How many pre seasons did we endure the "this is the year Jake will break out, look at his ABA stats" etc.

Look for Jake to go back to bad shot selection and not even getting the ball in a roster with lots of shooters.

Let's see him dropping 30 or 35 in January or February and then when the real basketball is played, in the play off's

He has been a pre season champion for the last 3 or 4 season, good riddance to the BUM.

he is crap, look at his shot its so bloody blowin, ( flat. he does well now but when the real season starts we will see who does well. Mastrovich is way better

Holmes certainly aint crap. However, I do still think of the 3 main losses of Dusty, Oscar and Jacob, He is the one will will miss the least.
After seeing Horvaths and Mastros games on the weeekend, I am feeling even more excited about the coming season.
Horvath has tremendous reach. He at one point yesterday outrebounded Dodman (i think) who was in the right postion for the ball, by reaching over to the left of him with just his right hand pulling it down and putting it straight back into the basket.
Ive got it on video, was awesome to watch.

Looks like i better get down to Coles and stock up on butter, sugar, flour etc

This year the humble pie will have to be rationed equally.

I was never relaxed when the ball was in his hands towards the end of games. When he made shots, for me, it was a relief, when Maher makes shots is the norm. As a fan this was very frustrating.

His shot may have improved, but honestly it couldnt have got much worse, and lets see if those offensive rebounding stats drop now he has developed a jumper. I felt his stats werent a true indication of his play. Wish him very well for the future, but glad he is not in a Sixers jersey this season. Agree with Kent, he isnt going to get the chance to hit many game winners this season, to many better options.

Dragons are stacked wioth shooters so the likliness is that he will not be dropping 20=30 a game during the season as so many other players can do that on the team id expect the scoring to be well spread.

Skip, with all due respect to Oscar who can obviously flat out play but Jacob is ten times the player Oscar is and I think most people who have had to guard both will agree (and apologies if you have played against them)

Dear Holmes Hater, Jacob's stats for last season were 13.5 pts 8.2 rebs 3.5 asts. He was second highest rebounder behind Dusty (9.2). Despite giving away cms. to Rees, Cooper and Foreman ( their stats average 7.06 pts 3.96 rebs 1.2 asts : source NBL stats this forum :) he did those guys cold. I'd have him on my team any day.

Dear Dribbler

Thanks for your input Jacob; I hope the door didn't hit you on your arse on the way out.

Holmes Hater

Holmes was Blitz MVP last season was he not? Or was it the season before? He's got a history of playing well pre-season, will be interesting to see if he can convert it once the propert season starts. I think could have offered the Boomers something different in Japan.

Good luck to Holmes, it would be good if he can get it done in another organisation, cos he was just treading water at the Sixers.

I hope he can find his shot (except when playing the Sixers) but I suspect old habits will always creep in under pressure.

I have been a basketball fan and 36ers fan for over 2 decades now. In my opinion Holmes, Dusty and definitely Oscar are not a loss to this team. Dont get me wrong, Dusty and Holmes were great players and fan favourites but lets take a look at their replacements. Horvath to replace Dusty - Dusty put up solid 20-10 games night in night out, very consistent player who went about his business quietly and efficiently. I have looked closely at Horvath from when he played with West Sydney and in the pre season for the Sixers and in my opinion he is going to bring alot more to the table for our team. He too, will put in consistent numbers of 20-10 however, he is more athletic, is a better shooter, better defender and can fill the void at center if need be. Opposition players are going to think alot more and will probably be forced alot more to change their mind about going to the rim and or their shot with Horvath than with Dusty.....that is a positive. Holmes is a very good player also, but at the same time I think Majstrovich is going to prove he is a better player than Jacob, and better for our team. From watching Jacob over the years his greatest down fall is that once he makes a decision he goes full bore at it and that gets him into alot of trouble as he leaves himself with no options should he get in trouble. His shot has always been suspect, thats the truth.....it has improved over the years but it is still not reliable. Along with Horvath I have been watching Majstrovich closely this pre season. Let me tell you, this guy is a true blue competitor.....he will not give an inch to any of his opposition. He is a great rebounder, particularly on the offensive glass, in one pre season game he pulled in 17 rebounds and that was against Holmes & the Dragons. Majstrovich is going to be more dangerous fr opposing teams as he has much better range than Holmes and is a very good shooter. He is also not limited to pure shooting, he can put it on the floor and drive to the basket and he is a very good passer. I think overall throughout the season Majstrovich is going to prove that he is possibly on par if not better than Holmes, I think he will go from leaps and bounds under the Smyth helm. Copeland is easily a better player than Oscar. Oscar with his size refuses to rebound and cant play defense, lets face it he doesnt like the physical stuff. Although he is a good shooter he is incapable of creating his own shot, very reliant on those around him. I think he is going to really struggle in nz unless he has really worked on his game!! Copeland is a proven winner and performer and at his age will be good for the young guys as much as they will be for him!! I really beleive provided we can stay healthy we are going to be much more competitive this year than the past couple of seasons and will even surprise a few people!!

The 36ers will miss Jake & Oscar, not only next season but for the next 5- 10 years. Let's hope they perform well (except for when they play the 36ers) and eventually come back to play in their home town. Don't slag them off, if someone offered you an extra $50k a year how long would you be hanging around.

Copeland can still put it together #94939. He is still a quality player with alot of court smarts and experience, even if his athleticism is going with age. Dont write off copes just yet, hes not done with.