Kings by 6.

DJ killed us last time around. If we can keep Randle to human-like numbers and bully DJ we have a good chance, but hey, it's the 2016/17 NBL season, so who knows.

As is not unusual in this NBL season, tonight's game could easily go either way. Stating the obvious there. But Sydney might match up well with Lisch to defend Randle. The 36ers are sometimes prone to giving up easy threes, and Cadee would be keen to take advantage. Hopefully if the 36ers can't keep their streak going, we don't get a forum full of Chicken Littles. They'll have a chance in the rematch soon enough.

Don't mind Hodgson at 5 and DJ at 4 .
Creek made a good contribution , first game back.
Randle should get 23 , law of averages.
Still , Lisch and Newley are pretty good..
Gonna be very close..

Sixers by 8 points

Should be a classic round. Kings in Adelaide tonight and Sixers in Sin-city Sunday.

Some matchups aren't that bad. I'm interested in the Sobey-Cadee tussle. Lisch-Randell will be interesting.

I'm thinking tonight will be closer than Sunday. Sixers have won 5 in a row and need to change hands to keep counting.

Sixers to squeeze past the Klingons. "Prepare for warp speed"

Too close to call.

If DJ, Randle and Sobey all fire...6ers a good chance to win.

Hodgson at 5 and DJ at 4 allows DJ to use his mid-long range game more. Plus I think Hodgson is probably a better defender in the middle.

It should be a good game, I'm just bummed I can't afford to go tonight.

Adelaide by 10 (I hope).

Kings always look good on paper but I still think the 36ers form is too good to ignore. Adelaide by 8

The first of two crucial games. 36ers take both, and they are unequivocally the team to beat.

The team to score the most points today should take this one easily. - Michael Owen

NBL.TV not working???

Yeah Gazey!
Kings struggling for energy...
Moller in.
Moller rebound.
Moller scores!
Love that kid.
100% from the field in the NBL : )

High tempo start.
Randle and Sobey firing. DJ not so.

Very good game so far.

Yeah, good to see Moller get minutes (and a bucket) but it's going to be a long night if the Sixers keep shooting like that.

No charge call for Teys!!! Wow.

Teys just got reminded that Moller used to play Aussie Rules.

And wow to the dunk by Moller.. not a bad way to get basket #2.

Good to see Gaze subbing in Moller early. He's having some positive impact in the game too.

That should have been a charge on Moller.

The three was a bit ambitious by Moller, but other than that, great minutes.

I'd love to see that travel call on Whittington again, didn't look like a travel in game speed.

Hah Moller's having that much impact, the crowd's booing him. :)

DJ is stinking it up bad.
Costing the 6ers

Adelaide out for the 2nd quarter in solidarity with Breakers 2nd last night.

Are we planning on scoring this quarter?

Sixers have screwed up more fast breaks this quarter than the rest of the season combined.

I mean Wildcats 2nd.

Michael Aylen's calls leaning heavily towards 36ers... Tempo better not have money on the Kings tonight, could be ugly.

Craig Moller could be the Dennis Rodman of the NBL : )

This is easily the worst quarter I've ever seen.

If the Kings want to play zone, the least Adelaide could do is get Hodgson in for offensive rebounding.

36ers are fortunate Sydney couldn't even throw it in the ocean this quarter.

You could argue the same the other way. Both teams ridiculously cold.

Radnle is a ridiculous man

*Randle

This is easily the worst quarter I've ever seen.
It's the worst quarter I've seen since...last night ;)

Yeah that was incredible shot by Randle to end the half. So far I'm liking Gaze putting some faith in Moller. The kid can definitely play just need more playing time to build up confidence and get some polish in his game. He's long, athletic, doesn't shy from contact and has a nose for rebound.

The 3 was such a big part of Sydney's success to start the season, and it's really gone away lately.

Compare how much pressure Lisch can put on Randle without a foul called to Whittington who can breathe on a penetrating guard and pick up a reaching foul.

Was that Pero V sitting in the crowd behind the Kings bench?

DJ doesn't fire and the 6ers stink.

Creek looks underdone. Get him off.

A couple of 3's from Hill and suddenly Sydney are out by 9.

DJ is having a dirty night.

Good to see both Moller and Hill contribute tonight.

Not sure about that DJ travel, but I wasn't sure about Newley's either, so we'll call it even.

From what I saw so far about the reffing, Aylen got money on 36ers and Hogan got money on Kings :)

Adelaide can't buy a 3 or a defensive board right now. And once again we are struggling to score against a zone defence.

I think Aylen always bets against the Kings to be honest.

Creek must've bet on the kings too :D

It's like we're allergic to posting up Powell?! He's being defended by Ferguson for 10 seconds and we don't get it inside.

Stop shooting bloody 3's!

Good defence by DJ

Sixers in front by 1

Powell stinks big time tonight, probably why they have no confidence feeding him inside.

Sick game brehs

Lol, the f%ck is Powell doing!?!?

Hahhaha

Man. First, shock that Aylen gave it to the Sixers there, but what was Powell thinking... yikes.

Pretty sure that's a shotclock violation tbh.

I can't handle the NBL this year, every game is like a freaking heart attack.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Powell. Oh my...

Not sure if Josh Powell or Jaron Johnson

Powell.
Double oh my!!!

Woweee.
What a game!!

DJ with ice in the veins!

Good call Aylen.

Not sure if Sydney Kings

Or

Sacramento Kings

I could best sum my thought up about tonight's game with a series of special characters, and a lot of exclamation marks.

Josh Powell better be sitting on his own on the flight home.

If nice guy Drewy isn't ripping shreds off him, Copes and Vickerman sure as hell will be

Top of the league for one day.... Unless they repeat that result on Sunday.

!!!

The pass from Powell was shit, but I don't get why Maric wasn't in for the defensive possession at the end. Shouldn't have been Powell on the court in that situation.

Sunday is still two days away.


Let's not overlook Lisch's offensive foul, either. Utter collapse that final ten seconds.

So 36ers are the team to beat now , right?

Josh Powlel

NBA = Where amazing happens

NBL = Where anything can happen

Two stupid plays by Powell & Lisch cost them a game they should've won.

36ers top of the ladder :)

Joey Wright COTY in the bag already!

Joey didn't win CotY in 2013-14 when he took us from bottom to the Grand Final.....what makes you think the NBL will give it to him this year??

Don't be too surprised to see Gaze win that.

Wow Lisch had money on 36ers!!! Wow who'd guessed it?

Seriously though, Powell cost the Kings that game. His on-court brain implosions are starting to be a drag on the team.

TOP OF THE LADDER BABY!!!

Aylen surely had $$ on Adl to win.

Creek looked back at Lisch, stepped back into him whilst having a foot out of bounds.

DJ gets FT's when he didn't have the ball.

Newley got fouled at the end too.

Not a Sydney fan either, refs really need to be scrutinized more.

DJ didnt have the ball? So a ghost was bouncing it in the post then?

Creek looked back at Lisch, stepped back into him whilst having a foot out of bounds.

DJ gets FT's when he didn't have the ball.

Newley got fouled at the end too.

He'd lost control of it, no way he was even thinking of shooting the ball. He was rewarded for flailing his arms about.

It's all true, but you think you are god kobe so you must be more right than anyone else ever.

He'd lost control of it,

Powell had a brain explosion with that pass.

And whether Creek looked back at Lisch or not, the fact is Lisch committed a foul, not Creek. It was good play from Creek and perfectly legal, nothing to say you can't look at your opponent.

But without Powell's pass the Kings would never have been in that situation in the first place. That was one BIG stuff up.

It's all true

As a Sixers fan, must say the only thing I did not expect is to be on top of the ladder after the half way mark of the season- even if only for two days

Whilst dribbling, not shooting.

I can do that too.

NO, you are lying.

See, real simple.

I can handle you arguing that he wasn't shooting. But to say he didn't have the ball is laughable.

Whilst dribbling, not shooting. - that's a matter of opinion and the only one that counts is the referees and they thought it was shooting.

Kings DID look real good with that big, sizey 1, 2, 3 of Lush, Newley & Moller!

Love to see more of that Lisch-Newley combo in the 1-2.

Who is this Sportsbet clown

Methinks he was the one with the house on the Kings, that's why he's so salty and making up blatant lies

That was some awful basketball from both teams in significant patches. The resilience of this young 36ers group is really starting to come to the fore. Even when they're being beaten, they rarely look out of it. Some of those big early losses had them dropping their heads and forcing silly shots when they got behind. Then it becomes a blowout. Confidence is an amazing thing. For three quarters they didn't look like they deserved to win tonight but they stuck with it long enough for Sydney to gift it to them.

Still worried they can't hold on, but if they do see it through, the 36ers could take out COTY, MVP and MIP. Even if they're around the top bracket, those three would be a decent chance. Many other teams have fancied rosters and/or have made import changes.

Actually, if 36ers finish top four, I'd give Wright COTY. They've been a huge surprise. You can see how many energy he throws at them from the sidelines, reminding them about the little things - hands up, talking, etc.

Hopefully Randle can stay healthy.

Tempo! Tempo! Wherefore art thou!? ;P

Great resilience from the 36ers and loved how Joey keeps tweaking things defensively and offensively to get the best out of this young playing group.

Man, it's so sweet to see egg on the face of all those posters who came a little early in their assessments of the 36ers and then threw Joey under the bus.... Ha!!!

Good on the 36ers....nobody gave this team a chance.

Loved Joey's shoulder charge on KL. NRL Joey

Powell lol.
What was he thinking?

Adelaide missed some gimmes right next to the basket which didn't help when they were also stifling their own offense as Sydney went to a zone.

36ers reaction to a zone is to play slow, refuse to move around and attempt slightly ambitious passes that don't come off. I can deal with the passes but not the standing around and stifling the ball.

The way to beat a zone is to knock down the three ball - which they were doing in the first Q - but it turned cold with the rest of their flow because of the terrible movement. They made sure any momentum was killed.

Creek did some good things but also looked a bit out of step. Randle probably needs to shoot himself into perimeter form because the zone is a struggle for us. Ps, where was Drmic tonight?

Johnson had a bit of a struggle game, he wasn't as active. Hodgson needs to try not giving away a silly foul each game because he consistently gets into foul trouble.

36ers allowed far too many offensive rebounds and missed too many free throws.

Credit to the spirit and resilience of the team, hopefully Adelaide can back it up and improve these things to be competitive against a Kings side that will be out in force for revenge and to reclaim top spot.

Man, it's so sweet to see egg on the face of all those posters who came a little early in their assessments of the 36ers and then threw Joey under the bus.... Ha!!!

The first time, in real time, I thought DJ was trying to pass to a cutter running past with a hand off and threw his arms up to draw a foul at the last second. But on replay, probably the correct call.

Lisch...that was uncharacteristic of him. Very dumb. No doubt Creek milked it for all it was worth. But it was still a clear foul.

But Powell....that pass! Real bad.

The commentators were suggesting he was unaware of the remaining time. More charitably, I suggest he was looking to Newley for a fast break layup and just threw a horrible pass. Cos the first scenario- being unaware of the time- is unpalatable and unforgivable.

Yep well, my Sydney bet is looking bad and so is my Adelaide bet....

Good thing my Cairns, United, Perth and Illawarra bets are on track ;-).

You win some and you lose some. I'm ahead again, which is nice.

Settle down pie floaters....
You could EASILY still run last.
Get a grip!

Got a 10 win target for Cairns.

Just think, after they lost their first 3 they had an 8 win target. Crazy. But I already had them at 10 by then.

Is Drmic hurt?

Settle down pie floaters....
You could EASILY still run last.
Get a grip!

We were widely tipped to finish last. Actually were last not long ago. Are on a 6 game winning streak and are now top of the ladder. You're saying we shouldn't enjoy it while it lasts? Yeah, we could still run last, but right now we're by far the in form team in the comp and keep finding ways to win. I'll enjoy that while it lasts.
But yeah, stay salty my friend.

Anyone know where to get a complete boxscore?

The one on the NBL's site is incomplete.

Boti had a preview somewhere that mentioned an issue with Drmic. He and Creek were game-day decisions, I think.

Sobey has been such a key to this. I never would have thought. I had him in the athletic headless chicken camp but he's played the role required, racked up boards, and has such a dynamic game that works regardless of the other team.

If you'd told me pre-season that Randle would be averaging 22-23 PPG, Johnson 15-16, Creek 11 and neither of the other imports more than 8. And Drmic under 5 PPG. But that the team would be top at this point, I think I would've struggled to work out how.

They will need to rename the Most Improved Player award next year.

I had him in the athletic headless chicken camp

I'm still struggling to work out how tbh.

Sobey has really decreased the bonehead plays of late. Even earlier this season you could pencil him in for 4-5 per game which really hurt his effectiveness. His energy is great defensively and he knocking down shots but he's also letting the game come to him a bit more I reckon rather than forcing things

Drmic rolled an ankle I believe. He obviously didn't pass the fitness test.

Sobey + Randle is one of the best double-acts going around at the moment. That Randle to Sobey assist last week was a sizzler and they repeated the dose last night. Sobey has matured out of sight, as has been said he doesn't get carried away like he used to. No silly heat-checks or miracle passes anymore. It's been great to watch his development.

and that gordon hayward-esque last minute heave by newley !

^ The 6ers have Sobey sewn up for another two years if I remember correctly. Beyond that, who knows.

I've watched a bit more recently on NBL.TV and haven't seen Sobey force a really questionable play at all. Deserves a lot of credit for taking that out of his game.

The fast breaks with Randle have been flat-out impressive. Sobey is basically contributing what you'd hope to get from an import at this stage, and it's happening in a season where there are quite a few sub-par imports.