Is 1 Cotton worth 1 Giddey + 1 Humphries?
Perth by 2.

Great question. What's the answer? Put that simply, it's a fairly even match-up but Perth will win, easily.

Perfect time to rest the Silk, when Giddy & Humph out.

Could be a record setting away win here for Perth

On the contrary, could be really interesting. Knowing that there's no Cotton, in advance, reckon we'll see what the rest of the team has from go to woe.

...or does the result not matter?

Perth trying to keep it interesting then

If Dech puts as much energy into Norton as he usually does into Cotton then it could get very ugly for Perth's offence.

This feels like the NBA now with all of these pointless games.

DJ looks sweaty af already

Panel show commentary because the game is so irrelevant

All the hypotheticals

- should we have an all defensive team
- should Adelaide resign Paul
- is Dech a starter on a championship team
- how good are Adelaide if IH/Giddey play whole season

First 7mins of first quarter

Can someone buy Adelaide a cheeseburger...they sound so desperate.

Magnay is so out of touch hes fumbling everything. Hopefully they can get him going by the finals

We can't even beat the Wildcats without Cotton. This is disappointing.

Onya Cats.
Not pretty but very solid.

Gleeson might have been approached but he ain't going. His wife and kids are very happy in Perth.

Adelaide players aren't playing like they care and they aren’t playing like they want contracts.

Dillon Pinder and Crocker only ones with energy...

C Humphries/Sotto
F DJ/Pinder
F Dech/McVeigh
G Import/Rigoni
G Import/White

Stuff it - poach Isaac White, sign Rigoni have SA players that can splash the three.

Sign a passing guard Giddey style to work with IH; sign a scoring SG, move Dech to SF.

- should we have an all defensive team

Sure, why not

- should Adelaide resign Paul

Really depends on how much he would cost and who else is available.
Good shooter and can be a disruptive defender, but I've never a seen a more
athletic guy so incapable of getting to the rim! If they can get a great
point guard and still afford him, it could work.

- is Dech a starter on a championship team

Not yet, but he could be, if he keeps working on his game. Lost confidence
with his 3pt shot halfway through the season. Needs to shore that up,
improve his playmaking and his finishing at the rim.

- how good are Adelaide if IH/Giddey play whole season

Highly likely they would have finished 4th, but I doubt they would have had the offensive execution to really challenge Melbourne in the playoffs. To be fair though, Brisbane lost Law and Sydney lost Vasiljevic, Louzada and Cooks. Throw those guys back in as well and it would've been very close.

KET, I wonder if McDowell-White will be available next season? He may not want to be stuck behind Tai Webster in NZ? Looked good in the couple of games I saw him.

He has good size for a point, was a pest defensively, can get into the paint and find open team-mates too. Has the 4th best assist average in the league and very low TOs.

Shooting is his main weakness, but if you had Dech, Paul and DJ out there with him, you'd probably have enough shooting around him. If they save a bit of money there instead of forking out for an elite PG (who might still turn out to be trash) maybe they can afford to find two high quality imports?

It would be nice to find another SA born guy who can contribute off the bench as well. Maybe its worth looking at guys like Daly or Spear? Both seem to be doing well for Sturt, who are 6-0 this season.

Dech is a brilliant defender - that's unnecessarily harsh.

I’d be happy to throw the reigns to McDowell-White at PG, Adelaides import hit rate is pretty bad at the best of times

Games like that get my head spinning...

Adelaide played like their season is over.
Perth played like they knew Adelaide's season was over.
Adelaide played like they knew that Perth knew, but just didn't care.

In such circumstance, I'm never sure whether to hope that Perth gets a low-intensity workout, or hope that Adelaide salvages some pride.
In the end, without Cotton, I was kinda hoping that the rest of Perth would go to town. Oh well.

I suppose Perth are still a theoretical chance to overtake MU, so a win is a win.

Paul is a very good player but his game has gone down hill as the season has gone on. Its more a case of poor coaching and no system at the sixers than opposition scouting. Would love to see him in a wildcats jersey

Agreed.

Paul is a decent player that can half flashes of a star player.

I think he could be a great Terrico White type of player, not the go guy but can do in a pinch, but a good 2nd or 3rd option within a decent system.

Obviously that system does not exist in Adelaide or under Henry.

I initially thought this season was hampered by injuries, more and more I am coming to the conclusion its equally hampered by the head coach.

You just did it

Martin shot almost 50% from three in 2010.

I don't want to see Brandon Paul anywhere near the Sixers next season. Aside from not being that good it's been obvious from about 4-5 games in that he's just playing 'bruise-free' basketball to try and avoid injury for his next contract. A bit like Hobson at the Hawks last season although admittedly Paul is putting in more effort than he did.

Tony Crocker would actually be a nice re-signing he plays as hard as he possibly can unlike Paul he's a better shooter than Paul too and does occasionally get hot from outside. As a cheaper second or third string import next season I would welcome his return especially if we lose McVeigh.

I would like to see Brandon Paul in the league but I doubt he would like to be in Adelaide next season.

I think he is a decent import, at the right (mid tier) price tag I think he is serviceable and decent value for money.

If the league goes back to three imports, he would be a decent 2nd import.

If the league stays at 2 imports, you may not want him to be the Alpha import, it has mixed results or you need a system that will utilise his skill sets.

To the last Anon:

With DJ and Humphries as key players and Conner coaching, I can't see us playing a fast pace. It was fun for awhile under Joey, but IMO, unless we somehow have all the best athletes with the best basketball IQs, that strategy is not going to win a title very often.

If you'd asked me earlier in the season, I would've said we need a good import 4. But Pinder really turned it around in the second half. He's still got to get smarter to avoid early foul trouble, but what big man doesn't in the NBL?

Other than that, he's shown he is exactly what you are asking for - an athletic 4 who plays with energy on both ends. I'd rather the Sixers invest in him than gamble on another import 4, who will more than likely underwhelm and if he's any good, will leave for a bigger pay-check!

I'd rather save the money there and spend big on one or two imports to try to increase our chances of actually getting someone who is a game-changer. We've literally only had one import worth remembering since Farley and that was Childress.

Moving DJ to the bench is a possibility in the next year or two. I think he will probably continue to start next season, but play less minutes against some matchups. A lot will also depend on how well Humphries and Pinder play and if they can avoid injury.

a game-changer. We've literally only had one import worth remembering since Farley and that was

Randle was a great mid-range shooter Lovebroker, but he talked a lot of trash and then choked when the Hawks put the pressure on. If he actually could create for his team-mates and wasn't a liability on defence, then we probably would have won a title, but he couldn't and we didn't. His second stint with us he was well past his best and never should've been signed. He was flashy, but he just is not memorable for me.

Lol, I'm not certain Pinder is 'the answer' either! I just think he showed enough the second half of the season that he might be a better bet than bringing in another import 4. I'd definitely give him another contract to see what he can become in the NBL. No idea on cost, but I would be surprised if he is as expensive as a good import 4!

I think that's been a large part of the reason for the criticism of Pinder's play because he is supposedly on around import level money. If that is true and he's not willing to take a pay cut next season then let him go even though he has improved a fair bit in the second half of the season.