Ryan
Years ago
Funny How does everyone think Adelaide will go this year
With the season seven hours from starting I was wondering how everyone thinks Adelaide will perform this year?
Personally I am quite enthusiastic about our chances. Despite the loss of Cattalini this team has much better balance than last year's. Jacob Holmes will now get to play primarily at the small forward and hopefully some at two guard, and we will be able to bring some guys of pretty decent size off of the bench. Also as a major positive there will be no Mark Nash for the first couple of games. Some may think I am being harsh on this guy but his performance last year was a disgrace, an utter disgrace. Adelaide's record last year was 14-19, yet they were something like 5-2 while Nash was injured. He is very lucky that he was already contracted for this season as I cannot honestly believe the would have been offered another contract on the back of last season's effort.
Jason Williams is also hugely fortunate to have retained his position. He has had one good year in the six he has spent on the playing roster and was dreadful last year.
That said if these two guys are able to fire off the bench then Adelaide is not going to have the same problems with its second unit as it did last year.
While Rees and Cooper may have their limitations the absolute last thing Adelaide needed was a centre that would need to have the ball on offense. A centre with a 'me-first' mentality would be no good when teamed with Farley, Maher, Holmes and Rychart.
Hopefully Oscar (who shouldn't have to play at centre this year) will also step up. If Smyth can find a way to use him facing the basket then he can be a really tough cover for any opposing forward.
I am seriously hoping that Darren Ng will manage to make a shot in a game that matters this year as at the end of the day, all he really was last year was Phil Smyth's human victory cigar at the end of blow outs.
I watched Todd Gower play as a junior against my brother and he was quite an effective centre back then. The problem is that he hasn't grown at all since he was fifteen and with the jump shot he's got I honestly can't figure out what position he is ever going to be able to play successfully at NBL level.
The Nick Hambour selection surprises me also as he's only about the third best frontcourt player on North Adelaide's roster. That said, he is in the Rees/Cooper mould, he's not going to demand the ball and he knows his limitations. There were some times in games last year that his size would have been quite useful if Smyth had bothered to put him in.
I have not much mentioned Maher, Farley and Rychart as I know what we will get out of them and at the end of the day they will not be what determines Adelaide's position on the ladder. The other nine guys have the question marks next to their name and it will be how effective they are that will be the difference between another year like last year, and one more like 2002.
