Ramone Moore. I did not see that coming.

A lot of 2 guards on the team and no quality point guard. Shorter and Moore look really similar, don't see a need for both especially with Sobey as the star 2 and rising star Drmic.

The Sixers have kept their Aussie core intact, so that is a big plus right there. Will the sum of this years imports be better than last years?

Well losing Randle's quickness and scoring ability hurts. His mid-range pull-up is as close to a sure thing as I've ever seen from an NBL import.

But having said that, we also lived and died with Randle's ability to get his shot. Smart teams kept him away from his hot spots on the floor and forced him to shoot threes, where he was ok, but not nearly as effective.

The most disappointing thing about Randle was his inability to get his team-mates good looks as a result of the extra attention he drew. He had such a wealth of scoring options available and he didn't use them as well as he should have.

Collectively, it seems likely that this years import trio will be better than last years, just because Jacobsen and Ferguson never had much of an impact. I like that all three imports have plenty of professional experience and that Moore played NBL last year.

I think Shorter's play is probably going to be the most important factor in how much the Sixers can improve. Can he be significantly better defensively than Randle? And does he have the speed, handles and court vision to maximise the offensive potential of his team-mates, not just his own?

So I'm hopeful that the Sixers will better again this year and can translate that into a title. To be honest though, anything less with the Aussie core they have and it will be another wasted year. The time to win is now for the 36ers!

Sixers Fan, I agree with you. Shorter and Moore both appear to be combo guards like Sobey. Could Joey be looking at this as point guard by committee? I think a lot hinges on how effective our point guard play will be.

Also, with Shorter, Moore, Sobey and Teys looking for minutes, I think Drmic will see all his minutes at the 3 and 4. (He was a surprisingly effective rebounder as a small ball 4 last season). I really hope we find enough minutes for him this season as I think he could be a star in the NBL.

C Hodgson/Deng
F Johnson/Roberts
F Creek/Drmic
G Sobey/Moore
G Shorter/Teys

Its testament to how good this team is when 2 of the imports are projected (logically) to come off the bench.

"Sixers vs Wildcats final. The final that should've been last season's."

Can you please explain 'should have'?

Is there something not legitimate about the Hawks making the GF?

This is a seriously good looking team, no glaring weakness like last year. Teams can't just take one player out of the game and hurt us like they did with Randle last year.

You have a dynamic one-two punch with Sobey's athleticism/attacking and Moore's shooting. Shorter is an unknown, but could prove to be big. All we really need from him is solid defense and atleast 14ppg. The combination of DJ and Roberts is a pretty good one.

What really makes this team scary is the potential growth of Deng, Drmic and Hodgson. At this point on paper you'd have to say they're the strongest looking team, just wonder how it will all come together.

The lack of distinct point guard definitely stands out but you can only assume that Joey has seen enough of his options to fancy this crew.

I didn't see enough of Moore to really know whether he would play any PG. I assumed he did when he was signed by United, but everything seems to indicate SG/SF?

If Shorter can bring the ball up, he should have enough options to pass to. I think a risk though is that if he has a scoring mentality (going by his reels; he reminded me of Craig Winder, John Gilchrist, etc) he'll be inclined to take a questionable shot just slightly more often than moving the ball, and games will be won and lost by those frequent, quick decisions. We saw last season how things went when Randle took things upon himself while the Hawks stuck to their plan.

I'm hoping Roberts will be good enough to pinch a starting role.

Yes I agree a pure PG is the one thing that is most glaring, but I think Shorter has decent court vision to make the right choices and the length to make the passes.

Honestly I don't think Moore is up to PG duties from what I saw last season. He is a finisher and shooter not necessary an initiator of offence.

The guard rotation is going to be a fluid WIP I reckon,

Probably start out as:
PG - Shorter 20 / Teys 10 / Sobey 10.
SG - Sobey 15 / Moore 15 / Drmic 10 (with another 5 - 10 mins in the SF position).

And minutes will increase with each's performance.

Yeah Sobey to play point at times. I thought he improved a lot with his decision making last year. I hope never to see Teys playing point either. He is too slow and struggles to get the ball down court under pressure.

Everything I've seen of Shorter suggests to me he could be a good point guard in this league. He makes the right decisions, takes the right shots, and has good court vision.

If anything I think we're going to be better this year than last, and actually better off without Randle. I was watching some of last years games, and he sure did make half court sets very predictable. He was hard to stop, but also simple to stop at the same time. In the end, the Hawks achieved it.

This team looks like a real contender for me.

It's amazing the amount of people turning on Randle now he is not coming back. I would suggest you find out the real facts about why he is not returning, what the 36ers were willing to pay him and if they even spoke to him after the finals before commenting.

For those now bagging him about his game- I think people have forgotten that it was Johnson and Sobey who choked in games 2 and 3 which meant Randle had to take more shots in the second half that he should have or wanted to. Look at the games again if you need.

He was one of the main reasons the stadium was full and people returned to the 36ers over the last 2 years- at least show him the respect he deserves.

I agree Anon.

I found the statement "Thanks Randle for robbing us of that by the way!" quite wrong.

Overall he brought more to the sixers than any other import in recent memory, his style of play suited Joey's game plan perfectly and caused chaos for opposition teams on most nights.

Maybe the last couple of games plus his Mrs' antics soured things a bit but I would still wish him the best and thank him for bringing exciting basketball back to TSA.