Hawks to get the win on the back of 11 3-pointers between Clark & Oscar.

Hoping it's close...and Sobey has recovered from his near life-threatening illness. :P

Looking forward to a high pace exciting game. Both teams not known for their D but when flowing very good on the eye.

Hard to pick a winner but hoping the Bevo spray gets Harris going and the Hawks get over the line.

Not sure how the Hawks stop Randle though.

"Not sure how the Hawks stop Randle though."

Hawks do the best out of any team against Randle. Norton usually slows him down.

I pick Hawks to win by 9 since it is a hot day. The Sixers don't play well in the heat and the crowd becomes a non factor.

36ers to come out swinging, steam away by 16pts to shoosh all the haters.

Hawks may hit some threes, but nothing inside as ogilvy will be in foul trouble from the start.

Hawks to play zone defence most of the game where they have had a lot of success v Adelaide and by doing zone it packs in the middle so Randle can't drive to the basket.If Adelaide can't shoot the 3ball well it will be hard to stop the hawks in this one.Hawks usually handle Randle ok so hopefully that will continue.

I think zoned does slow randle down

We haven't looked very convincing against the Hawks in both of the losses. The first one they pumped us by 30+ in Wollongong and the second we were up at 3QT had been a nose in front pretty much all game and then in the 4th they both shut us down and blew us away to win by 10+.

Until proven otherwise both of those game suggested the Hawks have our measure so I'm going to pick the Hawks by 8.

Zodiac we were up by 15 in the second game which was convincing. Hawks threw up a zone and got them back in it.

I'm tipping Hawks by 7. Harris would most likely turn up his game after the Bevo call out, Forman looking good and the Hawks would be eager not to repeat that debacle vs. Perth. Adelaide may also start to feel some pressure and get into the 'trying not to lose' mindset.

Jacobsen's lack of basketball nous leaves a lot to be desired.

Anyone else's stream playing up a lot?

Hodgson having a heck of a quarter, that miss on the foul after the Randle pass aside.

64pt quarter, WOW!

Martin dribbles too much : (

Yes my stream is terrible- had the problem since last week. Error message every 10 seconds. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Foxtel Play. ;p

Has Adelaide lost a sponser or am I blind?

Couple things:

These nets are a treat. Thank God they did something about those old peach baskets.

What does Tommy Greer's actually say when someone hits a three? "Ba-bap" or "wa-dap" or "ba-dap". What is that sound? He's not stroking out is he?

Thank God for half time!

Hawkies coaching staff better come up with something or we're cooked!

party time . would like to be on the court right now

"Yes my stream is terrible- had the problem since last week. Error message every 10 seconds. Does anyone know how to fix this?"

This started happening to me last week also when trying to watch on an iPad. It would drop out repeatedly after 10 seconds.

The only way I can now watch is on a laptop.

Sixers are all over the Hawks like a scandal on a politician.

On foxtel I can barely make out some text on the rectangle down on the Sixers basket side of the court.

Randle has been toying with the Hawks this whole game. Making things look ridiculously easy

Lost Buoy

Is it your business? Might want to go bold next week.

Joey calls for a time-out as the Hawks slash the margin to just ... 30

I'm now convinced!

Yeah, there was definitely something written on those white decals but it was only barely visible when the camera got close enough and stopped moving.

The upper left one used to be a Titanium Security logo, not sure about the lower right.

Well that was unexpected.

There is something fishy going on.The commentators were saying how hot it was inside the stadium.I'm guessing Joey asked for the air conditioning not to be turned on.This has happened last year in one of the games.

Maybe the stadium's just falling apart. Apparently the wifi is super hit and miss for media folks as well.

WA-DAP
BA-DAP
WAP-WAP

Might sign off with that in future

Wow, 119-85. I bet after Adelaide got thumped by Melbourne last Sunday that no one picked that score. I know I didn't.

Makes our percentage look less pathetic too.

A good strong game from start to finish- could work on free-throw but this is a seriously brilliant effort against a good Hawks side. It's not easy to play a fast game and dominate in such hot temperatures, maybe that made the Hawks sluggish.

I loved some of the rebounding by Drmic, and Sobeys game was back to his new normal + more. Randle was super efficient, Hodgson played his part and some nice blocks too.

What a great team the 36ers are. Up by 30 and still playing like they are down by 30.
Finals = 35ers v United.

To me Harris looks out of shape. Maybe came back from xmas after eating too many pies so the coach baked him.
At the start of the season he looked fast and explosive. Now he looks plump.

I'm not sure why people keep harping on about the for and against points scored (percentage) in a season that is so tight with wins and losses!? Remember, still 9 games to go for the Sixers, so that percentage (which means nothing in the scheme of things) can change so much over this time. Yes, it could be used as an indicator to a degree of certain strengths and weaknesses defensively and offensively, however...

Adelaide's percentage has been a bit lower than most other teams due to two early season blow out losses - Hawks and NZ from memory? Given that many of their wins has been by single digits, surely you want to be focused on the larger sample size of this as opposed to a few "outliers"? Especially when the form has consistently turned around with 9 of the last 10 games being wins.

Tonight's big win evens up the for and against pts scored a fair way, but more importantly, closes the gap on the series split with the Hawks if we win the last game against them, and if we were to tie with them after 28 games, which at this point, looks unlikely IMO...

Here is the points differential and how it averages out per team to see how inconsequential and close it actually is. Take from it what you will:

36ers, -9 total, -0.47pts per game diff
United, +72 total, +3.79pts "
Kings, +32 total, +1.52pts "
Hawks, -7 total, -0.35pts "
Bullets, -22 total, -1.16pts "
Cats, -16 total, -0.94pts "
NZ, -26 total, -1.44pts "
Taipans, -24 total, -1.41pts "

I don't think anyone's taking it that seriously

Interesting to note that of the Sixers 7 losses, 3 were blowouts: @ Hawks 34 pts, @ NZ 26 pts, @ Melb 31 pts (30 pts average).

Other 4 losses were close, except maybe against the Bullets when Petrie returned to town and blitzed us with Torrey Craig: v Melb 11 pts, @ Cats 3 pts, v Hawks 11 pts, v Bullets 18 pts (11 pts average).

Conclusions? Not much overall IMO. Two early season blowouts could be explained by four new, young players having to adjust to the league, game plan, committing to playing D etc. Blowout against Melb appears to be due to Sobey ill, Melb shooting the lights out from 3pt land and Sixers high turnover count? Full credit to Melb though.

PS - average for and against in wins from 9 of last 10 games is: 96 for, 85 against. Statistical rant over... ;P

Good call KET. I think your brief mention of this triggered my memory from the United v Sixers thread when many people were trying to use the for and against percentage as some kind of evidence that although Sixers sit top of the ladder, with at that stage a 11/7 record, that they still weren't considered finals contenders. :)

Two Sixers imports combined for four points. And they still won by loads. Amazing.

Hawks made a mistake at the start of game going with tried and true (in previous two games) zone.
Sobey got cooking with wide open looks (followed throughout the game by everyone) and then sixers transition took over and it was skid city thereafter.
Sixers another step closer to finals. Hawks another step backwards. Ironically Harris had a good outing, positive intent, all for nought.

Haha cavolo, someone did start a thread about it so I get what you're saying - I just didn't want to be considered someone who thinks it's overly important :P

Not good coaching buy Bevo, last night.

Jacobsen loves a scrap. It's something the Sixers need. He sets great screens and his grunt work doesn't register any stats. He and Hodgsen compliment each other, which allows DJ to do his thing.

Anon's reference to Bevo's Facebook post is about a relative of his dying this week (I think) and him being disappointed he couldn't do her memory justice.

Hodgson +36 in 19:50, vs Jacobsen -11 in 15:50.

I think it's amazing because on paper this is a team that could really use import power, but they are getting it done mostly regardless.

Some good coaching by Joey and execution by the 36ers - they consistently found easy opportunities against a defence that should be experienced enough.

Both teams started well and it looked like the Hawks would endure the onslaught and grind it out, but Adelaide didn't let up. It was very impressive. Hawks were cold and seemed rattled a few times.

Illawarra have another very tough game to come next up!

sixtiesrockstar, those 3 have been pretty good this season. Jacobsen and Hodgson providing plenty of beef with DJ quietly slipping through the cracks doing what he likes to do.

Jo's comment wasn't exactly a harsh criticism or a personal attack anon

Isaac "I think it's amazing because on paper this is a team that could really use import power"

Why do they? They have 3 players in the top 11 scorers in the NBL and sit comfortably on top of the ladder. Last time Sixers won a championship we had Matt Garrison, hardly star import power. Time to give credit to the rest of the players.

"Just shows you that with a 32 point win it's amazing that those 2 imports still have a job."

No it shows the old days of requiring imports that score 20 each are long gone and perhaps you should get with the times. Australian talent is alot better these days, second and third imports just need to fill roles in the team.

As sixtiesrockstar said Jacobsen fulfills his role. If he continues playing the way he has this season I have no doubt Sixers will get him again next season. I have no doubt he could go out and get 15 and 10 if he hogged the ball but he is doing the team thing. Start of the season people bagged him saying we could have had Holyfield, Williams, Mckay. Those 3 imports are rubbish. Even Mitchell could be added to that list. I would have Jacobsen before Powell because Powell looks like he kills chemistry and has no interest in playing defense. The only bad points about Jacobsen is his foul shooting is inconsistent and getting into foul trouble with silly fouls.

Ferguson could also pad his stats but it would be to the detriment of the team. Instead he is team oriented and NBA teams will pick up on that (regardless if the "experts" on here don't). We are 9-1 with him in the starting lineup which shows he helps the balance of the team. Anyone that knows the team knows he adds fantastic chemistry to the team. People struggle to grasp the concept that we could get another import (e.g. Harris) that gets double his input but be a worse team because of it. He is an amazing shooter but unfortunately it is obvious he is rushing his shot and as a result he is in a shooting slump. He needs to get more slashing points to raise his confidence.

The game is evolving. Going after imports that don't fit in your team (JJ) or x NBA imports past their prime (Powell, Blake) that will cost more then there value, is a poor strategy. Instead getting imports that fit the team balance after firstly carefully selecting the Australian players is the way to go. This is further proven with the Sixers being in fantastic position not only for this season but for future seasons with the emergence of Hodgson, Sobey, Creek (and to a lesser degree Deng and Drimic). These players would not have that same opportunity if it wasn't for the imports we have. Sure it could be argued that one or two could slip through the cracks due to financial reasons but all things even those players are staying due to a coach that gives them the opportunity, developed them and believed in them rather than flooding minutes on a one and done import who pads their stats. Sixers future looks great. Can other teams say that?

Time for people to evolve and understand that the stats of the 2nd/3rd imports these days isn't everything....

I would agree with most of what Brunson said.

I'm not sure if the 36ers were really good, or Illawarra were really bad last night. I thought the 6ers turned the ball over an awful lot in the first half and were probably a bit lucky that the Hawks couldn't make them pay for it.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

The 6ers have 3 great starters and 2 handy starters. Bugger all after that.

I don't think they can win it. I don't even think they'll make the big dance. Time will tell. It's been a great season.

Joey's first training here , 4 years ago , and Gibson stood still and dribbled for a few seconds.
Joey ; ' DON'T stop.... Look , some of you are stressed going this fast , but doing it everyday , you'll get used to it. '
and that's how we played , last nite . Tooo fast for hawks

(Hodgson was pretty good , and a great bloke too.)

Maybe he should of step down and let his assistants coach.

Brunson, I have given credit to the majority of them and you can see from my decade+ of posts on here that I agree on things like chemistry, value of local talent and so on. Generally though you can get by on that with battle-proven local talent. On paper, I don't think many would've had Johnson, Creek and Sobey in that category. Great upsides for each no doubt. I bet there are still NBL players and coaches surprised by how Adelaide are doing.

Nothing wrong with being amazed though that they can do it game after game. I've said before I expected Sobey to be a headless chicken, and he's been excellent. I thought that they were light on PG support for Randle (and an injury might still kill them) but they've done well. Neither Drmic or Deng have hit the ground running like Wortho, Kendall, etc did for the Kings years ago.

And they've had serious defensive lapses, but regularly won regardless. They bullied the Hawks last night. I think it's fair to be amazed when your expectations of some of those local players are soundly beaten.

Many, many people thought Adelaide would struggle and they'd need strong contributions from imports. The best often said of one is "He's a team player, isn't a cancer, he's still young." Great qualities but and it's a unique situation obviously but I don't know that he would've lasted long on a more cutthroat, cashed up team.

This years 36ers group reminds me of the 2002 Sixers squad. They were meant to be a rebuilding squad and ended up winning the thing with some favourable match-ups come play-offs.

2002 kept a core of Rees, Maher, Stiff, Bauer, Williams and bought in youth in Illman, Holmes and Foreman, a gun import in Farley and a role player import in Garrison.

2017 has seen a core of Randle, Sobey, DJ, Mitch and Teys return. Role playing imports in Jacobson and Ferguson. Youth in Doyle, Drimc (well pro inexperience) and Majok.

That squad also had some huge loses (I remember a thrashing in Perth in the 2nd half of the season that had the team sitting outside the play-off spots). Both powered by high powered offensive back-courts (Maher + Farley and Randle + Sobey). Both had a local holdover step-up in production (Williams in 2002, Sobey 2017).

Nice parallels, I don't expect the same result however as we really powered past the Titans on the back of their injuries in the semi-finals.

Interesting comparison with the 2002 group. A lot of parallels but try as I might I just don't see this group as a legitimate title contender.

They're looking pretty good to make the playoffs, as unbelievable as that is really but I could see a Melb, Sydney, Perth or maybe even Illawarra knocking us straight out.

Would be a hell of an achievement and Joey probably would still win COTY regardless.

Why would the sixers need another import who scores? It would just take the ball out of the other players hands. They are the highest scoring team already with a core of Randle, Sobey, Johnson and Creek. Creeks injury has turned out to be a blessing as it forced Joey to fiddle with the lineup and now we have a starting 5 player coming off the bench.
You can't measure the effect in stats of the opposition having to chase Drmic down the court in those fast breaks and getting worn out in the tempo of the game. Whats the stats for scoring conversions from Jacobsen screens, or non screens because the defender is worried about him or Hodgson?

I guess Isaac I look at it more like this team was built with two role playing imports so I don't find it surprising the Aussie contingent is providing most of the offensive support for Randle.

Like most, I didn't think they'd be doing this consistently though. Sober has obviously been a big surprise, but I also think since his injury DJ is playing the best basketball of his career. The way he is defending now he could even come into Boomers consideration next November.

"The way he is defending now he could even come into Boomers consideration next November"


Go back to the United game and watch when Wesley posted him up.......yeah...na

I'm not going to hang him on one bad game. Reality is he has finally worked out how to defend the on ball so he isn't a defensive liability anymore, and given the Boomers will come entirely from the NBL in November he is a decent option as a spark plug off the bench.

Cant argue with that. Yes he is in contention for an NBL Boomer's gig. While he certainly has improved he still has a way to go and his post D is still terrible.

Sorry Isaac I re-read your original post and took it out of context. My post was more targeted at the posters that have constantly bagged both Ferguson and Jacobsen without understanding their position/value in the team.

FSTOS "Go back to the United game and watch when Wesley posted him up.......yeah...na" Such a typical DJ hater response. So let me get this right, DJ struggled to defend one of the best post up players in the league, that all players struggle to guard, so that makes him "terrible". Great example. If that is the case then Lisch is a terrible defender also as I saw Cotton drive past him last night.

As Paul said his on ball defense has improved significantly (as has Hodgson and Jacobsen which is a big reason why we have been having such success lately. So much for Joey only teaches offense). Also his general defense has gone up. He is now a valuable asset on defense. As always DJ won't get the credit he deserves from Sixer fans, yet a knowledgeable but non Sixer fan, Paul can see it and give the credit he deserves.

DJ has been unfairly maligned in regards to his defense for a while now imo. A lot of fans fail to look at the bigger picture.