JvG you've done it again!

Yeah, soreness is just spin. Definitely not the case - heard it from someone on the road with the team this morning that clearance still hasn't come through yet.

He's suited up and about to step on the court?

Back in your box Titan. Better luck next time

Sotto's already played, drop the BS. If clearance hadn't come through yet he couldn't have played at all and he has.

I stand corrected - looks like the clearance has come in after all.

Zodiac - I never said anything about Sotto not being cleared.

Well, this isn't going great

Would have been better off not suiting him.... :|

Stay capping titan, tell ur "sources" they need to lift.

I'll be honest, my sources were earlier in the week.

Tried to bluff, got it wrong, I’ll cop it on the chin for that.

To be fair to Titan, the 36ers website announced he wasn't playing. https://www.adelaide36ers.com/news/nbl-blitz-or-game-3-roster-update

I'll be honest, my sources were earlier in the week.

Tried to bluff, got it wrong, I'll cop it on the chin for that.

Not very often you see a 36ers team get down big early and actually come back. Start was obviously terrible, but it's been an encouraging recovery

That camera work at the very end, oh my lord someone lost the plot

Well, I'm impressed. 33 to 12 at quarter time, then chipping away at the lead to end up winning by 2.
King came up with some big plays at the end.
Hannahs looks like a good one. Withers not so much.
12 assists for McCarron.
Obviously Adams and Magnay pretty much only played the first quarter, when all the damage was done, so it's as much an indictment on their lack of depth that we were able to come back.

Magnay will be the difference maker for JJs - if he becomes a beast, that'll tie directly to their fortunes.

If he doesn’t, it’s too much on the imports to do everything IMO.

Hannahs will be aggressive for Adelaide, still think height/physical strength may prevent him having open shot that he needs - Adelaide will need to open those spots for him.

Good game by King today. Hard to say anything about Withers yet.

Still more than ever Adelaide looked like it lacks that defensive big, especially when IH wasn’t on the floor.

Shocking 1st quarter, but thankfully the team pulled together after that and played quite well. Magnay was a beast in that first quarter. Hopefully it wakes Isaac up so he's ready from game one!

How good is it having a floor leader and ACTUAL point guard?!?! Great signing that one. He is exactly what the Sixers have been missing forever.

Need to see how Hannahs goes against some of the more elite teams once they start game-planning, but he looked pretty good in this one. Adams fouled out in 13 mins and at least a couple of those fouls were him chasing Hannahs around. Hoping he turns into the second coming of Kevin Lisch (Perth years)!

I liked the look of Withers defensively. Despite being short of match fitness, he worked hard and I thought he showed good foot-speed on the perimeter and enough strength to win some tough contested rebounds. Had a nice block too!

Imports certainly look a clear upgrade on the last two seasons!

Who thinks the starting lineup tonight is the most likely starting 5 for the real season? I would think Humphries, DJ and McCarron are locks. Any chance Hannahs is used as a Sixth man instead? Would King and/or Dech start in place of Hannahs and/or Withers?

Magette looked really good, except when he was jacking 3's from mid-court, but is it just me or does he travel a lot? Usually around the top of the key as he's looking to pass, got this triple-stutter step thing that looks real bad.

Most likely I'd start the 5 used last night.
Withers is unfit, but he might be good, when fit.

You can't operate on the expectation that your club can score any FA it wants and if a player didn’t sign with JJs it means JJs didn’t pursue the player. That’s just not reality.

It’s tough being the first year and building a new roster, and it’s Tasmania - players won’t be chomping at the bit to join a first year (unlikely to compete for championship) team, nor would players choose it for the "location" unless the family is there. And then you’ve got 9 other clubs to compete with for signatures. That means JJs have to spend big on imports and pay overs for players looking for bigger opportunities. And then hope they don’t get trumped. Have to give JJs some leeway!

How long does this blitz go for? Seems a little bit too long for me and games far too spaced apart. Not genuinely complaining about pre-season coverage that is free, but was pretty unwatchable in my opinion. I would be putting time and money in to something else but am often guilty of flippancy.

Beantown,

I'm guessing something like

Humphries, DJ, Withers, Hannahs, McCarron as the starting 5.

Then when Humphries is off, DJ to C, Withers slips to be the PF slash extremely undersized C defensive cover; Dech covers SF.

Hannahs as a sixth man spark plug off the bench would be awesome - however 36ers need him to be starting, and starting quality at that.

They don’t really have much shooting but they do have a glut of guards if you consider Tad, King, Dech off the bench. Wouldn’t put any of those as a starting SG, and wouldn’t be adding more bench guards to the scenario either.

Withers looks good defensively, we need him to be a scoring option too though.

It’s odd that we have Malou, Sotto, Bairstow, Harris. Really the only minutes left have to go to Malou.

MC - as much as it's easy to criticise and not understand the logistical constraints, I completely agree with you - seems too long and drawn out and feels like they could schedule games better without having "no games" days.

Why have games on a other weekdays but not Wednesday last week? Why not Monday and Tuesday this week?

It sort of extends to the season proper - I understand Thu-Sun as a general standard.

But why no games Monday 27th Dec that is a public holiday?

Or the wed/thu evenings 29th/30th Dec?

Why not Monday 3rd Jan - also a public holiday?

But Monday 10th and Tuesday 11th they schedule when most people are back at work....

They don’t seem to have filled some pretty perfect days for people to go to the basketball, especially if you’re looking for something to take the kids to in the summer.

KET and Camel, I tend to think that the starting 5 used yesterday is what they'll start the season with too. King has looked quite good in preseason, so perhaps you could make a case for him starting if you're worried about Hannahs being hunted on defence due to his size. Probably best just to start him for now though and adjust if necessary.

I feel like the Sixers are in much better shape depth-wise this season, being able to bring Dufelmeier, King and Dech off the bench. Even Bairstow is another guy who is experienced and fairly skilled. I feel like he is currently the first big man off the bench based on preseason, but perhaps Malou will step up and demand some minutes too? With Sotto also there for emergencies, they can at least dish out a few more fouls in the paint! I wonder if DJ might be a little more aggressive defensively if he knows there's someone competent who can replace him if he gets in foul trouble?!?!

Thoughts on Nic Marshall? Is he an upgrade on Mudronja?

You can't judge Mudronja on last year. JVG instructing Coach Henry not to play him as one of Joeys boys. Almost ruined his career. I’d rather judge on what the Olympic bronze medal coach sees in him that a basketball manager that has overseen the demise of endless teams. Let’s wait and see.

I hope Alex gets another crack via the Hawks. It was a tough environment to be in at the Sixers last year. Sloan quitting on the team a few games in meant that Alex was thrown in the deep end. I remember early in a game against Sydney, he was somehow being asked to bring the ball up the floor with Casper Ware dogging him all the way and then get us into our offence! Not surprisingly, he had his pocket picked a couple of times, which would have really dented his confidence.

I think it was a mistake to give him a full contract, because expectations were raised too high. He was really still at DP level and too much was expected of him too soon. He should have been given longer to develop behind the scenes and given smaller roles in games that he was ready to succeed at. Doyle was never thrown to the Wolves like that! Same with most other young guys over the years.

I've liked what I've seen of Marshall though, so we have at least managed to snag another talented young SA guy. He looked good a couple of years ago when he played a couple of minutes for the Sixers too. Just a shame Mud isn't sitting on the end of the bench with Marshall, learning from the pros in training. I think both guys can be good NBL players in time if they continue to develop.

Dusty is the same height as Goulding and Harvey.
I heard in the broadcast he was in contention for MVP in the G league. He'll be starting.
Withers looked good defensively and made some nice passes. Looks under control. But his fitness was poor. Surely by now you’re ready to go. Yes manage minutes etc but if needed should be able to play a full game.

Watching McVeigh play so well, made me think it seems unlikely Conner Henry can coach. (His favororite player, Pinder, is only moderate) and we will be better this season.

McVeigh has had 9/6/1, 12/5/0 and 11/3/1
He hasn't done anything we didn't already know he could do

Watching McVeigh play so well, made me think it seems unlikely Conner Henry can coach