Anonymous
Years ago
Informative Premier League Mid Season Power Rankings
1. Southern Tigers (Last week: 1)
Record: 7-0
Notable wins: Vs North by 34, Vs Norwood by 22
The burning question: Can they complete a first half of the season sweep by beating Forestville and West in their next two games?
Season review: Well known I think they've been lucky with who they have played, but luck may be about to run out with Forestville and West looming on the horizon. Wasn't at the game Saturday but going by the play-by-play the scoreboard flattered them against Norwood. May not be as far ahead as their record shows but have taken care of business so far and capable of putting points on the board in a hurry, but the questions will come at the other end of the floor.
Key Players: Turnage (22.7ppg, 7.9rpg) and Mays (20.9ppg, 7rpg) have proven to be a competent import combination, while Johns (17.9ppg, 6.8rpg, 7.3apg) has led the league in assists and looks every bit of an NBL player. Brine (14.4ppg, 7.1rpg) provides energy both ends & Ellison (8.3ppg, 8.9rpg) has had important games off the bench.
2. West Adelaide Bearcats (3)
Record: 6-1
Noteable win: Vs Norwood by 8
The burning question: How many games can they expect from Jordan West?
Season review: Cruising along and finding ways to win, even if sometimes it hasn't been pretty. Slipped up at home vs North and had a scare vs Eastern, but more often than not thwy manage to come out on top. Have the best Australian content in the league plus an upgrade at import spots from last year (combined output) mean they'll be right there come seasons end.
Key Players: Patty Thomas (11.6ppg, 5.9rpg, 6.1apg) flirts with triple doubles regularly and James Legan (21.2ppg, 44.6% 3s) is the best shooter the league has seen since Darren Ng in his prime. Tobias Dowdell (15.4ppg, 6.1rpg) provides from court athleticism while Jordan Wests (2 games) return would make them legitimate title contenders again.
3. North Adelaide Rockets (4)
Record: 5-2
Notable wins: @ West by 6, vs Forestville by 18
The burning question: Will a fit CJ Reed and returning players be enough?
Season review: Suffered an early season reality check at Morphett Vale but are a better side than they showed that day. Pike, Goodluck and Harding will add much needed depth to a side currently relying too much on super import Alex Starling.
Key players: Alex Starling (24ppg, 14rpg) is head and shoulders above every other import in the league while his running mate CJ Reed (12ppg, 4.1rpg, 2.9apg) gets better every week. Nick Marshall (12.6ppg, 6rpg) has provided great run off the bench.
4. Norwood Flames (2)
Record: 5-2
Notable win: Vs North by 13
The burning question: Is there enough in this veteran tank for a title run?
Season review: Would be encouraged by playing Southern close for 35 minutes at the weekend and taking care of North recently. Have managed some close wins against teams they'd expect to beat.
Key players: Bryan McGriff (19.5ppg, 10rpg) has proven to be a serviceable import with an inside/outside game. Player/Coach Andrew Webber (15ppg, 3.6apg, 40% 3s) continues to be among the best PGs in the league while former Wollacott Medalist Matt Lycett (17.4ppg, 7.7rpg) is still a handful at the wing spot.
5. Forestville Eagles (5)
Record 4-3
Notable win: @ South by 11
The burning question: Will DJ play enough for Forestville to make finals?
Season review: A rocky start with no 36ers for their first couple games and a loss to North had them 0-3 but veterans Doyle and Teys have steadied the ship with 4 straight wins. DJ has only played proper minutes in one game (a win vs Woodville) and is seemingly away overseas now. My mail is he will be back for big matches coming up against Southern and Norwood. Wins there would have them racing up the rankings.
Key players: Brendan Teys (25.8ppg, 6.8rpg) is leading this team admirably and silencing critics of his NBL credentials. Likewise Adam Doyle (19.4ppg, 6.8apg) has shown his worth and is clearly the best Australian guard in the competition. Import Jalen Richard (17.7ppg, 4.7apg) has been inconsistent but is a great 4th option when full strength and youngster Michael Harris (13.4ppg, 4.1rpg) has provided some handy performances off the bench.
6. South Adelaide (6)
Record: 3-4
Notable win: @ Woodville by 8
The burning question: Will the real Eian Davis please stand up?
Season review: Seemingly the squad sandwiched between the elite and the stragglers, South just haven't had enough to get wins against teams ahead of them in the ladder. An injury to import Ivory Young hasn't helped over the past week but finding enough weekly contributors has been an issue.
Key players: 2017 Wollacott Medallist Eian Davis' production has been down (18.4ppg, 5.9apg) on his debut season, despite shooting a highly efficient 56%. One has to wonder now that wins are at a premium whether we will see a return of aggressive Eian. Dylan Shorne (16.7ppg, 11rpg) and Ivory Young (15.6ppg, 3.8rpg)have provided consistent production but South will need to find another couple beyond that.
7. Sturt Sabres (10)
Record: 2-5
Notable wins: @ Forestville by 13, @ Woodville by 7
The burning question: Are they better off without Nate Garth?
Season review: Up into 7th by virtue of a win over Woodville following their early season victory against Forestville. Have not been convincing and suffered an embarrassing loss against Eastern the game after sacking inept dribble and hype machine Nate Garth. Have a chance to build now with games vs Centrals and South coming up.
Key players: Tim Klaosen (14.5ppg, 6.5rpg, 3.9apg) is the heart and soul of this group however big fella Ben Carter (9.5ppg, 10rpg) may be the most important player to their success going forward.
8. Woodville Warriors (8)
Record: 1-6
Notable win: @ Centrals by 19
The burning question: Can Whitmore find some magic to get them to finals?
Season review: With only one win to their name, Woodville would be disappointed with how the season has started. While both imports have had their moments, they've rarely come at the same time, and too often Woodvilles offence has sputtered.
Key players: Everett Osborne (20.4ppg, 6.4rpg) and Jonathan Perry (17ppg, 6.7rpg) keep the Warriors competitive but only Alex Maiorana (8.9ppg, 6.4rpg) has contributed over 6ppg among their Aussie content.
9. Eastern Mavericks (9)
Record: 1-6
Notable win: vs Sturt by 2
The burning question: Not if, but how many wins are around the corner?
Season review: Starting with 5 consecutive losses had the Mavs starring down the barrel of a no win season, but their fortunes changed with a 2OT win over Sturt, following a narrow loss against West.
Key players: Jake Rios (30.4ppg, 46.7% 3s) has turned back the clock and is leading the league in scoring by a significant margin. Maligned import Will Wise III (21.3ppg, 6.3rpg) is proving the haters wrong and putting up great numbers.
10. Central Districts (7)
Record: 1-6
Notable win: @ Eastern by 27
The burning question: Can they put 4 quarters together against quality opposition?
Season review: After dismantling an undermanned Eastern in week 1, Centrals have lost 6 straight. Inconsistent performance has cost the Lions some opportunities to move up the standings and will be hoping to convert them into wins during the seasons second half.
Key players: While Ricardo Martin (19ppg, 8.7rpg, 1/18 3s) can't hit the side of a barn from 3 point range, he has taken his game up a level from last season while young gun Jimma Dau (17.3ppg, 10.3rpg) has taken teams by surprise this season.
Note I realise Centrals have dropped a few spot seemingly for no reason, but doing these week by week I neglected to realise they hadn't pulled off a win since round 1. Was a refreshing exercise having a look back at the season as a whole this week.
Some league wide questions at this point:
- Who is Wollacott favourite?
- Is the top 5 set?
- Can Eastern find enough wins to finish above 10th?
- Much debated topics: who has the best import combo and who has the best Aussie content?
- Whop squares off in the GF?