Semi-final facts

I've been down in Sydney for the last 3 days so I'll catch up on the basketball world over the next day or two. Tomorrow night I'll be around at some friends place watching JR and the Croc Nationa take on the Dragons in game 1 of their semi-final series.

In the meantime, here are the semi-final facts from the NBL:

Notes

Only six times in the 46 Semi-Finals games since the best-of-three series began in 1987 has a team lost Game One and recovered to take the series. The last was the West Sydney Razorbacks in 2002, who fought back from a 21-point loss in Game One to win the next two matches against the Melbourne Tigers.

Ten of the last eleven Semi-Finals series have required just the minimum two games to decide a winner, with a three-game series between the Sydney Kings and the Perth Wildcats last year the first match up to go the full distance in five years.

Eleven of the last twelve Semi-Finals series have ended up with the first ranked team on the ladder going through to play the second-ranked team in the Grand Final, with the exception being the third placed West Sydney Razorbacks getting through to play the first-placed Sydney Kings in 2004.

The last four teams remaining in the 2009 NBL Finals were also the top four scoring teams in the competition.

Top scorers in season 2009:

103.8 ppg – New Zealand

101.0 ppg – Melbourne

98.9 ppg – South

98.7 ppg – Townsville

98.6 ppg – Adelaide

97.6 ppg – Gold Coast

97.5 ppg – Wollongong

96.0 ppg – Perth

94.1 ppg – Sydney

86.3 ppg - Cairns

Andrej Lemanis is the only remaining coach that has been this deep in the finals as a player. He played 42 career games including three playoff matches and was a part of the South East Melbourne Magic’s winning team in 1992 under Brian Goorjian against the Melbourne Tigers. Alan Westover played 48 games for the Tigers and Supercats in 1984/85 and his former Melbourne teammate Brian Goorjian played 24 games in the Tigers’ debut season in 1984, with neither appearing in any finals matches.

Coaching playoff experience:

Brian Goorjian (Kings) 107 games - won 63, lost 44

Alan Westover (Tigers) 18 games - won 13, lost 5

Trevor Gleeson (Crocs) 5 games - won 3, lost 2

Andrej Lemanis (Breakers) 3 games - won 2, lost 1

Incredibly, for the 20^th straight season, Brian Goorjian will be coaching in at least the Semi-Finals. In every season since 1990, Goorjian has coached his team to at least a top four finish. Breakers coach Andrej Lemanis and Townsville head man Trevor Gleeson are both in the final four for the first time.

Coaching appearances in the final four (numbers include this season)

20 – Brian Goorjian

8 – Brian Kerle

7 – Lindsay Gaze, Bruce Palmer

6 – Bob Turner, Alan Black

5 – Cal Bruton, Phil Smyth, Brendan Joyce

4 – Barry Barnes, Ian Stacker, Joey Wright, Alan Westover

3 – Brett Brown, Ken Cole, Adrian Hurley, Mike Dunlap, Ken Richardson,

2 – Geordie McLeod, David Lindstrom, Gary Fox, Dave Claxton, Murray Arnold, Scott Fisher

1 – Dave Ankeney, Andy Campbell, Jim Ericksen, Brett Flanigan, Jerry Lee, Don Shipway, Cal Stamp, Ray Tomlinson, Andrej Lemanis, Trevor Gleeson

The 24^th of February marks the 30^th anniversary of the first ever NBL matches played, which kicked off at three venues on the opening night of the inaugural 1979 season. At Nunawading Stadium, the Spectres defeated the Newcastle 78-62 with Falcon Dave Ankeney the game high scorer with 28 points. The Glenelg Tigers won just one of their three victories in 1979 with a 68-65 win over the City of Sydney Astronauts at Apollo Stadium in Adelaide and the Brisbane Bullets hosted Canberra Cannons but went down 70-77 at Auchenflower. Future Hall of Famer’s Cal Bruton and Herb McEachin both made their debuts in that match.

SOUTH DRAGONS VS TOWNSVILLE CROCODILES

Game 1 – Hisense Arena, Tuesday February 24

Game 2 – Townsville Entertainment Centre, Thursday February 26

Game 3 – Hisense Arena, Saturday February 28 *(if required)

All-Time: Dragons 3, Crocs 6

In Melbourne: Dragons 2, Crocs 2

In Townsville: Crocs 4, Dragons 1

2009 meetings:

Round 2: 25/9/08 Crocs 91 Dragons 89 at Hisense Arena

Round 14: 20/12/08 Dragons 88 Crocs 84 at Hisense Arena

Round 16: 31/12/08 Crocs 105 Dragons 95 at Townsville

Round 21: 6/2/09 Crocs 101 def Dragons 98 at Townsville

Finals history - South:

2007: Quarter Final lost at Cairns

Semi Finals history - Townsville:

2000: Semi Finals lost to Perth 1-2

2001: Semi Final beat Victoria 2-1: Grand Final lost to Wollongong 1-2

2003: Semi Final lost to Sydney 1-2

2005: Semi Final lost to Wollongong 0-2

Coaches head to head: Brian Goorjian 5 wins, Trevor Gleeson 5 wins

Trevor Gleeson will coach his 100^th NBL match in Game Two of this series back in Townsville. Coincidently he made his coaching debut at The Swamp in September 2006 against Brian Goorjian’s Sydney Kings, who were the defending Champions at the time, with the Crocs winning 117-103. John Rillie top scored in that match with 37 points – the equal most he has ever scored for the Crocs. Gleeson won his first four games as coach in Townsville, with his first loss coming to the Dragons by 13. It remains South’s only win at The Swamp and the Crocs answered with a run of eight straight wins immediately after.

Currently the Crocs are on a nine-game winning streak at home, which is their best-ever run under Gleeson’s watch and is equal-third best in franchise history. Game Two of this series will also be Gleeson’s 50^th game at The Swamp and in that time he has 39 wins and just 10 losses.

In 152 games played this season there was 22 times where the team that was behind at three-quarter time got up to win. However, South and Townsville were the only two teams that never gave up a lead to lose a game this season. The Crocs fought back from being down at the last change to win a record five times this year – with four of those in the top eight comebacks - while South came back four times from deficits.

Best comebacks from 3/4 time deficit this season to win:

13 – Townsville vs Cairns round 2

10 – South at Melbourne round 13

9 – Townsville at Cairns round 11

9 – Wollongong vs Cairns round 7

8 – Townsville at Wollongong round 19

8 – Sydney vs Adelaide round 2

8 – Cairns at Adelaide round 8

7 – Townsville vs Sydney round 6

Brian Goorjian has not got a good recent record at The Swamp, with just two wins in his last seven visits. At Hisense Arena his record has been very good, with 12 wins from 14 games with the only losses being to the Crocs (by 2) and the Wildcats (by 9).

With a 1-3 record against Townsville this year, it is just the second time in Brian Goorjian’s 22 seasons as coach in the NBL that he has lost three regular season games to another team. His Victoria Titans in1998/99 lost all 3 games that year by 15, 9 and 25 against Townsville.

Dragon Rhys Carter is the most experienced player making his playoff debut this season with 162 games under his belt – all in the regular season. Carter made his NBL debut at Hisense Arena for Victoria against the Melbourne Tigers in October 2002 and just completed his sixth season in the league with no finals to this point of his career. Last year Breaker Paul Henare made his finals debut after 155 games. League records are not complete in this area but Bullets and Crocs shooter Jason Cameron was one example of having a long career without team success by appearing in nine seasons and 207 games without playing in a finals game in his career.

Last week, Croc John Rillie became the first man to connect on 10 three-point baskets in an NBL playoff game when he helped his team eliminate Perth. Rillie has a career best of 11-from-14 long range baskets and also has the record for most points by an Australian player in a playoff game when he scored a career-high 45-points against the Wollongong Hawks in the 2003 Semi-Finals.

Most three-pointers in a playoff game:

10-from-17: John Rillie for Townsville vs Perth 2009 Quarter Final

9-from-16: CJ Bruton for Sydney vs West Sydney 2004 Grand Final

9-from-14: Marcus Timmons for Melbourne vs West Sydney 2002 Semi Final

9-from-13: Michael Johnson for Newcastle vs Brisbane 1993 Quarter Final

9-from-14: Shane Heal for Geelong vs Nth Melbourne 1991 Elimination Final

Crocs guard Corey Williams has averaged a team-high 22.5 ppg against the Dragons this year with Brad Williamson also causing problems at 13.8 ppg. Williams has only fouled out once this year and that was in the Crocs’ win in Melbourne. Twice this year Williams has picked up double-figure rebounds and both were against the Dragons.

Average points scored against Dragons this year:

25.3ppg – Kirk Penney (Breakers)

22.5 ppg – Corey Williams (Crocs)

22.5 ppg – Chris Anstey (Tigers)

21.0 ppg – Derrick Low (Spirit)

19.7 ppg – James Harvey (Blaze)

After averaging 10.1ppg in his first seven games with the Dragons, Donta Smith appears to have turned the corner with 20.7ppg over his last three where he led the team in scoring with 22, 21 and 19. His results from long-range have also been improved in the last three, hitting 6-from-10 after going just 1-from-13 in his first seven matches.

In Game Two of this series, Daniel Egan will become the 17^th man to play 100 games for the Crocs. Egan and John Rillie have both played every game for the club under Trevor Gleeson since the start of the 2007 season.

The Dragons are a perfect 12-from-12 when scoring 100 points or more in a match this year, with Perth the only other team this year that were not beaten when scoring triple-figures (10-from10). Townsville were also one of two teams that the Dragons weren’t able to score 100 points against this season – in four games - with Perth the other (three games).

Townsville could not win a game when scoring 90 points or less this year with eight losses. Their lowest winning score was the 91 against the Dragons in Round Two. South scored just 82 points in their last game in Cairns, which was their lowest score of the year but it was enough to win by two points.

MELBOURNE TIGERS VS NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS

Game 1 – State Netball Hockey Centre, Wednesday February 25

Game 2 – North Shore Events Centre, Friday February 27

Game 3 – State Netball Hockey Centre, Sunday February 29 *(if required)

All-Time: Tigers 14, Breakers 5

In Melbourne: Tigers 9, Breakers 1

In Auckland: Breakers 4, Tigers 5

2009 meetings:

Round 2: 25/9/08 Breakers 120 Tigers 111 at North Shore

Round 8: 8/11/08 Breakers 86 def Tigers 84 at The Cage

Round 19: 22/1/09 Tigers 103 def Breakers 85 at North Shore

Round 19: 24/1/09 Tigers 96 def Breakers 89 at The Cage

Melbourne’s Semi Finals history:

1992: Semi Final beat Sydney 2-1: Grand Final lost to Magic 1-2

1993: Semi Final beat Magic 2-0: Grand Final beat Perth 2-1

1994: Semi Final lost to Adelaide 0-2

1996: Semi Final beat Canberra 2-1: Grand Final lost to Magic 1-2

1997: Semi Final beat North Melb 2-0: Grand Final beat Magic 2-1

1999: Semi Final lost to Victoria 0-2

2002: Semi Final lost to West Sydney 1-2

2006: Semi Final beat Perth 2-0: Grand Final beat Sydney 3-0

2007: Semi Final beat Cairns 2-0: Grand Final lost to Brisbane 1-3

2008: Semi Final beat Brisbane 2-0: Grand Final beat Sydney 3-2

New Zealand’s Finals history:

2008: Quarter Final beat Cairns 1-0

2008: Quarter Final lost to Brisbane 0-1

2009: Quarter Final beat Adelaide 1-0

The Tigers won their first eight straight games at The Cage against New Zealand before they lost by 2 points in Round Eight in a game that the Breakers led by as much as 22 points early in the third.

In their first meeting this year, New Zealand dropped 20 three-pointers on the Tigers, which is the Breakers’ all-time best in their history and the most any team had ever connected against Melbourne. In their first two wins over the Tigers this year, New Zealand made 32 baskets from outside the arc at 48%. In the next two losses, they could manage just 15 makes at 31%.

New Zealand’s last two games at North Shore have produced wins by 34 over Cairns and 30 against the Sixers. In their history the Breakers have never won consecutive home games by anything more than 14 points. Their 18-point loss to the Tigers in Round 19 was their heaviest home defeat of this year so far.

New Zealand are the only team in the NBL that has not been blown for a technical foul all year and could be the first team to go through a season without picking up at least one since records were kept. Last season the Breakers had racked up eight techs, which was second most in the league to the Sydney Kings (14). This year’s overall tally of 62 is also the lowest in history and 15 less than the 77 recorded in 2008.

Technical fouls this season:

12 – Gold Coast

8 – Adelaide; Cairns; Perth

6 – South; Wollongong

5 – Melbourne; Townsville

4 – Sydney

0 – New Zealand

Breaker Kirk Penney has a career scoring average of 24.3 ppg but in his three playoff games so far he has elevated that to 28.3 ppg with scores of 30 against Cairns, 24 versus the Bullets and 31 last week against Adelaide. In the last 10 years of the NBL Finals, his average is the best of any player who has played more than one game.

Leading career playoff averages (last 10 years only):
28.3 ppg: Kirk Penney (3 games)

26.5 ppg: Willie Farley (10 games)

25.7 ppg: Corey Williams (3 games)

24.0 ppg: Kevin Brooks (6 games)

23.8 ppg: Chris Williams (8 games)

22.4 ppg: Lanard Copeland (16 games)

Alan Westover is in his fourth year as full-time coach of the Tigers and has a perfect record in the Semi-Finals with six wins from six games in his first three years in the job. In 2006 it was Perth who were swept 0-2 with Cairns in 2007 and Brisbane (2008) suffering the same fate. Last season he became the first coach to ever make three appearances in the Grand Final in his first three years as coach.

Oscar Forman needs three more games to reach 250 in his career. Forman has hit 98 threes this season to lead the league in makes. Last year five players had made at least 100 triples in the regular season - Ebi Ere, Kirk Penney, CJ Bruton, James Harvey and Troy DeVries. Forman’s previous career best was 81 makes in 33 games for the Breakers in 2007.

Last week the Breakers clocked up a new club record 131 points in their thrashing of Adelaide, beating their previous high of 127 coming against the Bullets last year. In a runaway final term, New Zealand also set a new quarter scoring record for the club with a 45-point term.

Breakers best NBL quarters:

45 – vs Adelaide 2009 (4^th)

44 – vs Adelaide 2004 (1^st)

44 – at Perth 2009 (4^th)

43 - vs Townsville 2007 (4^th)

Chris Ansey is averaging a team high 21.8 ppg against the Breakers this year but he has shot just 4-from-20 from outside the arc against the Kiwis. It was his second worst long range percentage against any team this year behind only the Sydney Spirit, who he went 0-from-11 against in three games.

The Tigers had the best record of any team this season when on television, losing just one game and that was against the Breakers in Auckland. Sydney was the only team that never enjoyed a broadcast victory on either Fox Sports in Australia or Maori Television in New Zealand.

Combined television record this season:

Melbourne - 6 wins, 1 loss

South - 5 wins, 2 losses

New Zealand - 11 wins, 5 losses

Adelaide - 4 wins, 4 losses

Townsville - 3 wins, 4 losses

Gold Coast - 1 win, 2 losses

Wollongong - 1 win, 3 losses

Perth - 1 win, 3 losses

Cairns - 1 win, 5 losses

Sydney - 0 wins, 4 losses

Tigers Dave Thomas and Luke Kendall are attempting to be just the third and fourth players in league history to change clubs during the season and find themselves in a Grand Final. Thomas played 16 games with the Taipans and Kendall 12 games with Perth before both found their way to Melbourne. In 2002, Matt Garrison left the Taipans after 10 games and signed with Adelaide to eventually find himself with a Championship ring that year to add to the one he won with the Hawks in 2001. In 2004 Brad Williams spent time at both New Zealand and Cairns before playing out the year at the Razorbacks and qualifying for the Grand Final in which they were runners up to the Kings.