Crocs go LARGE!

For the last couple of seasons, the knock on the Townsville Crocodiles is that they have been under-sized. They've essentially had Russell Hinder and (insert import name here) as their only bigs, surrounded by a gaggle of guards and swingmen.

After announcing they wouldn't be resigning current MVP Corey Williams, they have dramatically changed the balance and the look of their team. Firstly they announced the signing of talented youngster, Ben Allen and today the rumour from last week was confirmed when they revealed they had also signed the biggest of the big men, Luke Schenscher.

Along with Hinder, these additions give the Crocs three bigs all 208cm or taller. Expect them to cause a lot of match-up and rebounding headaches for opposing teams. Add to that front-court, gunners like Peter Crawford, Michael Cedar and maybe Brad Williamson again and the Crocs have a potent inside-out offense.

We'll see what imports they add to the mix but based on their Australian talent alone, the Crocs are definite contenders for the 2010/2011 NBL title.

Twitter ... I didn't want to, but

I've previously said I would avoid the Twitter fad but today I relented ...

Prompted by a post from John Rillie about his trip to Darwin to follow the Top End Challenge I decided to take the step and sign up. It seems that if you want to stay up to date with what's really happening, especially in the sporting world, Twitter is now a must have. The crew at Dime virtually fill half of their off-season smack with Twitter updates from players.

After "following" JR, I tagged a number of others in the basketball world (both NBL & NBA) to keep up to date with. So far I have:

• Patty Mills
• Kevin Garnett
• Shaq
• Stephen Curry
• Steve Nash
• Mark Cuban
• Andrew Bogut
• Big Joe
• Joe Ingles
• Shawn Marion
• Troy Murphy
• Luke Schenscher
• Chris Webber
• Kevin Durant
  

Speaking of Luke Schenscher, its great to see that he's just signed with the Perth Wildcats instead of heading to Europe. He had a great season and I'm looking forward to seeing him build on that this year.

I'm getting a new mobile within the next week so I'll now make sure I can get one that I can tweet from.

NBL quarter finals set

With the final round of the NBL regular season run and done, the quarter-final match-ups have now been set.

Game 1 sees the inconsistent Perth Wildcats host the streaky Townsville Crocodiles. Perth have the home-court advantage which is a big plus in this contest. The Crocs aren't great on the road (5 - 10) and give up a lot of size to the likes of Loughton, Victor, Knight and Redhage. If the Crocs are to win they will need their bigs (Ellis and Hinder) to hold their own while their guards (Rillie, Williamson, Cedar) need to be hitting their shots.

In the second game, the Sixers travel across the ditch to take on the Breakers. This is another great game that either team could win but again the likely result sees the home-team getting the W. With Kirk Penney back in the line-up and CJ Bruton finding form after his stint on the IL, the Breakers should have too many guns for the Adelaide team. Adam Ballinger and Luke Schenscher will need to dominate the paint to keep their side in the game.

Both should be great match-ups so check them out on Fox, details below.

NBL > News

The schedule for the National Basketball League Quarter Finals has been set following the completion of the NBL regular season on Saturday night.

The Perth Wildcats secured fourth position on the ladder after their 101-86 win over the Melbourne Tigers in the final game of the regular season. The victory also secured a crucial home Quarter Final for the Wildcats, relegating their first round opponents, the Townsville Crocodiles, to fifth position and the role of visitors.

The Wildcats will now host the Crocs in the fourth versus fifth Quarter Final on Wednesday 18 February at Challenge Stadium at 6:30pm local time.

The New Zealand Breakers, who finished in third position on the ladder, will play their historic first-ever home Finals game when they host the sixth-seeded Adelaide 36ers at the North Shore Events Centre on Thursday 19 February. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30pm local time.

Both games are sudden-death elimination, with the winning teams advancing to the Semi-Finals series.

The winner of the New Zealand – Adelaide Quarter Final will face the second-seeded Melbourne Tigers, with the best-of-three series opening at the State Netball Hockey Centre on 25 February.

The winner of the Perth-Townsville Quarter Final will advance to face minor premiers, the South Dragons, with Game One scheduled for 24 February at Hisense Arena.

All NBL Finals games will be broadcast live on FOX SPORTS.

Schedule (all times local)

Quarter Finals (single game elimination)

Game 1 – 4th vs. 5th
Wed. 18 Feb.
6:30pm WDT
Perth Wildcats vs. Townsville Crocodiles
Challenge Stadium

Game 2 – 3rd vs. 6th
Thurs. 19 Feb.
7:30pm NZDT
NZ Breakers vs. Adelaide 36ers
North Shore Events Centre

NBL wrap - round 20

Here are the numbers that matter from round 20 in the NBL:

Tigers 92 Dragons 86

For the Tigers:

Chris Anstey 26 points, 10 boards, 4 blocks
David Barlow 20 points (including 4 triples), 6 boards
Tommy Greer 7 points, 8 boards

For the Dragons:

Mark Worthington 25 points, 4 boards, 4 assists
Donta Smith 10 points, 11 boards
Matt Burston 10 points, 11 boards

I was at a friend's place and because the cricket was going so badly for Australia I was able to watch this game in the background chatting with friends. The game was exciting as the Dragons made several runs down the stretch but fell just short. I didn't realise the clips were so bad with the Tigers shooting 40% from the field and the Dragons just 36%. Ebi Ere was 3 of 18, Adam Gibson was 3 of 14 and Dave Thomas went 1 of 7 from the field.

Wildcats 88 Spirit 78

For the Wildcats:

Darnell Hinson 16 points, 6 boards
Peter Crawford 16 points (including 4 triples), 4 assists
Ben Knight 14 points (7 of 8 from the field), 6 boards

For the Spirit:

Jason Smith 15 points
Matthew Knights 12 points, 7 boards
Damian Martin 9 points, 7 boards

My guess is that the Spirit tried to slow this game down to give themselves the best shot at winning an ugly one (like Cairns do). The Wildcats shot 50% from the field and still only scored 88 points. The teams combined for 44 turnovers (22 each) ... that's how not to look after the ball.

Dragons 101 Breakers 94

For the Dragons:

Matt Burston 17 points, 8 boards
Adam Gibson 16 points (8 of 8 from the line)
Donta Smith 9 points, 7 boards

For the Breakers:

Phill Jones 28 points (including 4 triples), 7 boards
Kirk Penney 17 points, 4 boards (but 7 turnovers)

The Breakers went in to this game having won their last couple against the Dragons so to lose at home was costly. The Dragons basically just outshot the Breakers (58% to 43%) which is essentially beating them at their own the game. Oscar Forman's dry spell continues with just 5 points in this one.

Tigers 113 Hawks 104

For the Tigers:

David Barlow 23 points (7 of 11 from the field), 6 boards, 4 assists
Ebi Ere 23 points
Chris Anstey 11 points, 11 boards

For the Hawks:

Kavossy Franklin 28 points, 5 boards, 5 assists
Anthony Petrie 18 points, 9 boards
Glen Saville 12 points, 11 boards, 6 assists

The Tigers jumped out to an early 9 point lead scoring 37 points in the first quarter and controlled the game from there. Hawks shot 55% from the field but had 19 costly turnovers to the Tigers 11. Both teams shot just under 50% from downtown which is pretty impressive.

36ers 107 Wildcats 92

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 27 points (including 5 triples), 6 boards
Luke Schenscher 18 points, 8 boards, 5 assists
Brett Maher 10 points, 8 boards, 4 assists

For the Wildcats:

Isiah Victor 20 points, 11 boards
Shawn Redhage 18 points, 18 boards, 5 assists
Peter Crawford 7 points, 12 boards, 7 assists

56 fouls called in the game and the teams combined to take 81 shots from the line. Both teams shot 40% or under from the field. Costly loss for the Wildcats. Peter Crawford shot just 1 of 12 from the field. Adam Ballinger is having a stellar season!

Crocs 123 Taipans 92

For the Crocs:

John Rillie 26 points (8 of 9 from the field, 6 of 7 from downtown, 4 of 4 from the line), 7 boards
Russell Hinder 17 points, 11 boards
Daniel Egan 15 points, 5 boards, 3 assists

For the Taipans:

Martin Cattalini 18 points, 8 boards (but 6 turnovers)
Matt Smith 10 points, 12 boards
Darnell Mee 14 points

There was plenty of talk in the media prior to this local derby. It didn't fail to deliver the fireworks with Ian Crosswhite getting ejected inside the first 2 minutes. Click here and here for the recap of the "action". Everyone's favourite NBL blogger John Rillie EXPLODED in the first quarter scoring 21 points and essentially ending the game before it had started. The score at half time was Crocs 71, Taipans 45. The Crocs shot an impressive 16 of 30 from downtown.

Blaze 139 Spirit 119

For the Blaze:

James Harvey 42 points (including 8 triples), 6 boards
Shane Heal 31 points (including 7 triples), 7 assists
Luke Whitehead 18 points, 13 boards

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 35 points (15 of 21 from the field), 5 boards
Blagov Janev 21 points, 7 boards
David Gruber 19 points, 6 boards

When two of the worst teams (no offence Sydney but you've run out of steam) both shoot over 50% from the field and combine for 258 points, you don't have to ask was anyone playing D ... clearly they were not. Only a dream game by fantasy basketball standards as there were some massive stats on both sides. Justin Bowen wasn't far off an ugly quadruple double (if you include turnovers). The Blaze shot an impressive 22 of 39 (56%) from downtown. The Blaze wish they got this sort of production from the duo of Harvey and Heal every night.

At the end of round 20 in the NBL, the Dragons are just 1/2 a game ahead of the Tigers in second who are riding an 8 game winning streak. The Breakers slip to 3rd just ahead of the Crocs and the Wildcats. The Blaze are still at the bottom while the Hawks and the Spirit are on 5 game losing streaks.

Now, the NBL Player of the Week is yet to be named but I'm going to go out on a limb and predict David Barlow will get the nod. He had two very good games in two wins for the Tigers. If not Barlow they'll probably give it to James Harvey for topping the 40 point mark.

Our Vlade Divac Flop of the Week nominations go to Graeme Dann from the Spirit (1 of 8 from the field and 6 turnovers in a loss to the Wildcats), Ebi Ere from the Tigers (3 of 18 from the field in the blockbuster against the Dragons) and Aaron Grabeau from the Taipans (1 of 8 from the field in a loss to the Crocs). The award has to go to inconsistent Taipans bigman Ian Crosswhite for getting ejected within the first two minutes of the game against the Crocs. Without Crosswhite on court its no wonder this game was over so soon.

As always our Shooter of the Week is brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. The honourable mentions go to Blaze backcourt Shane Heal and James Harvey for their long-distance shooting display against the Spirit. The pair combined for 73 points and 15 triples but it was a meaningless/nothing game. The winner tho (and you can call me biaised) is our boy John Rillie from the Townsville Crocs for his 21 point offensive explosion in the first quarter against the rival Taipans. JR hopped in the DeLorean and took us back in time for a vintage display of basketball shooting. With the game over in the first half, JR didn't worry about scoring anymore and instead jumped on the boards. His final line for the night was 26 points on 8 of 9 from the field, 6 of 7 from downtown, 4 of 4 from the line, 7 boards, 2 assists and just 1 turnover. No news whether or not JR wins a CD like he gives away on the OT.

Look at that focus and concentration

NBL wrap - round 19

I hope everyone enjoyed the Australia Day long weekend. That's my excuse for not posting over the last few days.

Here are the numbers that matter from round 19 in the NBL:

36ers 110 Blaze 88

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 28 points, 12 boards
Luke Schenscher 16 points, 10 boards
Brett Maher 17 points (including 4 triples), 4 assists

For the Blaze:

Luke Whitehead 21 points, 19 boards, 8 assists
Justin Bowen 18 points, 7 boards
Scott McGregor 8 points, 7 boards (in just 12 minutes)

The Blaze actually have a good recent record over the 36ers but Adelaide turned up ready to play and took control with a 30 - 13 first quarter. Adelaide shot 55% from the field while the Blaze were just 40%. Shane Heal and James Harvey combined for just 2 of 13 from the field. Luke Whitehead is putting up large, large numbers over the last 6 weeks.

Tigers 103 Breakers 85

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 22 points, 6 boards, 3 steals
Chris Anstey 16 points, 13 boards, 4 assists
Daryl Corletto 15 points (7 of 9 shooting), 4 boards (in just 16 minutes)

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 28 points (12 of 18 shooting), 4 boards
Rick Rickert 15 points, 8 boards
Tony Ronaldson 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists

The Tigers dominated the second half 56 - 37 to secure the win. The Breakers got to the free-throw line just 10 times during the game and were an uncharacteristically poor 5 of 17 from downtown. Tigers won the boards 49 to 35. CJ Bruton returned to the bench ... obviously he's nowhere near 100% since coming back from injury.

Wildcats 96 Blaze 90

For the Wildcats:

Alex Loughton 18 points
Shawn Redhage 16 points, 6 boards
Darnell Hinson 15 points, 6 boards, 6 assists

For the Blaze:

Justin Bowen 20 points, 9 boards, 5 assists
Luke Whitehead 16 points, 15 boards
Pero Cameron 10 points, 9 boards, 7 assists

A good effort from the Blaze to keep this close, but they were well rested after they failed to show up for the 36ers game. Both teams shot just over 40% from the field and struggled from the line but the Wildcats had just FOUR turnovers for the entire game. Ugly final quarter with the teams combining for 25 points total (14 for the Wildcats, 11 for the Blaze).

Tigers 95 Breakers 89

For the Tigers:

Chris Anstey 20 points, 11 boards, 4 steals, 3 blocks
Ebi Ere 14 points, 6 boards
Nathan Crosswell 14 points (7 of 10 from the field)

For the Breakers:

CJ Bruton 29 points (including 5 triples and 8 of 8 from the line)
Kirk Penney 23 points, 5 boards
Rick Rickert 11 points, 6 boards

These teams matched up twice in the space of 48 hours, once in NZ and once in Melbourne, the Tigers got both wins tho. CJ Bruton back in the starting line-up and back in form. Tigers came from behind in the second half 50 - 38 to get the win. Both teams shot just over 40% but the Tigers had just 11 turnovers to the Breakers 19.

Crocs 97 Hawks 95

For the Crocs:

Rosell Ellis 25 points, 11 boards, 4 assists
Kelvin Robertson 20 points (including 4 triples), 5 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals
Brad Williamson 15 points, 5 boards

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 27 points, 6 boards
Kavossy Franklin 19 points (6 of 9 from the field, 6 of 6 from the line), 8 assists, 5 boards
Glen Saville 17 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals

Crocs come from behind 26 - 16 in the final quarter to get the win thanks to two late buckets from Rosell Ellis. Crocs got the win on the road despite being without leading scorer Corey Williams.

Taipans 89 Spirit 83

For the Taipans:

Ian Crosswhite 27 points (11 of 15 from the field), 11 boards, 4 steals
Martin Cattalini 15 points
Aaron Grabeau 11 points, 6 boards

For the Spirit:

Jason Smith 19 points, 7 boards
David Gruber 14 points (6 of 8 from the field), 7 boards
Matthew Knight 14 points, 6 boards, 3 steals

Cairns could've won by a lot more but shot just 20 of 34 from the line and had 25 turnovers. Sydney shot just 38% from the field. MASSIVE game from Crosswhite! Sydney running out of steam at the wrong end of the season.

At the end of round 19, the Dragons are still in first but the Tigers move in to 2nd on a 6 game winning streak. The Breakers fall to 3rd (won 1 of their last 5) and the Crocs are in 4th. Blaze still on the bottom, Hawks are now second last.

Adam Ballinger (our Shooter of the Month in November) was named player of the week thanks to his impressive performance in Adelaide's win against the Blaze. Ballinger had 21 points in the first half to put the game to bed before half-time.

Now to our Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The dishonourable mentions go to Oscar Forman from the Breakers (for scoring just 7 points total in two losses to the Melbourne Tigers) and Blagov Janev of the Spirit (1 of 7 in a loss to the Taipans). The award goes to one time shooter of the week, James Harvey for hitting just 1 of 8 and doing virtually nothing else in 26 minutes of court time in an horrible loss to the 36ers.

And finally, as always our Shooter of the Week is brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. The runner up this week goes to CJ Bruton from the Breakers for his 29 points, 8 of 14 from the field, 5 of 10 from deep and 8 of 8 from the line in a loss to the Tigers. The winner of the award is none other than Adam Ballinger (pictured right) for his 28 points, 9 of 14 from the field, 4 of 5 from deep and 6 of 6 from the line, as well as 12 boards in his team's win over the Blaze. Ballinger has continued his hot form in November and is now definitely the focus of the Adelaide attack.

NBL wrap - round 17

I had a very social weekend and wasn't in front of the computer at all. It now feels strange not posting or knowing what happened in the NBA and NBL for 2 or 3 days!

Here are the numbers that matter from a full round in the NBL:

36ers 106 Hawks 99

For the 36ers:

Luke Schenscher 25 points, 13 boards
Adam Ballinger 23 points, 10 boards
Brett Maher 20 points, 4 assists

For the Hawks:

Dusty Rychart 20 points, 13 boards
Glen Saville 20 points, 8 boards, 6 assists, 4 steals
Cameron Tragardh 20 points, 5 boards

A great crowd of 6300 on hand to see Julius Hodge not turn up for the game. The 36ers bigs (Schenscher and Ballinger) dominated without him but the Hawks hung tough on the road to keep it close. 36ers had just 8 turnovers for the game and 23 offensive boards that helped get them 25 more shots than the Hawks.

Taipans 81 Wildcats 77

For the Taipans:

Darnell Mee 15 points, 3 assists, 3 steals
Gary Boodnikoff 13 points, 6 boards
Ian Crosswhite 11 points, 9 boards

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 26 points, 7 boards
Peter Crawford 15 points, 7 assists, 5 boards
Isiah Victor 12 points, 9 boards

Ugly game on paper, which obviously suits the Taipans more. Cairns shot 36% from the field, Perth shot 35%. They won without many decent individual numbers. Hinson stunk it up going 1 of 13 from the field with 4 turnovers ... looking good for the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week! Wildcats are like the Crocs ... sometimes they're good, sometimes they're far from it.

36ers 107 Taipans 86

For the 36ers:

Luke Schenscher 24 points, 16 boards
Aaron Bruce 12 points, 8 assists, 5 boards, 4 steals
Adam Ballinger 11 points, 7 boards

For the Taipans:

Aaron Grabeau 16 points, 9 boards
Martin Cattalini 10 points, 7 boards

Balanced effort from the 36ers with 7 players scoring in double figures. Schenscher is putting up (Chris) Anstey style numbers! Tough for the Taipans to back up after their surprising win the night before against the Wildcats.

Spirit 88 Hawks 79

For the Spirit:

David Gruber 26 points
Matthew Knight 20 points, 10 boards

For the Hawks:

Dusty Rychart 21 points
Kavossy Franklin 19 points

Issues with the NBL boxscore link

Dragons 115 Breakers 112 in OT

For the Dragons:

Mark Worthington 27 points, 6 boards
Rhys Carter 25 points (including 6 triples), 4 assists
Adam Gibson 18 points (6 of 7 from the field), 3 boards

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 32 points (including 6 triples), 6 assists, 6 boards
Oscar Forman 20 points (including 6 triples), 8 boards
Rick Rickert 12 points, 10 boards

This was the blockbuster that everyone hoped for last time these two teams met. CJ Bruton returned to the line-up but obviously wasn't 100% playing just 19 minutes. Rhys Carter was the surprise hero for the Dragons ... before this game I couldn't tell you how he was still in the league! Full credit to coach Brian Goorjian, he's very good with young talent. Speaking of which, another no-show from Joe Ingles (5 points, 5 boards). Dragons had just 8 turnovers, Breakers had 22.

Crocs 115 Blaze 92

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 25 points (8 of 10 from the field, 9 of 10 from the line)
Michael Cedar 22 points (including 5 triples), 5 assists, 5 boards
John Rillie 17 points (6 of 8 from the field, 5 of 7 from downtown), 6 boards

For the Blaze:

Luke Whitehead 30 points, 10 boards
James Harvey 18 points, 7 boards

The Crocs started the game with an incredible 19 - 0 run. Townsville won the boards (which is rare for them due to their lack of height) 45 - 29. Justin Bowen for the Blaze was playing ill and was a non-factor playing very limited minutes.

Tigers 108 Wildcats 81

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 32 points, 5 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals
Chris Anstey 16 points, 7 boards, 4 steals
Luke Kendall 16 points (5 of 7 shooting)

For the Wildcats:

Alex Loughton 21 points, 4 boards
Paul Rogers 18 points, 7 boards
Shawn Redhage 13 points, 6 boards

The Tigers won the boards 50 - 39 and the turnovers 13 - 25. The Wildcats were held to just 36% from the field (Tigers 49%). Melbourne dominated the final term 32 - 13.

At the end of round 17, the Dragons have moved clear of the Breakers (on a 3 game losing streak) in 2nd. The Melbourne Tigers are 3rd and the Crocs move in to 4th on the back of a 3 game winning streak. The Blaze are still in last place with the Taipans 3 wins in front of them.

In news just to hand, Luke Schenscher has been named the NBL Player of the Week. Big Red had two big double-doubles this week ... 25 and 13 against the Hawks and 24 and 16 against the Taipans. JR will appreciate him delivering in two wins (albeit not against strong opposition) and I'm just pleased that the NBL have spelt his name right this week!

Now, to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The runner up is Taipan Ian Crosswhite for his 3/15 from the field, 3 of 6 from the line and 3 turnovers performance against the 36ers. Crosswhite has had some big games this season but this wasn't one and he has been quite inconsistent. The hands-down winner/loser of the award this week is Darnell Hinson from the Perth Wildcats who shot 1 of 13 from the field and had 4 turnovers in a surprising loss to the lowly Taipans. 1 of 13 ... Darnell should've taken his finger off the trigger long before he got to double figure attempts!

Our Shooter of the Week as always is brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. We didn't give the award out last week because there weren't any outstanding performances, this week there were plenty. Nominations were Adam Gibson from the Dragons (6 of 7 from the field, 2 of 2 from downtown and 4 of 4 from the line in a win against the Breakers), Oscar Forman from the Breakers (7 of 12 from the line, 6 of 9 from downtown in a loss to the Dragons), Kirk Penney from the Breakers (32 points including 6 triples in a loss to the Dragons) and last but not least John Rillie from the Crocs (6 of 8 from the field, 5 of 7 from downtown in a win against the Blaze). The winner this week tho is Rhys Carter (pictured right) from the Dragons for his 25 points (in just 24 minutes), 8 of 13 from the field, 6 of 10 from downtown including the match-winner in overtime in the blockbuster against the Breakers. I'm not a fan of Rhys because he usually does very little and in the past has taken court-time off a few players I like and rate much higher than him. For his basketball shooting performance on the "big stage" against the Breakers tho, credit where credit is due. Nice shooting! If, like most, you've never heard of Rhys and want to find out more, click here.

Julius Hodge goooone

I was at the parents on Wednesday night (they have Foxtel) and was watching the Hawks play the 36ers and was disappointed to see Hodge not playing. At first I thought he was injured but later saw that it was because of his pay dispute with the club.

Adelaide have really turned things around lately and its largely due to the stellar play of Julius Hodge (Luke Schenscher and Adam Ballinger have also been outstanding). Its hard to believe that a team could lose its best player and an MVP candidate because they failed to get his correct bank details.

Just when you thought nothing else could go wrong for the NBL, it looks like we will now lose one of the top players in the league this season. Oh well ... its always darkest before the dawn ...

Click on the title below to read the full story.

NBL > News

The Adelaide 36ers and import Julius Hodge have agreed to part company, the club announced at a media conference in Adelaide on Thursday afternoon.

In the wake of a pay dispute with the team, Hodge failed to show up for the 36ers home game against the Wollongong Hawks on Wednesday night.

Via his agent Hodge requested a release from his contract on Thursday, which 36ers owner Mal Hemmerling told media the club had agreed to, subject to some conditions with regard to payments.


I remembered a little while ago there was mention of Hodge's blog. Reading his last post, has an NBA team come calling and he's using this pay fiasco as an excuse to get out of his contract with Adelaide?? Check out all the comments for his last post ... not surprisingly there are some very unhappy Adelaide fans.

Here's Julius's side of the story.

Hodge wins Player of the Week

Finally I agree with the NBL head office and correctly picked Julius Hodge (pictured below) from the 36ers as the Player of the Week. Click on the title below to read the full story. (side note: Nice to see the league misspelling one of their young star's surname. In their defence, Luke's isn't an easy one.)

Most of the NBL blogs seem to have shut down over the festive season but John Rillie is still going strong. Click here for an article he's found questioning the strength of the league restructuring plan.

Speaking of JR, I'm likely heading down the coast on Sunday to see the Crocs take on the Blaze. This will be my 2nd NBL game this season and hopefully I do some blogging of it or at least get some decent game footage to show you. Stay tuned ... and hopefully the "good" Crocs show up for the game this weekend.

NBL > News

Adelaide '36ers star import Julius Hodge has taken out the National Basketball League’s Player of the Week Award for Round 15. This is Hodge's second Player of the Week honour after taking the award in Round 10.

Hodge scored a game high 31 points and pulled in eight rebounds to lead the '36ers to a crucial road victory over the Melbourne Tigers 109 – 91 at the Cage on Saturday night. Hodge shot an amazing 13 of 19 from the field at a 68% clip.

In a round of NBL action where no team played twice, Hodge's efforts narrowly edged out his team mate Luke Schensher who compiled a stat line of 21 points and 15 rebounds.

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 13

Getting in early this week, here are the numbers that matter from a small round in the NBL:

36ers 100 Crocs 79

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 25 points, 12 boards, 7 assists
Luke Schenscher 19 points (8 of 11 from the field), 12 boards
Adam Ballinger 20 points, 11 boards

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 15 points, 5 assists, 4 boards
Russell Hinder 11 points, 7 boards

Just an ugly game for the Crocs shooting 36% from the field, 16% from downtown and 55% from the line. Solid numbers across the board from the Sixers with 5 players scoring 14 points or more. Adelaide also dominated the boards 66 - 46.

Wildcats 129 36ers 120 (in double OT)

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 23 points, 10 boards
Alex Loughton 23 points, 5 boards, 4 assists
Peter Crawford 20 points (including 4 triples), 5 boards

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 28 points, 8 boards, 3 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals
Adam Ballinger 26 points, 6 boards
Luke Schenscher 22 points, 11 boards, 4 assists

Adelaide would've had their chances to win this game but shot 20 of 29 from the line and Maher, Bruce and Holmes combined for just 13 of 39 from the field. Good team effort from Perth with 6 players scoring more than 15 points.

Taipans 97 Blaze 88 (in OT)

For the Taipans:

Ian Crosswhite 16 points, 17 boards
Gary Boodnikoff 17 points (including 4 triples), 5 boards
Martin Catallini 18 points, 5 boards

For the Blaze:

Luke Whitehead 17 points, 14 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals
James Harvey 20 points
Ben Melmeth 12 points, 13 boards

Congratulations to the Taipans for getting a win, on the road, with an under-strength team, despite everything going on with their franchise at the moment. Bowen, Heal, Whitehead and Melmeth combined to shoot just 13 of 53 (24.5%) from the field ... UGLY. Blaze also committed 26 turnovers (Heal had 9) to just 14 from Cairns.

Dragons 107 Tigers 98

For the Dragons:

Mark Worthington 24 points, 8 boards
Adam Gibson 12 points, 5 boards, 4 assists

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 21 points, 5 boards
Chris Anstey 14 points, 11 boards
David Barlow 16 points, 8 boards, 5 assists

Tigers won the battle of the boards (52 - 40) but the Dragons stormed home in the final quarter 38 - 19 to get the win. Dragons seem to have the Tigers measure of late and definitely have bragging rights in the Melbourne rivalry.

Crocs 104 Hawks 99

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 23 points, 8 assists
Rosell Ellis 15 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals

For the Hawks:

Dusty Rychart 17 points (7 of 9 from the field), 6 boards
Cameron Tragardh 16 points, 8 boards
Anthony Petrie 17 points, 6 boards

Hawks jumped the Crocs early (37 - 22) in the first quarter but credit to the Crocs for fighting back. To my boy John Rillie ... he needs to teach his teammates how to shoot a free-throw because Williams and Ellis combined for just 6 of 18 from the line! Hawks won the boards 50 - 35 but committed too many turnovers 22 - 11 (Saville had 7).

After round 13 in the NBL, the Dragons now have a 2 game lead on the Breakers (who have played 2 less games) in second place, the Tigers are in 3rd and the Crocs are currently 4th. The Blaze are still on the bottom with 3 wins and the Hawks are second last with 6 wins.

As I'm getting in early, I can again speculate about who will win the NBL's Player of the Week. My prediction is that Mark Worthington (24 points, 8 boards in a a win over the Tigers) and Ian Crosswhite (16 points, 17 boards in a win over the Blaze) will get honourable mentions while the winner will again be that man Julius Hodge from the 36ers. Hodge had 25 points, 12 boards, 7 assists in a win over the Crocs and 28 points, 8 boards in the double OT loss to the Wildcats.

Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The runner-up is Rosell Ellis from the Crocs who went 5 of 14 from the line against Adelaide and then 3 of 7 against the Hawks. That's a combined 8 of 21 or just 38%. With Tovey, Ellis and Williams on the same team, are the Crocs the worst free-throw shooting team in the league?? The actual winner of the Flop of the Week tho is Justin Bowen from the Blaze who shot a woeful 1 of 11 from the field against the Taipans and committed 4 turnovers (with just 1 assist). Bowen had a good game last weekend but I held off giving him Shooter of the Week because I've seen him in action. He's been extremely inconsistent for the struggling Blaze and may be thankful we're this deep in to the season and it would be very hard to find a replacement.

Finally, our Shooter of the Week brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips goes to Dragons youngster Nathan Herbert (pictured below) for his 15 points and 4 of 5 from downtown effort against the Tigers. I've noticed Nathan provide valuable scoring off the bench a number of times this season for the Dragons and those 4 triples (3 in the final quarter) were big against the cross-town rival Tigers. To find out more about Herbert, click here.

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 11

A big week in the NBL with 8 games (after only 6 last week), here are the numbers that matter:

Crocs 113 Tigers 105 (in OT)

For the Crocs:

Michael Cedar 27 points (9 of 14 from the field, including 7 triples), 7 boards
John Rillie 24 points (including 6 triples), 5 boards
Rosell Ellis 22 points, 11 boards

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 31 points (including 5 triples)
Chris Anstey 19 points, 16 boards
Rod Gizzard 19 points, 9 boards

This would've been a great game to see. Ebi Ere hitting a triple to push the game in to overtime. Michael Cedar exploding offensively as we said he would and JR coming off the bench and shooting the lights out. Somehow the Crocs managed to keep up with the Tigers on the boards (52 - 52). The Crocs could've ended it in regulation but shot just 10 of 21 from the free-throw line.

Dragons 102 Taipans 64

For the Dragons:

Matt Burston 19 points (9 of 10 from the field), 8 boards
Nick Horvath 12 points, 11 boards
Joe Ingles 12 points, 7 assists ... 6 turnovers

For the Taipans:

Martin Cattalini 17 points
Larry Abney 15 points, 8 boards

No Dave Thomas (he went down injured after 7 mins), no chance. If this was a boxing match they would've let Alan Black throw in the towel, unfortunately it was not. Dragons shot 57% from the field, Taipans shot 29%.

Breakers 108 Wildcats 94

For the Breakers:

CJ Bruton 22 points, 7 assists
Phill Jones 22 points (including 5 triples)
Rick Rickert 17 points, 13 boards

For the Wildcats:

Isiah Victor 25 points
Darnell Hinson 18 points, 4 assists
Ben Knight 15 points, 6 boards

Breakers dominated the second half (61 - 39) to come from behind to win this game. NZ controlled the boards 51 - 36 and the two teams combined for a red-hot 25 of 49 from downtown. Kirk Penney and Shawn Redhage showed they are human, both superstars scoring less than 10 points each.

Tigers 108 Wildcats 95

For the Tigers:

Chris Anstey 21 points, 15 boards, 4 assists
Ebi Ere 23 points
Stephen Hoare 22 points, 5 boards

For the Wildcats:

Isiah Victor 20 points, 5 boards
Peter Crawford 17 points (including 4 triples), 4 assists
Shawn Redhage 12 points, 6 assists

Very balanced team effort from the Tigers with 6 of their 8 man rotation scoring in double figures. Foul count and free-throws both went considerably in the Tigers favour. Shawn Redhage controlled again, Wildcats lose again ... you do the math.

36ers 101 Hawks 96

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 26 points, 8 boards
Brett Maher 21 points (including 5 triples), 6 boards
Julius Hodge 19 points, 11 boards, 6 assists
Luke Schenscher 18 points, 10 boards

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 23 points (11 of 15 from the field), 5 boards
Larry Davidson 13 points, 7 boards
Glen Saville 16 points, 10 boards

Close game throughout. Hawks shot just 3 of 21 from the field and 13 of 23 from the line. Adelaide's big 4 all fired, except for Hodge from the field (just 8 of 26 shooting). Aaron Bruce ... MIA.

Crocs 94 Taipans 90

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 24 points, 8 assists, 4 boards, 3 steals
Rosell Ellis 14 points, 10 boards
John Rillie 16 points (14 in the final quarter)

For the Taipans:

Martin Cattalini 25 points, 8 boards
Ian Crosswhite 17 points, 9 boards, 4 assists, 3 blocks
Gary Boodnikoff 16 points, 5 boards

Townsville got off to a slow start (18 - 26) but stormed home in the final quarter behind 14 from JR to get the win. Without Dave Thomas it shouldn't have been this close but Ian Crosswhite stepped in and filled DT's shoes. Brad Williamson seems to be struggling to find form since getting promoted to the starting line-up for the Crocs.

Spirit 103 Dragons 94

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 27 points, 11 boards
Luke Martin 13 points, 5 assists
Drew Williamson 12 points, 5 boards

For the Dragons:

Adam Gibson 15 points, 10 boards, 6 assists
Matt Burston 17 points, 9 boards
Mark Worthington 15 points, 7 boards

How the Spirit win without Low or Khazzouh ... I don't know?! Who said Goorjian doesn't have a heart?? Gibbo with his best game this season but the Dragons shoot just 19 of 37 from the free-throw line thanks to 2 of 10 from Mika Vukona. In a game that almost didn't go ahead, the Spirit had a season high 2572 fans in attendance.

Breakers 110 Blaze 88

For the Breakers:

Tony Ronaldson 25 points, 5 assists
Phill Jones 23 points (including 7 triples)
Oscar Forman 15 points, 9 boards

For the Blaze:

Shane Heal 27 points, 5 boards, 5 assists
Justin Bowen 17 points, 8 boards ... 6 turnovers
Daniel Joyce 16 points

Shane Heal and Ronaldson were on fire early and the teams were tied at the end of the first quarter. From there it was all down-hill for the Blaze. The Breakers didn't even play well but they still won this EASILY.

After round 11 in the NBL, the Breakers are now on top of the league one win ahead of the Dragons (thanks to their sympathetic loss to the Spirit). Tigers move in to third and after 2 straight losses the Wildcats are in 4th. The Blaze are still at the bottom with just 2 wins and the Taipans have now lost 6 in a row to be second last.

I'm in early this week so the NBL's Player of the Week is yet to officially be announced. My pick goes to Phill Jones ... see below for more details.

Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the week. Runner-up should go to Mika Vukona for his 2 of 10 shooting from the free-throw line against the Spirit. Mika is all-hussle and has never been known for his shooting but 2 of 10?? But the Flop of the week goes to that man Cameron Tovey from the Crocs ... AGAIN. In his game against the Tigers he shot 2 of 10 from the field and 0 of 2 from the line and then followed that up with 1 of 8 from the field and 1 of 6 from the line against the Taipans. Trevor Gleeson, its time to send the kid back to the bench!

Before we get to our Shooter of the Week ... a few honourable mentions must go to a pair of Crocodiles. Michael Cedar for his individual explosion against the Tigers and John "Don't call it a comeback!" Rillie for both his games on the weekend, especially the clutch/game-winning 4th quarter shooting against the Taipans. But this week's winner is none other than Phill (from now on to be referred to as Phull, thanks to JVG and Nick) Jones from the Breakers. In his team's two wins he averaged 22.5 points and 6 triples and shot over 50% from the field with ZERO turnovers!

NBL wrap - round 10

Only 6 games on tap over the last week in the NBL, here are the numbers that matter:

Tigers 99 Taipans 98

For the Tigers:

Ebi Ere 22 points, 5 boards
Chris Anstey 17 points, 11 boards, 3 blocks
Sam Mackinnon 10 points, 7 boards, 7 assists

For the Taipans:

Dave Thomas 20 points, 8 boards, 4 assists
Martin Cattalini 18 points, 5 boards
Larry Abney 20 points

The Tigers only beat the Taipans by one point?! The Snakes must have played out of their skins (pun only partially intended). Dave Thomas with a beat of old-team rule production. Tigers dominated the boards 49 - 32 but the Taipans were a very efficient 18 of 21 from the free-throw line.

Breakers 112 Dragons 98

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 27 points (including 6 triples)
CJ Bruton 20 points (6 of 8 from the field, 5 of 5 from the line), 6 assists, 4 boards, 3 steals
Oscar Forman 12 points, 13 boards

For the Dragons:

Adam Gibson 16 points (including 4 triples), 3 assists
Matt Burston 14 points, 4 boards
Joe Ingles 16 points, 4 assists

The "blockbuster" didn't pan out as such as the Breakers just outplayed the Dragons. All of the Breaker's players put up good numbers while Worthington, Groves and Darden were well contained. In a very efficient game there were only 15 turnovers between the two teams.

Spirit 110 36ers 108

For the Spirit:

Derrick Low 24 points (including 5 triples) but 7 turnovers
Matthew Knight 19 points, 11 boards
Julian Khazzouh 12 points, 16 boards, 2 blocks, 2 steals

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 26 points, 13 boards, 4 assists
Adam Ballinger 29 points, 3 assists
Luke Schenscher 16 points, 17 boards, 4 assists, 4 blocks

The Sixers got off to a great start but the Spirit came from behind 59 - 45 in the second half to get the win. Looking at the numbers this would have been an entertaining game to watch. There was even a David Gruber sighting as he had 19 points, 7 boards (possibly his most productive game so far). Julius Hodge seems to LOVE playing for the Sixers and was outstanding in his first game back this season. With Hodge back, Jacob Holmes returns to the bench where he belongs.

Dragons 106 36ers 100

For the Dragons:

Joe Ingles 27 points (including 5 triples), 4 assists
Adam Gibson 15 points, 4 boards, 3 assists
Mark Worthington 14 points, 12 boards

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 27 points, 8 boards, 8 assists
Adam Ballinger 29 points, 7 boards

The Dragons bounced back well after losing to the Breakers. Hodge does what he does ... dominates. Herbert explodes off the bench for the Dragons with 21 points while Matt Burston and Luke Schenscher looked to have nullified each other.

Crocodiles 121 Hawks 113

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 25 points, 5 assists
Rosell Ellis 14 points, 7 assists, 6 boards, 3 steals
Daniel Egan 21 points (9 of 11 from the field), 7 boards

For the Hawks:

Glen Saville 28 points, 6 boards, 4 assists
Cameron Tragardh 14 points, 7 boards
Kavossy Franklin 15 points, 4 boards

The game was a shootout from downtown with the teams combining for an impressive 25 of 54 from deep. The controversial benching of JR, Homicide and Hinder looks to have had the desired result with the Crocs flying out of the gates in the first quarter. Tovey seems to have loved the opportunity to start putting up 20 points on a good clip.

Wildcats 101 Taipans 85

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 22 points (8 of 10 from the field), 6 boards
Isiah Victor 18 points, 11 boards
Ben Knight 9 points, 13 boards

For the Taipans:

Larry Abney 20 points, 10 boards
Martin Cattalini 12 points, 10 boards

Redhage back to his efficient best. Perth controlled the game and one every quarter. Perth are quietly going about their business and putting together a solid season. They're definitely in the top 4 teams for mine.

At the end of round 10, despite losing to the Breakers, the Dragons are still on top of the NBL ladder albeit just on percentage now. The Breakers are just 3.5% points behind in second with the Tigers in 3rd. The Blaze are still last with 2 wins and the Sixers are now 2nd last with 5 wins 9 losses.

Not surprisingly, in news today Julius Hodge was named Player of the Week for his outstanding 2 games in his return to the league. The Sixers didn't get a win in either game but look for them to move up the ladder with Hodge back and look for Hodge to have a triple-double in the next few games.

Now to the Vlade Divac Flops of the week. The runner-up goes to one time Shooter of the Week, Gary Boodnikoff for essentially not showing up for the game against the Wildcats. In 21 minutes he went 0 of 3 from the field, had 1 board, 1 steal and 1 turnover ... not very productive! The award this week however goes to Matt Burston for his 1 of 7 from the field, 1 of 4 from the line and 5 foul "effort" against the 36ers.

Our Shooter of the Week goes to none other than our current man-crush, Kirk Penney. To be a truly good shooter you have to come through in the big games and with their reputation on the line in the blockbuster against the Dragons, Kirk delivered for the Breakers. He had a game-high 27 points including a very nice 6 of 10 from downtown, 3 of 3 from the line and zero turnovers. Fittingly, Kirk is the first NBL player to win our Shooter of the Week award twice in a season.

NBL wrap - round 9

Its been a busy couple of days so I'm only now getting around to the weekly NBL wrap.

Here are the numbers that matter from Round 9 in the NBL:

Dragons 97 36ers 82

For the Dragons:

Matthew Burston 25 points, 14 boards, 3 steals
Mark Worthington 20 points, 11 boards, 3 steals

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 14 points, 11 boards
Luke Schenscher 11 points, 11 boards

The Dragons controlled the game winning the first 3 quarters and cruising to an easy win. The Sixers had way too many turnovers 28 (to 16 from the Dragons). 3 points and 7 turnovers from Mark Tyndale spelled the end of his NBL season.

Spirit 115 Blaze 93

For the Spirit:

Derrick Low 22 points (including 5 triples), 7 boards, 4 assists
Julian Khazzouh 15 points, 14 boards, 4 blocks
Jason Smith 16 points, 5 boards

For the Blaze:

Daniel Joyce 24 points (8 of 9 from the field, including 5 triples)
Shane Heal 20 points, 5 boards
Luke Whitehead 14 points, 8 boards

Daniel Joyce scored 24 points?? Really?? No ... really?? Good team performance from the Spirit with 7 players in double figures. New Blaze import Justin Bowen stunk it up going 1 of 6 from the field with NINE turnovers. Blaze shot just 12 of 26 from the free-throw line.

Breakers 93 Taipans 81

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 22 points (including 4 triples)
Rick Rickert 16 points, 12 boards
Oscar Forman 19 points (including 5 triples), 6 boards

For the Taipans

Gary Boodnikoff 19 points (including 4 triples) off the bench
Larry Abney 12 points, 12 boards
Dave Thomas 10 points, 10 boards

Breakers came from behind (54 - 35 in the second half) to get the W in this game. Cairns shot just 34% from the field.

Blaze 111 Hawks 110

For the Blaze:

Ben Melmeth 21 points, 13 boards
Justin Bowen 20 points, 6 boards, 5 assists
Casey Frank 13 points, 8 boards

For the Hawks:

Dusty Rychart 21 points, 6 boards
Kavossy Franklin 20 points, 7 assists
Glenn Saville 19 points, 10 boards

Daniel Joyce hit a 3 to win the game ... really?? No ... really?? Hawks looked in control of the game but made a few questionable decisions down the stretch proved costly. They also shot just 25 of 37 from the line-up. Blow-ups after the game with the Joyce's click here to read more about it.

Wildcats 86 Taipans 78

For the Wildcats:

Alex Loughton 21 points, 6 boards
Shawn Redhage 15 points, 10 boards
Isiah Victor 13 points, 9 boards

For the Taipans:

Martin Cattalini 17 points, 6 boards
Larry Abney 12 points, 7 boards

Wildcats came from behind to win this game outscoring the Taipans 29 - 15 in the final quarter. Redhage is still playing well but his numbers haven't been massive over the last week or two. How much do the Taipans miss Stephen Black?? They have to be the lowest scoring team in the NBL right now.

Breakers 119 Crocodiles 108

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 34 points (including 5 triples)
Rick Rickert 26 points (10 of 13 from the field), 10 boards
CJ Bruton 19 points (6 of 8 shooting including 5 triples), 5 assists, 4 steals

For the Crocodiles:

Brad Williamson 26 points (8 of 11 shooting including 6 triples), 4 steals
Homicide Williams 18 points
Kelvin Robertson 17 points, 6 assists, 5 boards

This high-scoring, free-flowing game would've been entertaining to watch. The Crocs lost it in the 2nd quarter getting outscored 33 - 15 and made a late run in the final term 36 - 24 but it was too late. Brad Williamson explodes in the final quarter as only he can. John Rillie needs to get more than 6 shot attempts in a game. Kirk Penney, Kirk Penney, Kirk Penney ...

36ers 108 Blaze 96

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 31 points (including 5 triples), 8 boards
Luke Schenscher 17 points, 12 boards
Aaron Bruce 16 points, 14 assists

For the Blaze:

Justin Bowen 19 points, 10 boards
Luke Whitehead 16 points, 12 boards
Shane Heal 13 points (just 2 of 14 shooting), 11 assists, 8 boards

Brett Maher returns to the starting line-up and plays well, this is probably the best game of the season from Adelaide with most of their starters putting up good numbers. Daniel Joyce returns to the "player" we know scoring 0 points on 0 of 4 shooting in 26 minutes. Tough week for the Blaze playing 3 games (2 on the road) in 5 days.

At the end of round 9 the Dragons are still on top with 10 wins 2 losses (8 in a row) and the Breakers remain in 2nd half a game behind with 10 wins 3 losses. The Dragons are still on the bottom with 2 wins while the Crocs are now 2nd last with 4 wins (5 losses in a row).

Announced yesterday was that NZ Breakers bigman Rick Rickert was Player of the Week. In their two games this week he averaged 21 points, 11 rebounds and the Breakers won both.

Now to the Vlade Divac Flops of the week. The nominations of the week are both from the Gold Coast Blaze. I was tempted to give it to Shane Heal for his 2 of 14 shooting effort against the 36ers but he did flirt with a triple-double despite struggling from the field. The award this week however goes to new import Justin Bowen for his awful performance against the Spirit ... 1 of 6 from the field and 9 turnovers ... ouch! In his defence, he did do much better in their other two games.

Shooter of the Week goes to Brad Williamson (below) for one of his trademark shooting explosions against the Breakers. 26 points in just 27 minutes, 4 steals, 8 of 11 from the field, 6 of 9 from downtown ... en fuego!!

(It shouldn't be this hard to find action shots of NBL players)

NBL wrap - round 8

I just noticed its been 6 days since I posted last ... yes, I'm in shock too! I have a good excuse tho ... I was actually out of the office from Thursday for a wedding/long-weekend in Byron. So no laptop and I didn't get back until Sunday and work has been flat-out this week.

Anyway, enough of the excuses, let's wrap up the numbers that matter from Round 8 in the NBL:

Blaze 115 Crocs 106

For the Blaze:

Shane Heal 26 points (including 6 triples), 7 assists, 7 turnovers
Luke Whitehead 19 points, 10 boards

For the Crocs:

Rosell Ellis 23 points, 8 boards, 4 steals
Russell Hinder 18 points, 9 boards, 4 blocks
John Rillie is the devil!! 6 points, 6 boards, 6 assists ... SPOOKY

Congratulations to the Blaze on their first win, it had to happen eventually, its unfortunate the Crocs were the victim. The Crocs came out of the blocks SLOW and were down by 27 at the half. They charged home in the second half but it was too little too late. JR only had 6 shots in 34 minutes ... get him the ball people! B-Rad even jacked up 11 in his 16 minutes. Townsville shot a horrific 20 of 40 from the free-throw line and that was with Kelvin Robertson hitting 8 of 9.

36ers 96 Breakers 86

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 22 points, 9 boards
Mark Tyndale 21 points, 9 boards, 4 assists
Luke Schenscher 20 points ... not much else

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 24 points (an unfortunate 7 off 22 from the field), 10 boards, 6 assists
Tony Ronaldson 23 points, 6 assists

With no CJ Bruton and no Phil Jones ... even the 36ers can beat the Breakers. Penney tried his best but had an off night from the field while the 36ers dominated the boards 51 to 38.

Tigers 98 Spirit 80

For the Tigers:

Chris Anstey 20 points, 17 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals
Rod Gizzard 14 points, 7 boards but 7 turnovers
David Barlow 16 points, 4 boards

For the Spirit:

Julian Khazzouh 16 points, 5 boards
Matthew Knight 12 points, 10 boards
Liam Rush 14 points, 5 boards

The game was close early but the Tigers dominated the second half 54 - 36. Is David Gruber really an import playing just 15 - 20 minutes a game??

Taipans 71 36ers 70

For the Taipans:

Ian Crosswhite 16 points, 8 boards
Aaron Grabau 17 points

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 17 points, 12 boards
Jacob 15 points, 6 boards
Luke Schenscher 11 points, 9 boards

The Taipans won the game despite shooting just 33% from the field (36ers were 38%) ... UGLY! The 36ers lost the game at the line hitting just 13 of 23 and were just 3 of 17 from downtown.

Wildcats 115 Crocs 78

For the Wildcats:

Shawn Redhage 18 points, 9 boards
Isiah Victor 15 points, 6 boards

For the Crocs:

Rosell Ellis 17 points, 5 boards
Cameron Tovey 14 points, 6 boards

I can only assume the Crocs were shattered from their loss to the lowly Blaze. The score at half-time was 60 - 32 ... ouch! Perth exposed the vertically-challenged Crocs winning the boards 59 - 35. Not a good weekend for Townsville fans.

Breakers 86 Tigers 84

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 25 points (including 4 triples)
Tony Ronaldson 13 points, 5 boards, 4 assists
Oscar Forman 12 points, 9 boards

For the Tigers:

Chris Anstey 19 points, 11 boards
Sam Mackinnon 12 points, 11 boards, 4 assists

CJ back in the line-up for the Breakers and despite losing to the 36ers they turn it around to knock off the Tigers. Bruton obviously helps Penney get better looks (than Henare) with a much improved shooting performance in this game. Ebi was just 2 of 11 from the field and Barlow was 0 of 7.

Dragons 95 Blaze 83

For the Dragons:

Mark Worthington 18 points, 8 boards, 5 steals
Matt Burston 11 points, 10 boards

For the Blaze:

Justin Bowen 26 points, 8 boards
Shane Heal 13 points, 5 boards

The Blaze started the game well after their win against the Crocs but lost every quarter after that. A nice introduction to the NBL for new-import Justin Bowen.

After Round 7, the Dragons continue to lead the league with 9 games 2 losses. One game behind are the Breakers and one behind them are the Tigers. Despite their first win of the season, the Blaze are still on the bottom of the ladder 3 games behind the Spirit.

Announced yesterday was that one of our favourites, Kirk Penney was named Player of the Week. Its not as prestigous as our Shooter of the Month award but I'm sure Kirk was pleased all the same. Penney is the first player this season to win the award for a second time and had averages over the 2 games of 24.5 points, 7 boards and 3.5 assists.

Now to the Vlade Divac Flops of the week. The runners-up are the Townsville Crocodiles for being the first team to lose to the Blaze and then getting spanked by the Wildcats and Kelvin Robertson (from the Crocs) for shooting 1 of 9 in the Perth loss. But the winner this week is almost everybody's pick for Rookie of the Year, Aaron Bruce of Adelaide for his woeful game against the Taipans. Bruce was 0 of 9 from the field with 5 turnovers ... the only positive for him was the 8 assists.

Shooter of the Week goes to Shane Heal (below) of the Blaze for his 26 points including 6 triples that led his team to their first victory of the season. Love him or hate him (and most choose to hate him), he still demands attention from opposing defenders.

NBL wrap - round 7

Here are the results and the numbers that matter from round 6 in the NBL:

Hawks 101 Taipans 93

For the Hawks:

Kavossy Franklin 23 points (10 of 14 shooting, including 3 triples)
Glenn Saville 19 points (including 5 triples), 8 boards, 5 assists
Anthony Petrie 16 points, 6 boards

For the Taipans:

Larry Abney 22 points, 10 boards, 3 blocks
Gary Boodnikoff 23 points (including 6 triples)

Hawks had a massive last quarter (35 - 18) in this come from behind win. Hawks won the boards 48 - 36 and shot better from downtown (48%) than they did from the field (47%)

Breakers 103 Wildcats 99

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 24 points (8 of 12 from the field, including 4 triples) ... an unfortunate 6 turnovers
CJ Bruton 17 points, 6 steals
Rick Rickert 12 points, 10 boards

For the Wildcats:

Peter Crawford 22 points, 6 assists, 3 steals
Darnell Hinson 18 points, 7 assists
Shawn Redhage 14 points, 9 boards

Breakers came from behind in the 4th quarter to get the win. They shot well from downtown, no surprise ... and made almost twice as many free-throws as the Wildcats. Redhage was contained (for him) and Luke Kendall had 9 points but 6 costly turnovers.

Breakers 106 Crocodiles 97

For the Breakers:

CJ Bruton 21 points, 8 assists, 5 boards
Kirk Penney 18 points, 7 boards, 5 assists
Tony Ronaldson 16 points, 7 boards, 5 assists

For the Crocs:

Homicide Williams 22 points, 4 boards
John Rillie 19 points, 4 boards
Rosell Ellis 18 points, 8 boards, 3 steals

Breakers get their first real win on the road (that one against the Blaze didn't really count). The Crocs knew they had to stop CJ Bruton but they couldn't get it done.

Hawks 89 Taipans 87

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 18 points, 6 boards
Dusty Rychart 13 points, 11 boards
Anthony Petrie 12 points, 10 boards

For the Taipans:

Dave Thomas 17 points, 8 boards, 3 steals
Larry Abney 16 points, 7 boards
Scott Cook 13 points, 5 assists

No, this isn't a typo, the two teams met each other last Wednesday in the Gong and then again in Cairns on Saturday night. Surprisingly, the Taipans took out both games. Possibly the worst free-throw shooting game you'll see, the teams combined for a horrible 31/57 (54%) from the stripe. The Taipans shot just 4 of 20 from downtown.

Tigers 123 Blaze 111

For the Tigers:

Sam Mackinnon 23 points (9 of 13 shooting), 10 assists, 7 boards
Chris Anstey 25 points, 8 boards
Ebi Ere 24 points, 7 boards, 4 assists

For the Blaze:

James Harvey 27 points (including 5 triples)
Shane Heal 22 points, 7 assists
Luke Whitehead 19 points, 9 boards, 5 assists

Sam Mac showed that he still has it and was probably fired up for the re-match with old foe Shane Heal. Casey Frank 4 points, 6 boards ... not nearly good enough for a starting import.

Dragons 96 Spirit 87

For the Dragons:

Mark Worthington 21 points, 10 boards
Nathan Herbert 19 points, 8 boards
Adam Gibson 9 points, 6 boards, 5 assists

For the Spirit:

Julian Khazzouh 19 points, 14 boards, 4 blocks, 4 steals
Liam Rush 16 points, 5 boards, 4 blocks

It was a BLOCK party at Hisense with 16 in total for the game. Youngster Julian Khazzouh had an outstanding line and is having a great year so far! Close for most of the game, Dragons stepped it up in the 4th (26 - 15) to get the win.

36ers 108 Spirit 76

For the 36ers:

Luke Schenscher 19 points, 18 boards, 3 blocks
Adam Ballinger 24 points, 8 boards
Brad Davidson 14 points, 8 boards, 5 assists

For the Spirit:

Liam Rush 16 points
Julian Khazzouh 13 points, 5 boards

Things started well for the Spirit but they were outscored 54 - 25 in the second half and shot just 24% from the field in that time. Playing the Dragons the night before they look to have hit a wall ... hard. Tough weekend for import Derrick Low shooting just 7 of 29 (24%) over the two games. John Rillie snubbed Schenscher when he got player of the week because his team didn't win but has to give him a start in his team of the week this time!

At the end of round 7 in the NBL the Dragons are out in front 8 wins from 10 including 6 in a row now. The Breakers are 2nd with 7 wins and 3 in a row. Blaze still at the bottom with 10 losses in a row ... hopefully that becomes 11 tomorrow night when the Crocs come to town.

In news just to hand, Sam Mackinnon was named player of the week for his almost triple-double against Shane Heal and the Blaze. Ex-Bullet Sam Mackinnon was in vintage form, dominating the game like it was 2007!!

Now to the Vlade Divac Flops of the week ... again there are two. From penthouse to doghouse, one time Shooter of the Week Derrick Low gets the nod this week for his dismal shooting display (24% over 2 games). The other is one of last week's recipients ... Cameron Tovey for shooting 1 of 4 from the line. Sure he's not alone in missing free-throws but when you have only hit 5 of your last 20 attempts from the line we will name and shame you!

Shooter of the Week goes to Gary Boodnikoff (pictured below) of the Cairns Taipans for his 23 points in just 25 minutes off the bench in their first game against the Hawks. He shot 7 off 11 from the field including 6 of 9 from downtown. He scored 11 points in the final quarter in a shooting duel with Glenn Saville.

More NBL news

While I'm catching up on everything NBL, today saw the announcement of the NBL player of the week that went to Adelaide 36er Luke Schenscher (below). Thanks to his outstanding 33 points and 20 rebounds against Perth he took the honour ahead of Redhage, Ere, Homicide and Anstey ... amongst others. Luke's 30-20 night was the first by a sixer since Mark Bradtke in 1992!!

Also in Adelaide, Boti is calling for the axe to drop in his latest article.

Could Australians soon be seeing NBA games back on free-to-air TV again? The Age better not be teasing me! Thanks to Glockers for the scoop.

(Luke Schenscher ... get a haircut!)