if they had to sell tickets to a Metallica concert or something.

If Ervin can take the I out of team and the sixers can manage some consistent strong defense and we shoot well from the arc, we just might get over the line tonight.

Aw man... it's nearly time.

Man, that stadium just looks insane.

So excited I may have wee'd a little. Bring it on! Come on 6ers!

Someone tell the 6ers to spend some money on making game 2 awesome!

Look at all the red shirts though. Will Adelaide have GF shirts for fans or anything at all?

Knight... not quite Goulding level. But still crap.

DJ unconscious.

Home court refs are coming out now...

Yeh, knight allowed to bump anyone anytime and schensher called for soft crap.

Sad thing is the home court refs are nothing more than expected in Perth.

Tony is awful on his interviews. So awkward.

Adelaide 36ers are being exposed on two fronts: #1 Giving up far too many offensive rebounds and #2 Too slow on rotations

Not looking good. ugh.

Totally the referees fault the wildcats are in front!Beal on fire, DJ and Teys looking good too.

pass the godamn ball to the post Ervin..let DJ keep shooting

Hire held Schenschers arm on that 6er offensive rebound attempt and they called it on Luke, typical of Perth but not good for the game. 6ers couldnt play much worse as far as lack of intensity on defence and allllll those offensive rebounds theyve given up, yet I fell like this is still going to be a game. And yes Tony Ronaldson is just awkward period, always has been from the days he wore that nike headband too his 'commentating' career.

NBL refs have always slaughtered big men, especially Big Red. Just can't ref them and auto call the foul.

We need to turn this around ASAP - getting smashed.

Beal on fire - I knew he would be the danger man. Ennis << Beal

Offensive rebounds are the big difference. Problem is DJ gets smacked pushed and held on the offensive in and it's a no call or foul on him or Schenscher, on the other end the wildcats can through themselves into the d and get a foul or jump over someone's back for the rebound and get a nice no call or foul. Off course it will be similar in Adelaide to the 6ers advantage on Friday. NBL refs just aren't consistent and get caught up in the crowd to much.

11 is not smashed, BUT if they continue to give up the offensive glass like they have it will be. 6ers havent had one transition layup yet, and we get them usually off long rebounds, if Hire is getting those rebounds then we have strife. We have weapons time to use them NOW!

I remember a few years ago they had Todd Lichti on Fox as the courtside guy in Perth and he was awesome. Would be a fair upgrade on big Tony.

How the hell was that a shooting foil?

Can we get the CCTV vision from the carparks to see if there are any brown paper bags changing hands? I think I saw Terry Lewis in the crowd.

My remote is about to go,through a wall. Another ridiculous foul call.

Damo in foul trouble will be interesting to see how cats handle it.

Has Jason made a shot yet?

Perth are teflon coated at home when it comes to soft fouls. Nothing too terrible but a constant dribble of soft calls their way.

DJ trying to hard now.

Wagstaff clearly hit DJ on the elbow that last play then creek gets called for a phantom foul on ennis, 4 point turnaround right there

Yeah, we're done. Didn't help ourselves at all with D, rebounding or shot selection, but refs have been f'n murderous.

Can't string stops together when stupid fouls are getting called and Perth just walks to the other end for shots.

Rebounding the big difference.

Perth flop. Stunning.

How many flop warnings do they get. Seems pointless to earn a player but do nothing about it, should be 2 shots and possession after the first team warning.

Petrie is the new Davis. Warrior.

Can't run Carter, Cadee and Gibson at the same time.

That's asking for trouble

A lot of 36er fans complaining about the refs. Have you not taken notice of the crappy shot choice of your team? And lack of boards?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcvAOpnnMK0

Should we start a collection to pay the refs more than Perth are so the calls can even up a bit?

We really need to mix up some very aggressive running with some good outside shooting. If the refs play fair we are still in this game.

Yeh, with us gettin killed on the boards, we really need to run a bigger lineup, have to be careful about playing ervin, carter and cadee together against the wildcats. Schencher is doing a decent job on the boards in the second half.

I quoted all of the above in the same post Kev. Have a read.

Where's Ervin? Carter?

Massive push off by Ervin on Johnson there before he slipped over...

Ennis not Ervin

We just can't rebound to save ourselves tonight :( No one boxing out.

Gibbo trying to save us.

Damn 2nd chances off offensive rebounds. C'mon Sixers hustle harder!!!!

2nd chance points 22-4, there's your game

Schenscher just doesn't know when I close out on a jump shooter and when to get in position for some boards. Chase knight for a perimeter jumper and.leave the paint open for an offensive board is bad decision making.

This still ain't over Sixer die hards. Stay positive.

It doesn't get cleaner than Gibbo's block. Horrendous.

Huge props to Teys. Stepped up lately.

True story Loco that was an Under 16's type block ....all ball.

That Gibbo block was cleaner then the kitchen bench at an OCD clean freaks house.

YEAH CARTER!

Even Carfino is starting to disagree with the calls.

Ennis a protected species

Still baffles me why Ervin believes he can take on the tall timber down low every time.

When Carfino starts saying the calls suck, you know it's gone south.

Perth fans not getting much opportunity to boo Ervin because he has hardly touched the ball

This "not a" jump ball rule is retarded.

Blow out time????

Make sure you buy your tickets! We tried and can't! Way to rub it in.

Rebounding is embarrassing. Perth is even getting offensive boards off their own free throws. Horrific considering we've played the 2 tallest guys in the game. Most frustrating game ever to watch. We'd be close to winning if we knew how to block out

37 free throw attempts to 12

Ok, usually Perth blow teams away in the last 3 min if up by 8 but ...............this is Adelaide!!!! To quote Mitch " yeah bitches!!!"

DJ fouled, or not....

May have been a foul but damn that was good seeing Peach just stand there and send Ennis sprawling.

Adelaide didn't shoot 40 foiled shots...

Damn iPad I meant 40 foul shots.

Love the cheerleader with the huge booty!

Ervin's shot selections... wow.

We definitely play better without Ervin than with. Ball gets stuck too much and then he tries to do it all himself.

Atrocious call. Ball was not off of DJ.

Got absolutely raped in the 4th quarter by the refs, Luke took the charge, Gibbo blocked that Ennis shot, we played as poor as ive seen for a long time.... yet it was aball game. This is still the 6ers title to lose, cant convince me otherwise after that game.

Adelaide may have lost, but I think it was a lot closer than many (especially Perth fans) probably thought it would be.

Bring on Friday.

Yep raped by the umpires but that rebound count is all on us and that hurt us big time. Good thing is if we clean that up and don't get butt fucked we have a shot at this.

Johnson played a great 1st quarter but was a liability the rest of the game. Horrible decisions and shocking fouls.
Schenscher should have been playing that last quarter the team was much more stable with him on court.
Ervin had a shocker tonight and down the stretch should have been benched.

Offensive rebounds once again DJ JUMP for the f@#king ball.
We played so much worse than them and lost by 7 points, no reason we cant come back and win at home if some brains get into gear.

Is ervin injured? doesn't look to have the quickness or the ability around the rim like he did in the first half of the season.

Good heart shown down the stretch by the sixers. Lost that game due to:
1. Rebounding
2. Refereeing, just look at the foul counts, and perth were the far more physical team.

Looking forward to Friday, still think we can win the series, win game 2 and the pressure of a game 3 means anything can happen.

Why doesn't Ervin do anything ?

And get your F*%KING HANDS UP ON D DJ!!!!!

I noticed there were some ugly mugs in the crowd with their bald heads and face paint - was that you @thesituation.

The boos on Ervin sounded pretty weak. I wonder if James 'Da Truth' Ennis is going to be on the end of it on Friday.

The O boards and Refs were the difference tonight -got ripped off but Perth nearly choked anyway.

Was closer than expected. Teys was great for Adelaide got a feeling this will go to three games but congrats Perth on the win.

Ervin wasnt that bad, its the teams lack of grabbing defensive rebounds that cost us. Ervin is still a guy that Perth need to respect for his speed and ability to catch fire. Was always going to be an uphill battle, but really proud to get it back to 4 after going down 14 in the fourth. I couldnt think of anything worse than playing a desperate and eager to improve 36er team in Adelaide when you yourself have already peaked. Cant wait for Friday!

Teys proved he was worth it today. Seriously took on the team and showed he had the composer and skill set to compete.


Just arrrgghhh so frustrating to watch us get screwed and rebound so badly to lose by so few!

As I posted earlier the boos on Ervin were weak because he barely touched the ball. Even sixers fans will agree he had minimal impact.

468098 - Differnce was this was a 7 point game, Tigers lost by 40, even if ref calls made a difference of 20 points, you still lose by 20. Tigers never had a shot to win that game considering how poorly they played.

Perth were pretty good in the 2nd and that was where the game was lost by the Sixers. Cats moved the ball well on offense and caught Sixers out of position. As said by Bear and Carf ad nauseum, second effort on offensive boards by Perth was the difference not the refereeing.

Sorry should say no shot to win that game

Great heart shown by sixers to never give up even if Perth had 8 players on the court up to the last few minutes.
I think the refs felt their performance might only be judged on the last few minutes.
Ervin needs to do much more, poor performance overall although he did get called for 1/1 fend off compared to Ennis 0/666.
Nice fend off from Damo let go also when he was on 4 fouls.
Great game from Teys, Ervin should have been looking for him at the arc after Gibbo retired.

Bring it on Friday. Referees Beware!!!

Yeah he just seems more stagnant compared to his previous stints where he would get to the rim a lot more.

Perth too tough tonight. Frustrating watching those O boards and agree some calls seemed to favor Perth without sounding like a sour loser. They obviously know what they're doing though.

Game 2 !

47 to 13 free throw attempts. That is all.

Great job by the Sixers to hang tough in a game where they weren't shooting well and Perth was playing well. Need to improve rebounding next game but I think Sixers can win it if they play smart. Not going to be a 47-13 FT disparity in ADL.

I'd be interested to know how many pts were scored by Perth players other than Ennis in the 2nd half. Especially the 4th where it was basically Ennis going to the line.

So the Wildcats had +25 free throws and had 28 2nd chance points and won by 7?
Load up on Sportsbet people for a Sixers Championship.

Eat shit! Game 1 perth! Il have a few tinis, wrap it up in 2! That was the best shot!

Perth lead 1-0. That is all.

Perth should be extremely disappointed tonight with their performance. With all their hype, they should have won that in double figures.

They probably will be disappointed, which means they'll improve on it on Friday night.

Good job "airball" heckler. We heard your lonely cries. With any luck the reinforcements will be on hand sunday.

Problem is only flights out of Adelaide that get to Perth prior to tip-off for Game 3 leave saturday. Hopefully the official carrier of the NBL puts on another flight to Perth on Sunday morning for those who can't fly Saturday.

Enjoy the afterglow Perth brothers, this ain't over yet!

Bedtime for me, school day tomorrow and body clock telling me it's 1 in the morning.

I see Ennis choked and crumbled just as terribly as predicted here. A pathetic 30 & 10 with 4 assists. So overrated.

Why didn't Ervin play? Did he miss his flight?

SACK MART.... JOEY WRIGHT

For all the bagging James Ennis has copped over the last week, credit has to be given where its due. He responded in the best possible way with a dominant performance. He played his role to perfection and was instrumental in the win. Many on this forum were saying that he would lose the plot but in my view he showed something tonight that will hold him in good stead for the rest of his career. He may still have some maturing to do, but he performed where it mattered - on the court.

The only import that showed he may be affected by recent events was Ervin.

No doubt Game 2 will be tight. Both sides will be looking to improve a lot of things from tonight's game. Hopefully the Cats come away with a win. If not, back at the Arena on Sunday for a massive game.

How many teams have lost a grand final after being up 1-0 in NBL history?

None in the last 15 years.

Woohoo! Game 1 in the bag, great start.

To the person who offered a name bet, sorry, missed the post before the game D:

Wow very mature comments like wildcats only won by 7, should of won by more. Who cares, it's 1-0.

everyone is saying Ervin was poor but Cadee did nothing tonight with quiet a bit of court time. Cant find the box score but I know he went 1 for 7 or 8ish or something like that.

@ Jack Toft,

We would have won it in double figures but oh my giddy aunt, the FT shooting. Looking at the big guys Knight and Jervis here. Collective 1/8. Hit those at the rate expected of your average high-school player and it goes double digits and game done and dusted before anyone bothers with crazy Gibson-inspired comeback attempts.

"How many teams have lost a grand final after being up 1-0 in NBL history?"

Last one was Sydney in 2008, before that I'm thinking Melbourne in 1996.

08 GF series was oddball, apart from being Best of 5, crazy to have 3 away team wins in a row in a GF.

The '09 best of five series was all home teams.

In fact, only game in a GF series since then won by an away side was, ahem, Perth Wildcats losing Gm 2 last year.

Grr.

Great result, now to beat Adelaide in Adelaide and wrap the series up.

47-13 from the line says it all really. Lets all remind Aylan and co of this stat on Friday.

A charge taken against 'Da Truth / Da Trophy Chucker' by Big Red within the last 5 minutes was a shocker.

Considering we were only 4 down within the last few minutes and the calls were going against us Perth are lucky to get the W.

Hmm, Adelaide must be the most hard done by club in the NBL , it seems they are the only team that never get home town calls.

A lot of ref bashing going on here, no mention from Adelaide fans of the disappearing act from Irvin,Carter, Cadee, and the wild out of control shots taken from DJ in the 2nd half, maybe if he'd tried to share it around a bit the result may have been different. Even Gibson didn't spark until the last quarter.

The foul count was 31-19 in Wildcats favour, but how many of those occurred in the last two minutes, you could say at least 6 trying to stop the clock, so the actual count is deceiving, and maybe not as lopsided as Adelaide fans would want us all to believe.

True. No one mentioned "Irvin".

Ervin, on the other hand, has about a dozen mentions above.

Haven't seen the stats, but we seemed to shoot a lot more threes than usual when we weren't getting stops / rebounds / outlets and opening up our running game.

The half court offense couldn't seem to get a decent look.

Didn't think that the mindless charging into multiple defenders, not getting bailed out by refs or getting a decent shot up, was a successful strategy for Adelaide. Should've been driving with an eye on the perimeter so guys like Gary and Gibbo could get better looks.

36ers looked a bit rattled once they went to and persisted with that. Hopefully a good sign that we got as close as we did.

Think you're on the money there, Isaac. Thought Perth did pretty well in conceding fouls that were side-line balls rather than trips to the FT line.

Perth needs to sharpen their shooting up, fell away in the second half. Also need to keep that rebounding effort up. Was massive, and probably the single most decisive element in the game. Except maybe Ennis attacking the rim like there was a Miami Heat contract on it, which had all sorts of wonderful flow-on effects for us.

The Wildcats have room for improvement as well as Adelaide. Matt Knight was ordinary, and was outplayed by DJ and Schenscher, and we actually looked better with Jervis on the court, he should have been played more, also Martin's foul trouble helped Adelaide with containing Beal in the 2nd half, as he had to assume the main ball carrying role in the 2nd half, a lot like what we expected of Lisch last year. Redhage and Wagstaff can also significantly improve on last nights effort, so whilst Adelaide can improve, so can Wildcats.

In terms of room for improvement, Martin only played 25 minutes last night. His spell at the end of the third/start of the fourth is when Adelaide gained some momentum with some big shots. Make of that what you will...

I know a lot of people love /Hate Ennis (and thats to me the sign of a really good player) But Im bigger fan of Dollar Beal. He slips under the radar a lot because of Ennis and Martin and co, but once he gets going he really cranks him up. The Wildcats have it pretty good at the moment being able to cycle through Martin, Beal, Hire and U'U'.

Its good to hear the Adelaide game is a sellout (or is it ? apparently some people are saying yes, others no)

Never a good thing when your 4xDPOY has to sit with 3 fouls in the 2nd quarter and miss about 10minutes of play. Needs to be a bit more careful when he's going for the steal. Seemed overexcited, hopefully a bit steadier in Game 2.

Meh, some games the fouls just seem to come in no matter what. I was more suprised Ennis had 0 personal fouls on him last night.

Situaution- Martin had to temper his natural defensive game due to 4 fouls, i'm surprised Adelaide didn't isolate him on the block more often in the last quarter, and clear out.

Who would have posted him up? Ervin? He wanted no part of the game last night.

Yes, for all the talk about Ennis' mental state in the lead up to the game, Ervin is the one who underperformed. It will be interesting to see how they use him in game 2 as many Adelaide fans seem to think they are better without him. I must admit it became a bit boring booing Ervin as he had such little influence on the game and never looked like he really wanted to get into it. Perhaps Joey will start him on the bench in game 2 to try and fire him up?

Must be his lingering guilt about potentially ending the Goulding lineage back in SF Gm 2.

Poor coaching if Ervin didn't want to be there, and he kept him out there, have the players on the court who want to play. Make the match ups work to your advantage.

I do think that when Wright and the 36ers fix up their import situation over the coming off-season, they should probably be favourites or near-favourites for the 14/15 title. Will take the squad from very strong to leaders. Suppose it depends on how things go on the Marquee front though.

Any truth to the gastro rumour someone mentioned re: Creek?

Beal was a huge difference maker - played exceptionally well.

Gibbo's 5th seemed like a nothing foul too - was a bit disappointed in that. No idea why we didn't go after Martin harder when he had the 3rd or 4th.

Nathan, that would be true if DJ remains a Sixer next season, but it looks like he may be heading to Europe. If so, that's a huge hole to fill before the Sixers can even think about putting forward a better team next year.

Ah, well, that'll take some creative recruiting. When is Schenshwatsit coming out of his contract? Seem to recall he was on a rather absurd amount of money, might help with the recruiting if they can pare some of that back.

Loco: Gibbo's 5th was a foul out of frustration at having missed a pretty straight forward shot in the paint.

^ Looked that way, yeah. He was probably our best shot of stealing the game in the last quarter.

Ervin, Carter and Cadee didn't seem capable of taking over.

Perth have a free hit on friday nyt, 6ers have to win not us. I think they will get the job done in 2, at the same time i wana see game 3

I hope we get it over and done with on Fri, im busy with footy on Sunday.

Gibbo did freak me out with that late 3pt barrage.

Why does there always seem to be someone late who just refuses to miss 4th quarter 3P's to scare the crap out of me. Gibbo this week, Clarke/Forman last week, other people like Goulding during the year.

Damned frustrating.

Lack of rebounding was our first problem,
secondly DJ throwing up crap and then the reffing a distant last.

Considering that we were not that far off.

I we rebounded the ball less fouls would of been called on their second chances.

Must admit watching Knight look like he got shot by Gibbo was pretty piss weak though.

Let's hope their accomodation here in Adelaide can give them the runs too.

Yeah, makes you wonder if we had some South African supporters who remembered New Zealand getting that very timely bout of sickness before a Rugby World Cup final in South Africa :D

I forgot all about the alleged gastro.

Is Joey going to complain about the umpiring every time the 6ers lose? That is going to get tired very quickly using that excuse after a loss. 6ers must find way to limit Ennis & Beal to be any chance of securing the victory. Surely DJ's shot selection must be better in Game 2 & as a group the 6ers need to be more patient at the offensive end instead of getting up shots in 6 seconds or less (i.e. Phoenix Suns)

The Game 1 GF reca is now up on PnR:

NBL 2013/14: GF Game 1 - Wildcats draw first blood

Perth is a single win away from an NBL championship after a hard-fought 92-85 win over a relentless Adelaide side in game one of the NBL grand final series in Perth.

When did Joey complain about the refs?

Gastro confirmed for Cadee, Teys and worst of all Creek. Joey didn't make a big deal out if it at all - "It happens".

Loco - Don't you watch TV or read the Advertiser? He's been complaining from the roof tops about how bad the umpiring was in Game 1. He did the same when the 6ers lost Game 2 against the Melbourne Tigers. It's a recurring theme by Joey to try to influence the umpiring in Game 2. Perhaps the 6ers could & should try getting more shots inside & also try attacking more off the dribble instead of settling for outside jumpers against Perth?

^ Been insane at work for the most part - legit saw neither. And no, I don't watch TV - that's what the internet is for :p

Someone here just mentioned the interview over lunch - first I'd heard.

I think we've covered off where Adelaide sucked - very few people even in here have argued the points.

Always hard to bring up the umpiring in a losing game without sounding like excuses. Still tough to argue with the 13 to 44 FT line. Hopefully we get the same advantage Friday night.

Anyone else contemplating heading to Perth if there's a third?