Adelaide will win. Bevo will choke

Updates re: suspension? I suggest you don't hold your breath for that.

Adelaide by 10, Oscer and the bench need to fire for Illawarra to keep this close but Adelaide will be to strong I think

Adelaide to win by a joey KO to the coaching staff.

Literally

No way Aj will get suspended,only a small fine if that.I think if it was dealt with on court nothing happens.Yes i know it should of been a tech but nbl wanted Hawks to win this series so Perth host game 1,3 and 5 in the G/F.I hope NBL gives us Maybery and Aylen.There the best that don't do makeup calls.No Reed,Beattie or Townsend please.They think there the stars of the show by blowing the pea out of the whistle.

Hawks by 3

Sixers win by 14 or if it is tight I see Hawks winning by 7. This will be because some Sixers players will seize up whilst other players will go into desperate mode and forget about playing team ball.

Two things I want the Sixers to incorporate into their game early.

1. GET BACK ON DEFENSE! In both games (and other games against Hawks) Hawks are pushing the ball up court while our bigs are just casually getting back satisfied with the player they are guarding (No threat to score) is covered. This then puts our defense under pressure causing them to foul (e.g. Sobey last game) or the other team getting easy scores and giving them confidence. I understand we are trying to take them out of their normal offensive game by disrupting them but at least make an effort to get back when they have beaten the full court press.

2. Make Coenraad a defensive priority! Averaging 21 points per game over the 2 games. He has hit 9 out of 14 3's at 64%! He has 2 assist total (both in the last game). He is looking to score every time so be ready for it and hand up to his 3! Creek is the key to stopping him.

Adelaide is a young team about to crack under pressure.The Hawks are the underdogs which suits them fine and Rotnei is due to explode by having a blinder.I know the Hawks are an allround better team.Adelaide rely on Ant man Randle,Johnson and Sobey to do all there scoring and if Hawks shut two of them down like they did in the Gong it will be the same result.Sobey only got about nine points and Randle shot eight from twenty-three,even i can score twenty points taking twenty-three shots.

I will get twenty points with twenty three shots and all i have to do is post up Ant man Randle in the paint.EASSSSY.My son who is fourteen and a bit taller than ant man will easily do it.

Only one thing is a certainty in this game, Sobey will flop.

Andy...your comment is a flop!

I think you can hate on people for flopping, regardless of whether the rules are lenient or refs miss calls. And Drmic is worse than Sobey.

Will be a great game, wouldn't be surprised if Hawks can win it. Adelaide seem a lot less threatening when you consider they've won just 1 of their last 6 games. Part of what made them so threatening towards the end of the season was the momentum and cohesion they had as a side. That momentum and confidence that was so deadly for them seems to have faded now.

Hawks to win, then a Red/black team to win the GF

Almost want sixers to win after paying for 2 grandinal tickets to the first game in Perth even as a member it's gone up from the semi.

The grand final is always more expensive than the semi finals. Why wouldn't it be?

""even i can score twenty points taking twenty-three shots."

In the NBL? No you can't"
Ignoring free-throws, 20 points would take a maximum of 10 shots, which would be 43.5%. That's not bad clip, and no, very few of us could achieve that in the NBL.

Even if you were bombing and hit 7 triples, that would still be over 30% from outside which isn't too shabby.

If I could hit 20 points in any league, I'd still be playing. LOL

Back on topic, as a Wildcats fan I am selfishly hoping for the Hawks to win.
What are their chances?

Why does Bevo start Rotnei on the bench?
What can he possibly try?

Cairns did a reasonable job of shutting down Cotton in the last game. Is there any way to limit Randle?

Sobey is easily the biggest flopper in the league now.
His game has developed to insane levels in the post season. That shit he pulled the last game at the 3 point line was incredible.

For tomorrows clash, I'm predicting bulk flops from Sobey, Randle to wow us all with his hero ball and the 6ers to still win by plenty.

I am not as confident of a win here now as I was before Sunday. This is going to be tight but you'd think Adelaide would hobble over the line in the end.

Also, assuming Adelaide makes the finals, if they start on Sunday, why are they having their MVP gala on Saturday night?

Should be a good game but I think you have to back Adelaide in at home.
I just hope that Bevo tries something different and goes down swinging

Hopefully Adelaide don't buy into Hawks basketbrawl and focus on their defence. If they get wrapped up in the niggling / ref bullshit, it'll be to their detriment.

I feel like Adelaide's high gear all stems from boards, blocks, boxing out and banging bodies in the paint. Take care of that, no hero-ball and the rest takes care of itself.

That said - nervous as.

I think the Sixers will win by a comfortable margin say 9-10 points.

No need to get political KET :-)

I'm nervous for this game

Hawks need AJ to step up. He has been slaughtered so far by the Adelaide bigs. If he and Kay can hold there own this gets close and the Hawks could pull off an upset.

Look I'm a Hawks supporter and maybe one eyed but I have watched enough games and have a decent knowledge of basketball to be reasonably objective IMO.

I really don't understand all the niggle dirty team crap. (I bagged AJ as much as the next bloke but his actions are that of a sook rather than a thug).

Do you guys just take in the crap Randle and Creek spew out or do you look yourself at what is happening.

White is probably as close to a hard man as any Hawk but most teams have this type of player. Drmic is probably starting to assume that role for the 6ers and in the past Paul Rees or Sapwell for example have been much loved by local fans while having similar roles.

Last game for example White burned Randle on the baseline to score. He then got straight in Randle's grill defensively without making ANY contact. Randle went off like a pork chop, pushed him off twice while screaming "don't fkn touch me". Somehow in the eyes of a few 36'ers supporters this was Whites fault.

Lets look at the Hawks team.

Norton Tough but not a dirty player.

White Tough and can be sent on a mission to antagonise players but rarely crosses the line IMO.

Harris (too soft IMO)

Kay Hardly a hitman. Skilled but way softer than all Adelaide bigs not named DJ.

AJ. Mentally weak at times and if things aren't rolling for him can make mental errors (stupid fouls,techs) that cost his team rather than hurt opponents.

Martin. Veteran but not even close to a dirty player.

Clarke. Poorish defender and certainly no thug.

Coenraad. Has improved defensively and again not a dirty player.

Forman. no explanation needed.

Ellis Holyfield. They will used their fouls to stop easy buckets. That's their role but they are not out their swinging elbows trying tom knock peoples heads off.

Again it's just Randle's BS. Look for yourself and then tell me I am wrong. Can't we just get on with should be a great game with the thugs tags.

without the thugs tags.

We will win. Dirty Hawks can enjoy their holiday wherever they're going. Hope Kevin White misses the plane.

Someone above mentioned no hero ball as a key to Adelaide winning. Is Randle not playing?

As I mentioned in another thread.
I expect bulk flops from Sobey, DJ to avoid the rough stuff in the paint, a decent smattering of hero ball from Randle and Adelaide to still win by plenty.

Looking forward to being wrong and a close game!

Randle won't play hero ball again like he did last game. Joey and the team are too smart to let that happen again and Randle is too good to be that stupid again.

FSTOS I like your summary above of the team. I just think Randle labelled the team dirty cause he couldn't single out White. Hawks play hard on the defensive end. The only guy I think crosses the line is White. Guys like him are in every team and yes Paul Rees is a prime example of " if they're on your team it's all good " not happy with it but hey he gets away with it. While Drimic can niggle and harass to annoy every fan other than Adelaides I don't put him in Whites league. Whites elbow on Jacobson was pretty low, I play weekly and if someone did that to me I wouldn't accept it, don't know what Jacobson did beforehand though.

As a Sixer fan I know the Hawks aren't dirty, Randle obviously said it in the media to gets the refs ( and crowd, publics ) attention and had to say "the team" instead of mentioning White.

Hoping for a sick high scoring game tonight, love my Sixers and hope for a big win but also love the game and appreciate watching great players like Rotnei go to work.

Joaridran, Are you sure your from Adelaide? You sound like you understand basketball.

FSTOS I agree with you. I think Randle was just playing the hype game before the series. It worked well, got plenty of media attention and hyped things up. All good for the NBL IMO.

I agree that Randle forced a few too many shots late in game two, but I think it was only partly his fault. This Sixers team wants to run, so Randle is doing the right thing by pushing the ball and attacking. The problem was, the guys out there with him didn't hustle and get down the floor with him! What he needed was someone to dish to or a Drmic or DJ trailing the break, waiting for the kickout for the open three!

Not too many adjustments required for the Sixers IMO. Their formula has been working, they just let game 2 slip. Just got to be mentally tough to close it out.

I'll be cheering hard for Adelaide, so we can have home court :). But it will be in vain Adelaide will win by double figures.

They are young and have Randle who i don't believe the Hawks have anyone who can stop him, if he wants to take over.

Hawks are just a solid team, whilst Adelaide have different dynamics, Hawks bigs are all slow plodders Adelaide's have a bit of variety. Plus their man main AJ has been MIA.

Same with Hawks in the back court, no real athletic guard that can change it up like a Sobey. Clarke can fill it up if allowed, hasn't done so yet in this series, see no reason why he will do it tonight.

I hope i'm wrong for Wildcats sake though.

Haha yep, Adelaide my whole life. We are all fans of the game over here. If you go to a Sixers game the crowd does know exactly what's happening, we know when a guy is on 4 fouls for the game, team has 5 fouls for the quarter etc. we have a 100% passionate fan base that aren't at the game because it's cool, it's because we fucking love it.

You watch a Sydney or United game and when a player gets fouled while dribbling then passes to a team mate and he hits a 3, the uneducated fans from the bigger cities tend to scream like it's a made basket- won't get that in Adelaide. Whilst Perth may have 12,000 fans at a game - 8000 are educated fans and 4000 have no idea

Why would Perth get home court if Adelaide win? Was that a typo?

Is NBL TV working for anyone. Mine has a half blank page on the live games screen

Casey & Harvs oh no Tommy Greer

WADAPP!

HEEEEEERE'S TOMMY

NBL TV working fine for me

Wow the barrage of whistles in the first minute... the refs are definitely not taking any BS with the home cooking.

Working now

Yep Typo.

Hawks back court is reluctant to shoot, they have to get Clarke on, just so much Vanilla about Illawarra.

Crowd is rather quiet

Absolutely pathetic Adelaide. Just awful. Where is Randle? Is he even playing? Done nothing.

Randle got crossed the fuck up.

I saw randle fall over a couple of times. Does that count as playing?

Sobey a little tight. Clarke breaking Randle's ankles and the knowledgeable crowd nice and quiet.

Martin having a great first quarter after being quiet in the first two games and Hawks sharing it around.

Long way to go but very happy with that.

Far out. Holyfield has terrible hands.

What happened to the volume :(

"Hawks looking good. 36ers look shocked, probably thought they just had to show up to win"

According to most of their fans on here and Mitch Creek that's all they had to do.

Geez Sixers have some work to do

HIT YOUR FREE THROWS YOU HACKS

If you're going to play this badly Jerome just piss off.

Hello Harris

Randle has been exposed defensively by bevo and the Hawks better than I've seen during his time in the NBL

Why is Harris the hack hitting shots?

Refs trying to help the chokers once again!

Cringe-worthy Adelaide. Just cringe-worthy. No defense whatsoever. It's embarrassing.

oh dear Drmic...

Home cooking and no Ogilvy and the Sixers still can't get it going.

Hahaha what a shit call but Drmic falls over too easy. Victim of his own bullshit

Knowledgeable crowd booing obvious calls now

Yeah, Drmic must have been warned on the make when he fell... still a bad call on that 2nd three.

Update from dude with $20k on Adelaide??

Sayonara Sixers. See you next year.

I am disgusted in a game 3 GF qualifier at home this is how we turn up.

Pathetic. They don't deserve to win.

I agree it was a shit call FSTOS. But he flopped on the previous possession. Was stupid to fall over again. The contact was definitely there. But not enough to fall over.

Rubbish call on Drimic, should have been three shots - but the way we are shooting free throws - it doesn't really matter

On the positive side, at least this means the concerts won't cause Titanium scheduling conflicts if this keeps up.

Hawks 10+ easy money :P

It was a bad call but when you fall over all the time like Drmic does it what you deserve.

now all the refs need to do is wise up on Sobey falling over or flailing his arms all the time.

Adelaide living up to its choker tag.

If you can't hit free throws you don't deserve to win.

If you can't defend you don't deserve to win.

If you make soft passes you don't deserve to win.

If you hesitate everytime in offence you don't deserve to win.

If you do all of those things, you won't win.

Harris is a fraud.

Thugs putting points on the board. How do you get fifty + in a half by being dirty

I have a terrible feeling Adelaide will get back into this, Hawks have been bad at maintaining leads this season.

Big half by the Hawks can they maintain that, i certainly hope so.

Playing the zone has worked so far for the Hawks.

Andy. I have as well. Sixers get a roll and the momentum can change very quickly.

On the other hand if the Hawks hang on expect this thread to be 204536 post long and full of sack Joey posts.

Only positive is we have played so bad but are somehow not that far behind. Get on a run and we can get back in it. Will be tough.

Joey whingeing about how the Hawks are allowed to play D. He really is a fwit isn't he. It OK to blab on to the press to attempt to influence the refs but to try to use that as an excuse when chatting to the commentary team beggars belief.

No Oglivie gonna cost Hawks the game

Love to see Forman step up a nail a few 3's right now.

10-2 run for 36ers...

5 fouls already for Hawks

Sorry for bad spelling of Ogilvy

Bevo would have to be the most unfit unhealthy coach around.

That's a blocking foul???????????????????

What an absolute joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looked like he was about to smash that chair in the changerooms

Can't say there has been any home cooking in this one

Yep, pretty sure the Sixers changeroom is going to need a makeover after that camera cut away.

Nice to see awful basketballers like Martin and Coenraad making some big plays.

What is DJ even doing trying to take it iso in that situation... dumb.

Adelaide handling the ball like a bar of soap every time they get it inside the key.

Lolll Drmic in that changeroom.

freethrows win games

The foul calls are beyond a joke, absolute marginal or no contact on hawks is a foul. Adelaide with clearly more contact no problem...

We're not winning this. You don't play D you don't deserve to make the GF.

LOL! Get some TVs in there, jeezus!

Loving the way this game is heading... C'mon Hawks!!!

I wish I could say I'm surprised we've blown it but it's what Adelaide teams in sport do best.

RIP 6ers

Biggest choke job in recent memory happening before our eyes

Forman with the big o board

Definitely ^^

Perth-Hawks is about as exciting as Perth-NZ was last season... such a shame after the most entertaining season in recent memory.

Get Teys and Johnson off. Playing like crap.

For next season let's tie freethrow shooting percentage to bonuses

30 to 10 ft, yet Adelaide still getting pumped. Not sure what more they can do for you to get you over the line.

No home cooking though? refs fault you're loosing

Another Perth championship. How boring.

Hawks B team getting it done.

36ers fans all sooking, love it... A lot of them thought they had the title wrapped up halfway through the season.

Perth would have smashed Adelaide anyway.

Johnson is softer then Ogilvy and that's sayin' something.

The Hawks have this in the bag, I really feared something like this happening in the game tonight which is why I was so keen for us to finish it off in game 2. With such a young team, I thought the pressure might get to us and you can see that with all the missed free throws, bobbling of the ball, inability to come up with loose balls etc. I really like what the Sixers have done this year as a fan, the team has certainly exceeded expectations for the season and there is a lot of upside. But it has been disappointing to see our leaders in Randle and Johnson not step up in these big games.

these fouls on the hawks... yet 36ers still getting smashed

"Perth would have smashed Adelaide anyway"

Yeah with 2 games at home they would have swept the series. ROFL.

Randle falls over refs blow whistle

I'm still so friggin nervous! CMON HAWKS!

Johnson has always been soft Anonomous.

Beveridge has got more out of his tactics and strategy that joey has from his in this series. Would very much like to see the Gong take out perth as well.

36ers making ellis look like a superstar

This isn't a great result

Bevo has definitely out-coached Joey.

Sorry for you loss manu

Yeah Anonymous because you wouldn't be pissed off as an Adelaide supporter right now.

Get your head out of the sand.

Nice to see Anonymous has to hide behind a... well... anonymous account LOL

yeah Manu Fieldel... it not great... it's bloody awesome!!!

CHEESBURGERS!

Adealide not ded yet?

Well shit.

Here. They. Come!

7-0 run... Illawarra Chokers? surely not at this stage

Watch Clarke come out and knock down a 3.

Oh shiiii sobey looking like white mj out there

Wow. Feeling very nervous. Hawks missing a few wide open looks as the tighten up.

Wow. Great call angus

big 3 from RC

^^ called it.

Sobey's awesome

Imagine if he were a few inches taller

Wow.

Clarke finishes it off for a very nervy hawks

Hyooooooooge

Clarke is a bad, bad man.

Well at least we fought to the end I guess. Clarke too good of a shooter.

clarke saves the day

What if no Clarke? That's just stupid. He's on their team. What if no LeBron?

Imagine if Sixers had played with this intensity since the 1st Q... too little, too late unfortunately. Hell of a season by the team picked to come last.

YES YES YES!

Lol Rhys Martin the hack.

In the end my comments from half way or two thirds of the way thru the season were spot on.

Below average defensive teams rarely win the title.

You can't be so bad defensively that you give up 100+ points 2 games in a row, and expect to win.

Having said that, If Ogilvy doesn't pull up OK this could very easily be a 3-0 whitewash for Perth. Which would be very hard to watch. Really hope he's OK.

Nice work Hawks

The woofing gods were watching all the cockiness going on in the last few weeks after all.

Well done Hawks! Happy to see both Red teams in the GF

Congrats Illawarra, and is it too late to give Bevo the Coach of the Year trophy?

I think the fans were booing the refs as they ran off

Rhys Martin has not been great this season but anyone who watches ball and doesn't realise he has been one of the better and certainly one of the smartest Aussie NBL PG's over the last decade has NFI.

Sucked in Randle you arrogant turd.

Martin is like Billy Hoyle in White Men Can't Jump, the guy doing starjumps in warm-ups who looks like he doesn't belong on the court. Sneaky good player.

Randle probably feeling a bit dirty after that loss.

As I said in the other thread after Game 2, I personally think Creek, Joey and Randle made some very bad calls before the start of this series.

The words used by Creek and Randle in describing the Hawks' style of play really backfired somewhat; it only served to fire the Hawks up and for Creek and his team it created and brought too much emotion into the series.

It was never going to benefit Adelaide given their youth and it fell right into the hands of exactly what the veteran and experienced Hawks would have wanted.

Ultimately, Creek will learn from that decision; when you play as good as you do during the year; you don't need to bring extra emotion into a series - it's only going to serve the 'underdog' more.

Adelaide = GSW

Well i'm happy to eat humble pie, well played Hawks.

Will be tough for the Hawks to get up emotionally for next game. Perth wont give them the looks that they get off the 6ers, but conversely Perth wont potentially put as many points on the board.

Interesting series.

Partly a matchup thing too, Illawarra owned Adelaide 5-2 over season plus playoffs including a 34 point win in round 1.

A bit like Melbourne United last year in a lot of ways. NZ was a bad matchup for them.

Hawks can comfortably play at Adelaide's pace, they have possibly the best coach in the NBL, and they have more depth awhich can help at this time of the year.

Notwithstanding the result; Adelaide can be very proud of what the team accomplished considering their youth and the fact that many people were writing them off at the start of the year. They played a fantastic brand of basketball all throughout the year.

There's been a significant amount of positives to come out of this year - namely the emergence of Sobey - you guys have uncovered a star right there. There is a fantastic core of (young) players to build around.

And yeah agree FSTOS, There is a saying "playing your grand final a week early", wouldn't be surprised if Perth win game 1 by 15. But I don't totally count the Hawks out cos an experienced group like that, with a coach as good as Bevo should never be written off.

Bevo might have some tricks to limit Prather and Cotton. If he can its game on.

Tipping Perth comfortably - two words: Home Court.

Any home court advantage is critical but it obviously becomes even more of an advantage for Perth.

What a fizzle. Randle's meeting with Cotton is not going to happen. What a real flog.

Bevo vs Gleeson. Both preach defence .... Who is better?

Home advantage is a big plus for the Cats. Just on that alone, I say the Cats will maul the Hawks.

Some Adelaide fans told me losing the last 4 games of the season wasn't a big deal and we'd make the GF easily. I told them it did matter because we had no momentum whatsoever entering finals and being top of the league, there was added pressure.

How wrong they were.

"Some Adelaide fans told me losing the last 4 games of the season wasn't a big deal and we'd make the GF easily."

In fact they've only won one game in the last seven.

But credit to both teams, they made a three game series out of it and now it's 3rd v 4th for the big dance.

Tend to agree with you macdub but I still don't think this is the same Perth team of old. Hawks just won their first game there after how many years? Monkey is off the back

I really hope we finish 2nd, 3rd or 4th next season and not 1st. Finishing 1st = no GF appearance going by the last 2 years.

I have to admit I was wrong about the Hawks 3-1 season series win being an indicator they had our measure. Clearly when you lose 5 out of 7 games to a team in the same season and don't win a game on their home court all season they are better than you.

I'm still not sure we tanked our last 4 regular season games. The first of those against the Hawks we had just sewn up the minor round championship and they outplayed us and then we lost that close one by a point to a desperate Breakers team.

The game in Cairns yes we tanked that but the last game back here we seemed to be legit but had lost momentum at that point which is why I think Randle & Creek said what they did before this series, they knew we were in trouble both confidence wise and playing the one team that had our measure all season.

A very disappointing end but everyone myself included picked us to finish down the bottom of the ladder so to finish top was a great achievement with such a young team. If we can keep this core together for the next 3-4 years there will probably be a bit to celebrate in the coming years.

Now Illawarra do us and the rest of the Australian basketball community a favour and beat the Wildcats in this GF series.

* not being an indicator

LOL

Sixers stunk up the gym.

The trolling in this thread aside,

I tipped the Hawks because they're a good matchup against Adelaide, I think they are our bogey side. It happens. I like pulling Spurs references out and here's another - I've watched my 1st place Spurs lose a first round playoffs series against 8th placed Memphis. Sometimes matchups suck for a team.

It's important to remember the 36ers are a 22 year olds average brigade with virtually zero finals experience. Going missing or being powerless in the big moments is what happens and it is part of the development. This is probably a point more to the 36ers fans with a view to hopefully going further next season now that some experience has been notchedup.

To the game itself, where were the 4th q sixers in the prev quarters?

The hawks are such a good side, their offensive movement and chemistry is great to watch. Full credit to them!

For Drmic, well he was probably fouled a little on that three - it feels like a double whammy when you get T'd up. The problem is, when you flop consistently you open yourself up to a "boy who cried wolf" situation. If you try to con the refs all the time and it comes to hurt, you have to cop it because it is probably deserved.

The second T, well I don't know what he said or if there was a prior warning but in a finals game the ref shouldn't have called that. Again though, why open yourself up to the potential of a ref T when you already on one? Silly inexperience.

Randle wasn't sharp but he will be the biggest challenge this offseason - convincing him to return! Sobey, hope he doesn't leave for euro he will be a big player for us next season as well. Shame he didn't quite have it going either.

Suck it Adelaide. You arrogant twats didn't deserve to make the Grand Final.

Randle's one man team was always going to falter come the playoffs.

Don't know what to say really. Very unexpected.
Lack of defence?

I was shocked when i heard the result.What a season of upsets its been.

Bevo and the hawks must be brimming with confidence having already won in perth this season. Will be a very interesting gf series

Hey Kyrie2Nation,you said for the Hawks to enjoy there holiday.I think the Hawks are going to Perth/The Gong/Perth again/back to the Gong/back to Perth so it must be a travelling holiday but i was wondering where is Adelaide going for there trip away.They can plan that now i guess but Mad Monday first or is it FREE THROW practice.

The changing of nets screwed Adelaide tonight. Can't believe the venue changed em. It just threw the Sixers, you could tell

Huh, so that happened.

Neat!

Well played Hawks. Shooting was white hot on the night and after our bigs played really good rotating defence in game one, they never got it right in this one. Clarke and Martin were able to get to the basket too easily and that is a recipe for disaster against a Hawks team who play the drive and kick game so well.

Sixers made some great runs in the second half and a lesser team would have faltered, but credit to Rotnei Clarke in particular, he hit two absolute killer threes to keep the Sixers at arms length (ironically exactly what he does to his defenders when he dribbles, but that's another story).

Disappointing to lose in the semis, but it was always on the cards for such a young team who had exceeded most people's expectations this season. Drmic was exhibit A. He looked like he was going to lead us home against the Hawks in that 3rd quarter, but he lost his cool and reacted and bam, night over. Needs to stop and realise he'd just been to the line twice in a row. Getting called for the block was no big deal. Just button your lip, earn the refs respect and go draw a foul down the other end!

I only have one more question about might have been... Majok Deng. Why didn't he get a crack in the 4th quarter when we were down big? He has proved he can drill the three, he's quick on defence so he can switch like a smaller player and he would have reduce the likelihood of the Hawks getting critical offensive rebounds.

I said to my mate earlier in the 4th, we will come home strong and fall short because we are too small and a couple of offensive boards will kill us! I recall 2-3 Oscar Forman boards where he just used his height to pluck the ball from Teys/ Ferguson. One of those Oscar boards led directly to the second 3 by Clarke that sealed the game for the Hawks. Deng would've been worth a crack in my book!

My final comment is "chin up Sixers fans". As long as management keeps the Aussie core of DJ, Creek, Sobey, Drmic, Hodgson and Deng around, the future is very bright for this team.

So Adelaide in the last few weeks was the Adelaide of the first few. Flirt with form and bound to end up where you started.

How bad did Adelaide play, lost a game with 39 free throw attempts.

Still a very positive season for you guys.

Any Bevo coached team is a threat because he let's players fire at will, when it's dropping they can be unstoppable.

Is that #saucegate incident true??

All the fouls committed by the Hawks worked in their favour, Adelaide couldn't get any flow going.

Any news on AJ?

Johnson stop stalking me on twitter you psychopath. Learn some proper grammar while you're at it.

Yeah i went searching it myself. Seems a couple of people said they witnessed martin helping to clean her up.

But you know... this is the internet so who knows

Yeah. They're still searching for his heart and nuts.

Illawarra with 66 of the 106 points off the bench....

So, although I usually like to wait until after the grand final for these types of posts, I though this was the more appropriate time to reflect on the following quote from my post in this thread merely 4 weeks ago:

https://www.hoops.com.au/forum/40745-wildcats-vs-united-28th-jan/#p621219

mmm.. If it's one thing non Perth fans haven't learnt yet, is that it's not over until the Trophy is hoisted.

I've been following this team for 33 years, and time and time again I see people write them off because they are playing like shit (which, incidentally they are right now). Yet time and time again I see them peak at the right end of the season while other teams (ala Adelaide this year and Melbourne last year) peak early and fall in a heap the moment the pressure is really on (yes, I'm aware that this may not eventuate for Adelaide yet - and good luck to them - unfortunately I live there now *sigh*).

...... I will revisit the above sentiments at the end of the season. Exactly the way I did when I was picked out by a Melbourne fan on twitter last year as a target of his attempted trolling while Melbourne was smashing everyone.

Could this be the Hawk's year? Now that Adelaide are out, I feel Hawks have been the most consistent team. It was also evident in this game that Bevo adapts well, and that his team has depth. Be fascinating to see whether the vaunted Perth Defence can contain the Hawks plethora of shooters.

At their best I feel Perth are superior, however I am less confident they can string those games together consistently? I think there's a good chance the Wildcats could ice this in 3 or 4 games. If it goes to 5 I'm not too sure.

The owner of the Hawks was the person that reported on twitter that Randles wife threw sauce at a young hawks fan.I guess she had to pick on a kid which is about the same size as her hubby and talk about being DIRTY.It's a low act from a sore loser or was she unhappy that she couldn't sit on the Adelaide bench.

Kyrie2Nation turning on his team now that's GOLD.Great supporter of Adelaide you are.You haven't told me where Adelaide are going for there holiday.I told you where my team the Hawks are going and that is a Perth/Wollongong/Perth/Wollongong/Perth trip.

For a team that many picked to finish last the Sixers exceeded all expectations but when you finish first on the ladder with 4 games to go in the regular season, not making it past the first round and into a Grand Final is a major disappointment.

Full credit to the Hawks - they were able to settle in such a big game before the nervous Sixers and hit some massive shots when it mattered. I thought the Sixers would always be in trouble in Clarke fired as he'd been below par in the first 2 games. The law of averages won in this game.

Although it was such a tight season, I honestly thought that the Hawks were the second best team throughout the regular season and the worst match-up for Adelaide. If the Sixers had played better in those last 4 games and not tanked in Cairns they may well have avoided a match-up with the Hawks which I feel would have been to their advantage.

I need to talk about Drmic. He was refereed purely on reputation tonight. The refs obviously have reviewed tapes of him and earmarked him down as a "flopper". For most other players the three that he took where Hollyfield closed out too hard and didn't let him land would have been three shots. But because he has a reputation of being a flopper Hollyfield is deemed not to have fouled and Drmic simply "faked it". The commentators certainly thought it was a foul on Hollyfield. "You gotta be smarter than that if you're Hollyfield, you have to give him room to land" said Tommy Greer.

And then when he gets called for the block instead of the charge he doesn't get the benefit of the doubt either. Plenty of times in the NBL that call goes the other way. Should he have reacted the way he did? No. But he's not a robot and it's a high stakes emotional final. The refs need to give him some leeway. It's just a shame that the refs decided to make Drmic pay for his sins of the past in the biggest game of the season for the Sixers. I really hope this gives Drmic a wake-up call to eliminate this from his game next season so it doesn't come back to bite him and the Sixers when it really matters next season. I also hope the refs apply the flopping rule as harshly as they did tonight to Drmic to other notorious floppers in the league.

Furthermore I believe it's unnecessarily harsh that a player can get ejected in the NBL for a tech on a flop and another tech of any sort. Calling flops vs non-flops is so subjective. What one ref calls a flop another calls a foul. See Matt Knight flopping against Randle in Perth in their 1 point victory earlier this season. It's a clear flop if you're a Sixers fan and it's Knight moving his feet well and taking the charge if you're a Perth fan. You might argue that all techs are subjective but it's generally more clear cut if a tech is given for abuse or an over the top reaction. It's not clear cut if someone flops. Judging how hard someone has been hit and whether this is enough to knock them to the ground is not easy especially when you're trying to make the call at game pace speed. Witness how many times in the NBA the commentators will say "that's a flop" when the ref has called the offensive foul and there will be disagreement between Jeff Van Gundy and Mike Breen. Penalise someone with a tech if you want to discourage flopping but don't make it count towards ejections. The punishment doesn't fit the crime.

As a Sixers fan you still have to be very hopeful about the future. So long as the core can be kept together this team can do some damage. They'll be better for going through this experience. Replace Ferguson with an import that can contribute and the Sixers will be right up there again.

The only penalty for flopping should be to leave the flopper on the floor to his earned disadvantage and let the game continue. Ignore him.The idea of giving the referees the power to adjudge intent and punish someone for momentarily dropping out of the game is just stupid.
They have enough trouble finding a level of acceptable competence with the simplest of calls without the burden of such punitive decisions. The referees struggle every game with lack of consistency and this has been the case all season win or lose! If a flop is to punished so harshly a physical unsportsmanlike foul should surely require instant ejection from the NBL for multiple games. Let the crowd deal with the floppers and get on with playing basketball.

As for the Sixers tonight was disappointing but the season generally has been the most entertaining and enjoyable for many years.

There has been so many wow! moments in so many games this season despite the limitations of budget..Every player has contributed. The style of a high scoring transition game.The development of such youth, the inclusion of young Terence, Sobey stepping up and bringing much of the team with him. What an exciting ally he has been with Jerome. Even in games we lost there has been great moments and all season they played in crunch times without fear. The maturity achieved by such youth this season has been amazing. Trolls can say what they like, the Sixers have stuck with the same team all season and done so well. The crowd numbers have increased dramatically and surely we are well placed to build into next season.

Thank you Sixers.


PS Thanks NBL for bringing us NBL TV this season. I have loved being able to support the Sixes in their away games. Thank You.

Sixers pulled a United and choked after winning the Minor Premiership lol.
Credit to the Hawks but laughing my ass off at the Sixers, made my morning.

The Hawks are having a party(sorry Kings)the Hawks are having a party.The Kings sing this after a regular season win so hopefully Hawks can go all the way then the region of Wollongong can celebrate by having a massive party.

The reason flops are penalised in game is because referees are unable and inept at distinguishing when a player flops ironically allowing them to penalise doesn't help, who knew!

Drimic was unlucky on the three yes, however het likely got a warning on the previous 3, it's NBL referees do you really want to tempt fate?

I'm not sure your refereed on reputation is accurate, Sobey is likely the largest flopper and always gets the calls so..

the second T was there, silly reaction, at a silly time by a silly player.

For some reason drimic reminds me of Bernad Tomic...

Rat10, I have no sympathy for Drmic. He flopped in G2 as well and was warned from what I could tell from the broadcast. Needs to remove that from his game completely because it will be costly again in the future. Countless players in the NBL are capable of shooting a three and landing without falling backwards.

In a block/charge situation, I think it's often more subjective. For a corner three, you generally have a ref right there in position to judge - silly move.

Congrats to Adelaide on a brilliant season, they played incredible basketball for much of it. A poor way to finish, but that often happens with inexperienced teams come playoffs.

An amazing season from Illawarra too. To lose Penney and Lisch and then make the GF in probably the toughest year in league history is quite remarkable.

Well, at least we're incredibly consistent come finals time; 15 consecutive wasted seasons.

Aside from Adelaide United getting it done, us Adelaideans are a tortured group of people - there is definitely a choker mentality about Adelaide sides when it comes to finals.

Drmic was a block call, that's agreeable. I think how the NBL deals with flopping is a subject that will be discussed in the off-season.

If we want to stamp out flopping, then maybe we take the risk of an incorrect call having an unfortunate disproportionate effect on the game or the player.

Drmic will need to learn to avoid flopping and to react a little better when he feels screwed. That will come with experience. I think 36ers let themselves down this year in the category of "silly fouls", hopefully with development and experience we see less of these, particularly by Jacobsen/Hodgson if they return.

It's hard to be too disappointed given there were legitimate expectations of last place - the 36ers went far above and beyond I feel it would be greedy to be all that critical of Adelaide.

A tremendous season, an unexpectedly successful one and I don't think i've seen so many 36ers games live and in full since about 2005 - so that's a good thing!

Completely agree with most of what's been said in regards to Adelaide having a successful season. It's just a real shame that we went back to some old defensive habits that i thought we'd learnt from earlier in the year.

This might be a case of objectivity syndrome where you're prone to notice more flaws about your own team and be harsher on them because of that, but why do Adelaide continuously get burnt from the perimeter? I know it has a lot to do with Joey's defensive philosophy, but i just think it seems a little bit too easy for teams like The Hawks to keep knocking down casual three pointers. I know some of Clarke's shots were frustrating, but we really needed to do a better job defending shooters. Away teams get so confident when they get their flow going and it silences the crowd. Can someone help? Is it just the way Joey defends?

All credit to The Hawks though who somehow managed to sweep the home team aside without Ogilvy and being in serious foul trouble for most of the game.

Good season, but ultimately Adelaide weren't drilled well enough for those crunch games. Perth might not look pretty sometimes but their defence is going to win them another crown. Adelaide just have to learn again next season.

By my count Joey Wright is now 2-7 in SF series, and 0-3 against Rob Beveridge.

Adelaide either have to get better at executing in the half-court at both ends or better at speeding up playoff games. Maybe a bit more Creek at PF could help both those areas?

Randle's wife behaviour was terrible and language that would make any soldier blush, then at the end to throw Chinese food over a lady who had done/said nothing was outrageous. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this goes legal.

First it was sauce, then Chinese food, now chips and sauce.

Was it Randle's wifes tucker. She must have been really angry because she don't look like the type who would easily part with food.

Congrats to the 6ers fans on here. Of all the years I have posted on this forum this would have to be the least amount of "blame the refs" type posts I have ever seen following a loss.

Of course Joey will still blame them for allowing the Hawks to defend "that way" whatever the f*** "that way" is.

I think you're right on about the flop calls Rat10. It is a very subjective call that refs get wrong very often and too harsh a penalty when a player can end up being thrown out of a game for it.

Yeah, Johnson, I totally turned on my team. Not sure how you managed to come to that conclusion but there's something wrong with you if you think that.

FSTOS - "Was it Randle's wifes tucker. She must have been really angry because she don't look like the type who would easily part with food."

That shouldn't have been the only thing to brighten my day today, but here we are.

The problem for Adelaide is that when they're either shut down or having a poor night offensively, they can't stop their opposition at the same time. You really need to be able to do that in crunch games like last night. Perth show the league how it's done.

I think for Adelaide to have another go at winning a championship, it's going to depend on how much Joey Evolves and learns each time we get close.