NBA Draft '09

Its been a week since I last posted ... can you tell its pretty quiet in the basketball world right now??

In the (new) NBL, teams are signing players and getting themselves organised for the upcoming season. There are still plenty of announcements yet to happen and plenty of quality talent waiting to get picked up (John Rillie anyone?).

In the NBA, since the Lakers took care of business in the NBA Championship Series a little early, all the talk at the moment is about the upcoming draft. From an Aussie perspective, there's plenty of interest around Patrick Mills and if he will go in the first round. Then, once his name has been called, the interest surrounds Joe Ingles and where/when he'll be drafted.

Hopefully Patty will be picked up a team that can give him some minutes straight away. Ideally a team with a good point guard that he can learn from. As for Ingles, the question is whether he'll be signed to a contract by his team or if he'll be the next Brad Newley/CJ Bruton (drafted but yet to play in the NBA).

John Rillie found a couple of interviews with Patty and Joe, click here to check them out.

The team at Dime have had plenty of stories about the draft so check out their site and stay up to date with everything that's happening.

Joe Ingles getting NBA love

Although I don't think he's ready and I'm not a big fan, its nice to see Joe Ingles getting some love from the crew at Dime and getting a mention in the lead up to the NBA pre-draft camp. I'll keep you updated as I hear more about how he gets on. For his sakes, let's hope he does well, because its not like he has the Dragons to come back to ... groan ...

Sunday Best: Game 7’s galore | Dime Magazine (www.dimemag.com) : Daily NBA News, NBA Trades, NBA Rumors, Basketball Videos, Sneakers

… The roster is set for the next NBA pre-draft camp, which is back in its traditional home in Chicago after a few years in Orlando. Scheduled for May 27-29 at the A.T.T.A.C.K. Athletics complex (the gym run by Jordan and D-Wade trainer Tim Grover), the roster includes all the big names you’d expect — Blake Griffin, Hasheem Thabeet, Stephen Curry, etc. — along with some dudes have a lot to gain or lose, like Greivis Vasquez (Maryland), B.J. Mullens (Ohio State), Joe Ingles (Australia) and our NBA Draft diarist, Jermaine Taylor out of Central Florida …

Maybe its that shooting form of his why I'm not a big Joe Ingles fan

NBL wrap - round 15

Not surprisingly being the festive season, round 15 in the NBL was one of the shortest you're likely to see. Here are the numbers that matter:

Dragons 117 Blaze 87

For the Dragons:

Adam Gibson 18 points
Nick Horvath 16 points, 5 boards
Joe Ingles 17 points (6 of 8 from the field including 4 triples)

For the Blaze:

James Harvey 25 points (including 6 triples), 7 boards
Luke Whitehead 19 points, 8 boards

This game wasn't ever close with the Dragons up by 15 at the first break and then 29 at the half. All 12 Dragons that stepped on court scored ... even Tariq Naqqash (development player maybe?) who played less than 4 minutes but scored 5 points. Dragons welcomed new import Donta Smith. Shane Heal returned for the Blaze ... it didn't help.

Wildcats 97 Crocodiles 76

For the Wildcats:

Isiah Victor 23 points, 6 boards (in just 25 minutes off the bench)
Peter Crawford 19 points, 7 boards
Shawn Redhage 15 points, 11 boards

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 21 points (8 of 11 from the field)
Cameron Tovey 13 points, 6 boards

When things go bad for the Crocs they go very bad. Townsville shot just 36% from the field, 10% from downtown and 57% from the line. The foul count favoured the Wildcats 23 - 35.

36ers 109 Tigers 91

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 31 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists
Luke Schenscher 21 points, 15 boards, 4 blocks
Brett Maher 19 points, 7 assists
Adam Ballinger 18 points, 7 boards
Jacob Holmes 13 points, 13 boards

For the Tigers:

Rod Grizzard 25 points, 6 boards, 3 blocks
Ebi Ere 20 points, 10 boards
Chris Anstey 12 points, 12 boards

Adelaide jumped Melbourne early leading 62 - 38 at the half. 36ers shot 50% from the field while holding the Tigers to less than 40%. This win on the road stamps the 36ers as serious contenders in the league.

Hawks 121 Spirit 117

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 25 points, 4 boards
Glen Saville 22 points (including 6 triples), 7 assists, 6 boards
Lindsay Tait 20 points, 5 assists

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 23 points, 12 boards
Blagov Jenov 21 points, 4 boards (in just 19 minutes off the bench)
Jason Smith 15 points, 7 boards

The Spirit stormed home in the final quarter but it was too little too late. In a high-scoring game, both teams shot above 50% from the field. Good to see the Hawks finally get a win again.

After round 15 in the NBL, the Dragons still lead the league 2 wins (having played 2 more games) ahead of the Breakers in 2nd place with 3rd to 7th pretty tight. Blaze still stuck on the bottom.

I'm in early again so my pick for Player of the Week (if they have one for such a small round) is Julius Hodge for his game against the Tigers. If you picked him up in your fantasy league you must be killing it now!

Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The nominations this week go to David Barlow from the Tigers (3 of 14 from the field in the loss to the 36ers), Jason Smith from Sydney (4 of 15 from the field and 5 turnovers in the loss to the Hawks) and I hate to say it ... my boy John Rillie from Townsville (1 of 9 from the field in the loss to the Wildcats). The award however goes to Justin Bowen from the Gold Coast for his 0 of 10 from the field and 3 turnovers in their flogging by the Dragons. Yes, Bowen has won this award before and his 0 of 5 from downtown proves that he still thinks he has an outside shot.

Our Shooter of the Week as always is brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. The runner-up on a countback is the red-hot James Harvey from the Blaze. Harvey shot 50% from the field including 6 of 10 from downtown but his team lost and he only hit 3 of 6 from the line. Honourable mention goes to Blagov Jenov from the Spirit from his shooting explosion off the bench against the Hawks (6 of 7 from the field, including 4 of 4 from downtown). But the winner is Glen Saville from the Hawks (pictured below when he played for the Sydney Kings) for leading his team to their first win in 9 games thanks to his 22 points, 7 of 14 from the field, 6 of 9 from downtown and 2 of 2 from the line. As a shooter, Glen is streaky to say the least ... he can either be good or very bad at times. Thankfully for the Hawks, this week he was on, especially from downtown.

NBL wrap - round 12

Better late than never, here are the number that matter from round 12 in the NBL:

Dragons 112 Hawks 78

For the Dragons:

Joe Ingles 23 points (including 5 triples), 6 boards 4 steals
Mark Worthington 20 points, 4 boards, 5 turnovers
Adam Gibson 12 points, 7 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 21 points
Dusty Rychart 16 points, 9 boards

The game was never close ... Dragons dominated from the get-go. Nice to see Gibbo now consistently putting up solid numbers for the Dragons.

Crocs 104 Breakers 88

For the Crocs:

John Rillie 18 points (including 4 triples), 5 boards
Brad Williamson 18 points (including 4 triples), 4 boards
Rosell Ellis 14 points, 12 boards

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 26 points, 7 boards
Oscar Forman 16 points (including 4 triples), 4 boards
Rick Rickert 13 points, 11 boards

The hot-shooting Breakers shot just 33% from the field and were always going to find it hard to win when CJ shot 1 of 10 and Phull Jones was 1 of 9 from the field. Crocs shot a very nice 13 of 25 from downtown (Breakers were just 5 of 25).

Spirit 92 Taipans 78

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 25 points, 13 boards
David Gruber 20 points, 11 boards

For the Taipans:

Larry Abney 19 points, 7 boards
Martin Cattalini 12 points, 6 boards, 4 steals

The match-up of two teams on the brink. Matthew Knight has had a massive last few weeks. David Gruber is really stepping up without Low and Khazzouh in the line-up. For the Taipans ... not much to say after the events of this week, its not pretty.

36ers 102 Tigers 94

For the 36ers:

Luke Schenscher 17 points, 22 boards
Julius Hodge 21 points, 8 assists, 4 boards
Brad Hill 19 points, 6 boards

For the Tigers:

Chris Anstey 23 points, 5 boards
Rod Gizzard 18 points, 7 boards
David Barlow 16 points, 5 assists

With Hodge in the line-up, the Sixers are starting to roll. Tigers looking much more human than everyone thought at the start of the season. Adelaide dominated the boards 51 - 37.

Crocs 92 Spirit 87

For the Crocs:

Rosell Ellis 18 points, 10 boards
Brad Williamson 17 points, 5 boards
Corey Williams 5 points, 12 assists, 6 boards

For the Spirit:

David Gruber 18 points (9 of 12 from the field), 10 boards
Matthew Knight 15 points, 10 boards

The Spirit made a run in the second half (55 - 43) but it was too little too late. They committed 23 turnovers (Crocs 16) and shot just 2 of 17 from downtown.

Dragons 101 Hawks 83

For the Dragons:

Mark Worthington 19 points, 10 boards, 7 assists
Mika Vukona 10 points, 12 boards
Joe Ingles 14 points, 8 assists

For the Hawks:

Glen Saville 20 points, 12 boards but 6 turnovers
Lindsay Tait 11 points, 5 boards, 5 steals

Dragons dominated the second half 56 - 35 and the boards 49 - 33. Dragons had 7 players score in double figures.

Blaze 129 Wildcats 97

For the Blaze:

Justin Bowen 35 points (12 of 17 from the field), 5 boards
Luke Whitehead 24 points, 9 boards
Ben Melmeth 17 points, 8 boards

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 21 points, 13 boards
Alex Loughton 20 points (8 of 11 from the field)
Isiah Victor 11 points, 8 boards

Yes, you read that score right ... Blaze KILLED them. Blaze outscored the Cats 45 - 17 in the 3rd term. Wildcats lost the boards (39 - 52) and the turnovers (25 - 18).

After round 12 in the NBL, the Dragons are back on top with 14 wins just ahead of the Breakers on 13. Tigers, Crocs and Wildcats are all on 9 wins. Blaze are still on the bottom but now have 3 wins, Cairns and Hawks are ahead of them on 6.

Player of the Week went to Justin Bowen of the Gold Coast Blaze for his performance against the Wildcats. His stat line was 35 points, 12 of 17 shooting, 3 of 4 from downtown, 8 of 8 from the line, 5 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals, 2 turnovers. Impressive game!

Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The award could go to the Hawks team for losing their games by 35 and 18 points respectively but instead they are the runners up. The award this week goes to two NZ Breakers ... Phull Jones and CJ Bruton for their combined 2 of 19 "shooting performance" against the Crocs ... even Paul Henare managed to shoot 2 of 5 in that game!

Finally, our Shooter of the Week brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips was a tough one this round. Honourable mentions go to Joe Ingles for his 5 triples against the Hawks and Brad Hill from Adelaide for his 8 of 11 shooting off the bench against the Tigers. Justin Bowen, Player of the Week is unlucky not to get the nod but I know from watching him ... he's not a shooter. This week the award goes to much-improved Spirit import, David Gruber (pictured below). Now, I haven't seen him play but I think he's a hard-working banger rather than a shooter ... but his clips this round were outstanding, 9 of 14 against Cairns and 9 of 12 against the Crocs.

NBL wrap - round 5

I know I seemingly went missing for a few days ... 4 or 5 days without posting, what's going on?? Ha ha ha, nothing serious, honestly. I had a massive weekend and just haven't had a chance. The weekend started on Thursday night with my regular APL poker game, Friday night I got an invite to a corporate at the QLD Roar, Saturday night I had a friend's 30th and then Sunday was spent playing in a State poker tournament.

Anyway, down to business and round 5 of the NBL season ...

Perth Wildcats 89 Wollongong Hawks 77

For Perth:
Alex Loughton 21 points (9 of 13 from the field)
Shawn Redhage 20 points, 8 boards, 4 assists
Stephen Weigh 15 points, 8 boards

For Wollongong:
Anthony Petrie 24 points 8 boards
Dusty Rychart 10 points, 7 boards

It really looks like the Hawks just failed to show up for this game. Glen Saville, Kavossy Franklin and Cameron Tragardh combined shot just 9 of 29 from the field.

NZ Breakers 120 Gold Coast Blaze 108

For NZ:
Kirk Penney 29 points (including 15 of 16 from the line)
Rick Rickert 22 points (9 of 12 from the field), 6 boards
Phill Jones 21 points (6 of 8 shooting, including 4 triples)
CJ Bruton 22 points, 8 assists, 7 boards

For GC:
Shane Heal 23 points, 7 assists
Luke Whitehead 22 points, 6 boards, 5 assists
James Harvey 17 points (including 5 triples)

Not too much D played in this one with both teams shooting around 50% from the field. The game was close for most of it but NZ pulled away when it mattered.

Wollongong Hawks 105 Adelaide 36'ers 95

For Wollongong:
Kavossy Franklin 24 points, 6 boards, 4 assists
Dusty Rychart 16 points, 12 boards
Glen Saville 14 points, 7 boards, 4 assists, 3 blocks, 2 steals

For Adelaide:
Mark Tyndale 18 points, 8 assists, 6 boards
Adam Ballinger 17 points (7 of 9 from the field), 6 boards

Welcome back Kavossy! After a very slow start this is the sort of output the Hawks expect from him. Balanced performance from the Hawks, Adelaide started strongly but couldn't finish it off. Brett Maher continues to struggle for Adelaide ... 2 of 10 from the field.

South Dragons 106 Sydney Spirit 101

For the Dragons:
Tremmell Darden 22 points, 8 boards, 4 assists
Nick Horvath 17 points, 8 boards
Joe Ingles 17 points

For the Spirit:
Derrick Low 32 points (including 7 triples)
Julian Khazzouh 15 points, 11 boards

Sydney charged home in this one (outscoring the Dragons 23 - 14 in the final quarter) but it was too little too late.

Perth Wildcats 107 Townsville Crocodiles 93

For Perth:
Darnell Hinson 10 points, 10 boards, 9 assists
Shawn Redhage 15 points, 7 assists, 6 boards
Ben Knight 17 points, 5 boards

For Townsville:
Rossel Ellis 21 points (10 of 15 from the field), 10 boards
Homicide Williams 20 points, 4 assists ... 6 turnovers
Russell Hinder 16 points, 11 boards

13 days (the break between games that the Crocs had) is a long time in sport. 13 days ago they beat Perth by 17 and now they lose by 14. EIGHT Wildcats scored in double figures in a very balanced team performance. Apparently Perth's physical style of play knocked the Crocs off their game.

South Dragons 108 Melbourne Tigers 80

For the Dragons:
Joe Ingles 26 points, 9 boards, 8 assists, 4 steals
Tremmell Darden 18 points, 8 boards
Nick Horvath 17 points

For the Tigers:
Chris Anstey 27 points, 11 boards, 4 blocks
Sam Mackinnon 9 points, 8 boards,

Massive game from Joe Ingles, John Rillie said in his latest podcast that the game would be decided by the match up of Joe and Rod Gizzard. Joe wins hands down and so do the Dragons. Tigers shot just 32% from the field (without Anstey, they shot just 27%) and 17% from downtown. Its disappointing that this wasn't closer because there was a fantastic crowd of over 9300 on hand to see the local derby.

Cairns Taipans 102 Gold Coast Blaze 87

For Cairns:
Larry Abney 19 points, 7 boards
Stephen Black 18 points
Martin Cattalini 17 points, 7 boards

For GC:
Greg Vanderjagt 17 points, 8 boards
James Harvey 18 points

Cairns were too good and the Blaze continue to stink it up (0 of 7 so far this season) ... enough said.

For his outstanding performance in what should have been the game of the round, Joe Ingles was yesterday named player of the week.

For raining in 7 triples, our Shooter of the Week award goes to Derrick Low (below) from the Spirit. Considering no one is going to their games, I wasn't surprised that I couldn't find any action shots of him in the NBL. Nice shooting form in this photo tho.