The 2003/4 Sydney Kings - legendary team

C. J. Bruton was recruited to take the place of the retired Shane Heal and Jason Smith was signed after returning to the NBL after playing in Europe. The Kings started the 2003/04 season with 12 successive wins, and would eventually win their second championship after their best-of-five grand final series with cross-town rivals West Sydney went down to the deciding fifth game. Kings player Matt Nielsen would win the regular season and finals MVP this year before leaving to play overseas. Sydney’s outstanding depth was also a key that season, with Brad Sheridan, Brett Wheeler, David Stiff, Luke Martin and BJ Carter all contributing quality minutes.


http://classicbasketballtees.spreadshirt.com/sydney-2003-2004-A14760838/customize/color/506

Basketball shooting

As well as reporting on the NBL and the NBA, the focus of this blog is basketball shooting. Today we have two shooting related stories from the NBL. The first is from the team at the Wollongong Hawks interviewing Larry Davidson about a basketball shooting drill they use. Full credit to Asa and Joel for the video work they've been doing with the team.



And just reward for one of the best shooters in the league, CJ Bruton from the New Zealand Breakers picked up the Player of the Week award for the display he put on in the first game of the season against the Cairns Taipans. CJ was a red-hot 10 of 11 from the field and 8 of 9 from downtown on his way to 28 points. After off-season surgery I expected CJ to ease back in to form on court but he's come out with a bang!!

Bruton wins Player of the Week

New Zealand Breakers star CJ Bruton has ridden a hot shooting streak to capture the National Basketball League’s Player of the Week award for Round One.

Opening the Breaker’s quest to become the first Kiwi team ever to capture a championship in a major Australian professional league, Bruton was instrumental in guiding New Zealand to their season-opening 95-75 win over the Cairns Taipans at the North Shore Events Centre in Auckland on Thursday.

The popular point guard scored 28 points and added five rebounds, two assists and one steal but it was his sizzling shooting performance that really caught people’s attention. Bruton went 10-of-11 from the field, including an amazing 8-of-9 from three-point territory, to form a lethal one-two punch with backcourt partner Kirk Penney.

Five shooters to watch this season

Damn you JR, I had this idea on the weekend but hadn't got around to blogging it yet and then on Monday he releases his "Five I watch with interest". Sort of me reminds me of this.

Anyway, since our blog focusses more on the shooting aspect of the game, its time to have a look at the five shooters to keep an eye on this NBL season. Unlike JR, I didn't have the benefit of seeing any of the new imports in action in Darwin, so I'm going to stick with the local talent.

1. Kirk Penney - NZ Breakers
No surprise here, Kirk led the league in scoring last season and was regularly talked about in our blog. This season, the Breakers have been tipped as the favourites after getting knocked out in the semis last year and if they are to have any hope they'll need Penney to be at the same level as he was last season.

2. James Harvey - Gold Coast Blaze
Harvey (pictured right) had his moments last season but due to injuries missed a number of games. His team wasn't good and his frustration was evident. I know firsthand Harvey has put in plenty of work in the off-season and the experience he got with the Boomers should pay off this year. With a new coach and much better ensemble cast around him, look for Harvey to put up good numbers for the Blaze.

3. Michael Cedar - Townsville Crocs
Cedar had a break-out season of sorts last year. He's been in the league for a number of years but never seen enough minutes to really show what he can do. Last season he got that shot and delivered on a number of occasions. The Crocs cleared out veteran leader John Rillie to make room for the young guards in Michael Cedar and Brad Williamson and if they don't really step up and deliver there will be many disappointed people.

4. Tim Coenraad - Wollongong Hawks
I've mentioned him numerous times this off-season for his play with the Northside Wizards and also his strong start in the Top End Challenge. He might not see consistent minutes in the early rounds so look to him to provide a scoring spark off the bench for the Hawks. He's playing with old friends Rhys Martin and Cameron Tragardh so hopefully their off-court mateship will provide some good on-court chemistry.

5. Nathan Herbert - Adelaide 36'ers
I've rounded out the top 5 with a youngster who showed glimpses of shooting greatness last season. Herbert was a spark-plug off the bench for the champion Dragons but with that club no longer around he finds himself in Adelaide. The 36'ers have lost sharp-shooter Brett Maher and will need Herbert to be a threat from deep. If he gets consistent minutes, Herbert could be a candidate for Most Improved Player.

Now, I'm not saying these are the 5 best shooters in the league but these are 5 that could have a big impact on their team's fortunes. At the moment, I'd say the top 5 shooters in the league are: Kirk Penney, James Harvey, CJ Bruton, Phill Jones and maybe Oscar Forman. The last spot could go to Cedar, Williamson, Crawford, Kendall or a few others.

Let me know what you think of the five shooters to watch or even the my pick as the top five shooters in the league right now.

NZ Breakers

Although I have made it quite clear already that my NBL team this season will be the Gold Coast Blaze, my second team will be the New Zealand Breakers. They're considered by many to be the favourites for the championship this season, but that's not why I like them, because I almost always side with the underdog.

The reasons I like the Breakers are:
1. They are a great three-point shooting team
2. They have a couple of ex-Brisbane Bullets on the team (CJ Bruton & Dillon Boucher)
3. They don't play a lot of defence so the games are usually high-scoring and fun to watch
4. They have Kirk Penney ... one of our favourite basketball shooting man-crushes from last season

So with the Breakers getting the season underway in New Zealand on Thursday night, here are a couple of stories in the news about them.

Title or bust this year for Breakers - Boucher | Stuff.co.nz

Dillon Boucher isn't looking to hide from the pre-season hype surrounding the New Zealand Breakers ahead of Thursday's tipoff of the new Australian NBL season against Phill Jones and the Cairns Taipans at the NSEC.

In fact you could say that the Breakers' hard-nosed do-it-all forward is embracing the favouritism being heaped upon the New Zealand club who are being strongly tipped to become the first Kiwi franchise to win an Australian national league.

Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze has labelled the Breakers the team everyone's chasing this season, and it's a view that's pretty much universal across the Tasman, even if bookies Centrebet have the Melbourne Tigers as slight favourites ahead of the Breakers. Boucher has heard all the talk, all the speculation that this is the Breakers' year and, what do you know, he agrees with it.

NZ Breakers owner about making a difference | Stuff.co.nz

Who is this faceless, publicity-shy owner of the New Zealand Breakers? And why does he shell out his hard-earned fortune to keep a basketball club afloat. For the first time Paul Blackwell has opened up to the media about his motivations. MARC HINTON sat down to hear his special story.

Paul Blackwell is an enigma dressed up as a riddle. He's successful, rich and is in the select group of Kiwis who own professional sports teams.

Yet he's much happier parting with his hard-earned profits as the owner of New Zealand's busiest supermarket than he is giving up his story, and by association his privacy.

In a business all about ego, this God-faring, sports-loving everyday bloke doesn't just break the mould, he shatters it.

NBL tidbits

After a solid start to the work today, there's been a lull in the last hour or so which has given me the chance to see what's happening in the NBL.

Firstly, here's a story about the return to the court of ex-Brisbane Bullets guard CJ Bruton. After two off-season surgeries, expect CJ to start the season slowly but once he gets back to 100% expect the basketball shooting displays we're used to from him.

Positive Bruton ready for return | Stuff.co.nz

New Zealand Breakers star CJ Bruton is hoping that the pain of a couple of major off-season surgeries will translate into some serious gain on the Australian NBL court before too long.

The 33-year-old Aussie point guard has only just been able to resume full training after going under the knife over the off-season to have some work done on his ankle and elbow, both of which hampered him through the club's record-breaking 2008-09 campaign.


Then, while checking out the OzHoops board, someone mentioned this interview with ex-Brisbane Bullets and now Gold Coast Blaze head coach Joey Wright. I'm looking forward to heading down the freeway numerous times this season to see Joey, Big Joe, Gibbo and the rest of the Blaze in action. It will certainly be more entertaining (and no doubt more competitive) than the Blaze games I have seen over the last few years.

FIBA.com - News - Interviews

BRISBANE (NBL) - Brisbane Bullets championship coach Joey Wright has returned to Australian shores to coach the Gold Coast Blaze, and is a most welcome returnee, bringing up-tempo, exciting basketball back to the Coast. His mission is to take the Blaze from the NBL cellar to the top of the heap, just as he did with the Bullets.

He has coached some notable internationals in club competition, including Nigeria's Ebi Ere, Tall Blacks Dillon Boucher and Mika Vukona, and Australian greats Mark Bradtke (4 Olympics), CJ Bruton and Sam Mackinnon. This year at the Blaze he will coach 2002 FIBA World Championship All-Star Pero Cameron, Stankovic Cup MVP James Harvey and emerging Australian Boomers point guard Adam Gibson.

Wright always has some interesting views on world basketball, and FIBA's Paulo Kennedy caught up with Joey to talk about the contrasts between different countries.

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.

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.

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 21

Its a little later than usual, but here are the numbers that matter from round 21 in the NBL:

Dragons 97 36ers 77

For the Dragons:

Adam Gibson 18 points (6 of 7 from the field, 4 of 4 from downtown), 8 boards, 4 assists
Joe Ingles 18 points (including 4 triples), 4 assists
Mark Worthington 13 points, 9 boards, 5 assists, 4 steals

For the 36ers:

Paora Winitana 14 points, 3 assists
Jacob Holmes 10 points, 11 boards
Rod Grizzard 10 points, 7 boards

The Dragons jumped the 36ers early and were up 55 - 36 at the half. Full credit to the Dragons defence for keeping Ballinger and Schenscher to just 8 points each and forcing the 36ers in to 23 turnovers (Dragons had just 12). Adelaide, you know you're in trouble when Winitana is your top scorer! Very disappointing result for the 36ers as it show they're just not at the same level as the top teams in the league.

Taipans 89 Spirit 81

For the Taipans:

Martin Cattalini 28 points (11 of 14 from the field, including 4 triples), 10 boards, 6 assists
Aaron Grabeau 18 points, 6 boards, 4 assists
Matt Smith 5 points, 13 boards

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 21 points, 11 boards
Jason Smith 13 points, 6 boards
Blagov Janev 14 points

The Cat (Martin Cattalini) showed he can still put up great numbers. Is this his audition for the Wildcats for next season? Not much to say about the game itself ... two not good teams, Cairns just shot better from the field.

Hawks 103 Breakers 98

For the Hawks:

Dusty Rychart 18 points, 10 boards
Glen Saville 16 points, 4 boards, 4 steals
Kavossy Franklin 11 points, 5 boards, 4 assists

For the Breakers:

Phill Jones 25 points, 7 boards
CJ Bruton 13 points, 7 boards, 5 assists
Oscar Forman 16 points (including 4 triples)

No Kirk Penney for the Breakers and they drop yet another. I would've made the case earlier in the season for CJ being "more valuable" to the team but this stretch is showing that the Breakers struggle when they're not all fully fit. The Breakers dominated the boards 53 - 35 but hit just 39% from the field while the Hawks shot 55%.

Crocs 101 Dragons 98

For the Crocs:

John Rillie 28 points (including 6 triples), 7 boards
Corey Williams 26 points, 5 assists (but 7 turnovers)
Rosell Ellis 17 points, 9 boards, 3 steals

For the Dragons:

Donta Smith 22 points, 5 boards
Mark Worthington 22 points, 4 boards
Joe Ingles 20 points, 4 boards

Very good win for the Crocs against the #1 team. Great to see more heroics from our boy John Rillie. Two Joe Ingles sightings in two games ... what happened to him mid-season?? The Dragons could have won this but shot just 23 of 34 from the line.

36ers 102 Breakers 91

For the 36ers:

Adam Ballinger 19 points, 10 boards
Luke Schenscher 17 points, 7 boards
Brett Maher 17 points, 4 assists

For the Breakers:

Oscar Forman 26 points (including 4 triples), 6 boards
CJ Bruton 14 points (including 4 triples), 6 assists, 5 boards
Dillon Boucher 8 points, 9 assists, 5 boards, 4 steals

This game marked the final regular season home game for Adelaide legend Brett Maher. Still no Kirk Penney for the Breakers and they drop yet another one. Oscar Forman with some "old team rule" action. For some reason, import Rick Rickert came off the bench for the Breakers. NZ again let the opposition shoot 55% from the field while they shot just 43%.

Wildcats 106 Spirit 88

For the Wildcats:

Darnell Hinson 13 points, 8 assists, 6 boards
Shawn Redhage 16 points, 8 boards, 4 assists
Ben Knight 14 points, 9 boards

For the Spirit:

Clint Reed 20 points, 9 boards (but 7 turnovers and 0 assists)
Matthew Knight 11 points, 5 boards, 4 assists
Blagov Janev 14 points

A game of spurts with Perth winning the first quarter by 11, Spirit winning the second quarter by 11 and Perth dominating the third by 16. A very balanced effort from the Wildcats with 7 players in double figures and even youngster Chris "Bubbles"Goulding had 25 minutes of court time.

Blaze 93 Taipans 88

For the Blaze:

Luke Whitehead 20 points, 24 boards
James Harvey 19 points (including 5 triples), 4 boards
Justin Bowen 18 points, 6 boards

For the Taipans

Martin Cattalini 19 points, 9 boards
Gary Boodnikoff 18 points, 8 boards
Aaron Grabeau 14 points, 4 assists, 3 steals

Another game with 2 bad teams. Blaze essentially shot the ball better (50% - 42%) and outrebounded (48 - 35) the Taipans and would've won by more but had 20 turnovers (Cairns had just 11). Luke Whitehead has had a MASSIVE second half of the season!

Dragons 93 Tigers 83

For the Dragons:

Donta Smith 21 points, 5 boards
Mark Worthington 11 points, 10 boards
Joe Ingles 9 points, 11 boards, 6 assists

For the Tigers:

Chris Anstey 23 points, 11 boards
Ebi Ere 16 points
David Barlow 12 points, 9 boards

Its unfortunate that when these two teams meet its always an arm-wrestle and neither shoot great clips (both were around 40%), credit the defenses for that. Dragons won the game in the second half outscoring the Tigers 49 - 37. It'll be interesting to see what happens when these two teams battle in the play-offs.

At the end of round 21, the NBL ladder sees the Dragons on top and they have secured the minor premiership already. The Tigers are just behind and the Breakers are in third having dropped 5 in a row. The Crocs, Wildcats and 36ers round out the 6 and will fight for vital positions in the final round of the season. Not surprisingly, the Blaze are still at the bottom and will finish there.

Earlier in the week the NBL announced that John Rillie was the Player of the Week for his game-winning performance against the Dragons. Great to see John really find form in the lead up to the playoffs. Last week the NBL gave the award to James Harvey so I was wrong with my first guess of David Barlow but suspected Harvey might get the nod.

Now to the Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. The runner-up is Tony Ronaldson from the NZ Breakers (2 of 10 and 3 of 13 from the field in two losses). The Flop of the Week however goes to Ronaldson's team mate Rick Rickert from the Breakers for his 3 of 9 and 1 of 10 from the field in their two losses. When your bigmen are shooting these sort of clips its not surprising the Breakers can't get a win at the moment.

As always our Shooter of the Week is brought to you by Shooting Basketball Tips. There were some great basketball shooting performances and the honourable mentions go to John Rillie from the Crocs (28 points, 9 of 18 from the field, 6 triples, 4 of 4 from the line in a win over the Dragons) and Adam Gibson from the Dragons (6 of 7 from the field, 4 of 4 from downtown and 2 of 2 from the line in a win over the 36ers). The award this week goes to Martin Cattalini (pictured below) from the Cairns Taipans for his performance against the Sydney Spirit. Like JR last week, The Cat showed some of his offensive arsenal that made him almost unguardable a couple of seasons ago. His full line was: 28 points, 11 of 14 from the field, 4 of 5 from downtown, 2 of 2 from the line, 10 boards, 6 assists and 5 turnovers. Martin essentially put his team on his shoulders and carried them to a win and for that we salute him as our Shooter of the Week.

Great basketball shooting technique from The Cat

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 16

Believe it or not, I'm STILL waiting for the videos from the Blaze to properly upload. Its been 36 hours and still no luck ... groan ...

Here are the numbers that matter from round 16 of the NBL:

Hawks 112 Taipans 105

For the Hawks:

Cameron Tragardh 28 points (12 of 16 from the field), 9 boards
Glen Saville 20 points, 6 boards, 6 assists
Dusty Rychart 17 points, 9 boards

For the Taipans:

Ian Crosswhite 27 points, 11 boards
Darnell Mee 14 points, 6 boards, 7 assists
Martin Cattalini 16 points, 5 boards

The Hawks shot an impressive 59% from the field while Cairns weren't too far behind at 48%. My guess is there wasn't too much defence being played. Cairns shot just 13 of 24 from the line. Is that a career high boards for Tragradh??

Blaze 103 36ers 94

For the Blaze:

Justin Bowen 35 points, 8 boards, 8 steals
Luke Whitehead 23 points, 17 boards, 4 assists
James Harvey 17 points

For the 36ers:

Julius Hodge 29 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals
Jacob Holmes 18 points, 9 boards
Adam Ballinger 15 points, 7 boards

Adelaide have been strong lately so this win for the Blaze definitely came as a surprise. The foul count favoured the Blaze 27 - 17 and from it they had almost 3 times as many trips to the lines as the 36ers. Bowen was awful last week so not a surprise to see him bounce back strong ... he's inconsistent to say the least. The lack of numbers from Schenscher seems to have cost Adelaide.

Crocs 105 Dragons 95

For the Crocs:

Rosell Ellis 19 points (8 of 8 from the field), 11 boards
Brad Williamson 16 points (including 4 triples), 4 assists
Corey Williams 15 points, 5 assists

For the Dragons:

Donta Smith 14 points, 5 boards
Adam Gibson 13 points, 4 assists
Tremell Darden 11 points, 9 boards

Mark Worthington shot just 1 of 8 from the field and had a game high 4 turnovers. Crocs dominated the second quarter 28 - 13 to set up the win. Balanced scoring from the Dragons with 6 players in double figures but no one scored more than 14. Dragons shot just 6 of 24 from deep.

Hawks 111 Breakers 94

For the Hawks:

Kavossy Franklin 26 points, 7 boards, 4 assists
Dusty Rychart 16 points, 13 boards
Glen Saville 13 points, 4 boards, 4 assists, 4 steals

For the Breakers:

Kirk Penney 30 points, 5 boards
Rick Rickert 15 points, 12 boards, 4 assists
Oscar Forman 17 points (including 5 triples), 4 boards

No CJ Bruton for the Breakers and they are a different team without him running the show. Ronaldson and Phull Jones combined for just 4 of 20 shooting. After losing 8 straight, this upset takes the Hawks to 3 wins in a row.

Spirit 86 Breakers 85

For the Spirit:

Matthew Knight 18 points, 8 boards
Jason Smith 16 points, 6 boards, 5 assists
Drew Williamson 12 points, 5 boards, 4 assists

For the Breakers:

Rick Rickert 19 points, 10 boards
Kirk Penney 23 points but 8 turnovers
Oscar Forman 10 points, 7 boards

Breakers were better from the field than the last game but were just 14 of 21 from the line, not good for them. Again, struggled badly without CJ Bruton and had to back up the next night after their loss to the Hawks. Sydney controlled the boards 46 - 33.

Wildcats 99 Dragons 90

For the Wildcats:

Isiah Victor 25 points, 12 boards
Darnell Hinson 17 points, 12 boards
Shawn Redhage 15 points, 9 boards, 6 assists

For the Dragons:

Tremmell Darden 19 points
Mark Worthington 16 points, 7 boards
Adam Gibson 16 points, 4 boards, 3 assists

Wildcats shot 48% (Dragons 38%) from the field and 50 rebounds (Dragons 37). Victor should've had 30 points but shot just 6 of 14 from the line. Strangely, Wildcats had twice as many turnovers (20 - 9) but still controlled the game.

Crocs 105 Blaze 88

For the Crocs:

Corey Williams 25 points, 5 boards
Cameron Tovey 17 points, 10 boards
Rosell Ellis 17 points, 9 boards

For the Blaze:

James Harvey 27 points (including 5 triples), 4 boards
Justin Bowen 16 points, 6 boards
Luke Whitehead 14 points, 12 boards but 9 turnovers

For the recap of the game, check out my last post here.

Not a good week for the teams at the top of the NBL ladder with both the Dragons and the Breakers losing 2 from 2. Dragons are still 1st and Breakers are 2 wins behind in 2nd with the Tigers and Wildcats not far behind. Blaze got a win but their still 2 behind the Taipans.

The Player of the Week went to Isiah Victor for his dominant performance off the bench to lead his team to a win against the league-leading Dragons. His full line was: 25 points, 9 of 16 from the field, 1 of 4 from downtown and 6 of 14 from the line, 12 boards, 4 turnovers, 1 steal, 1 block. Victor has really stepped up his game over the last month but he won't be getting our Shooter of the Week award with free-throw shooting like that!

Now to our Vlade Divac Flop of the Week. There are a few honourable mentions as always. Mark Worthington from the Dragons (1 of 8, 4 turnovers in a loss to the Crocs), Tony Ronaldson and Phull Jones from the Breakers (both shot 2 of 10 from the field in a loss to the Hawks). The winner this week is Joe Ingles (pictured below) from Dragons for going M.I.A (missing in action) in his team's two losses over the weekend. He averaged just 5.5 points (on 26% shooting), 3.5 boards, 2 assists and 2.5 turnovers per game. Far from good enough when you're a young star in the league with supposed hopes of wowing NBA scouts.

There weren't any "outstanding" basketball shooting displays in the league this week ... other than Rosell Ellis' 8 of 8 from the field. If you've seen Rosell shoot a free-throw, you'll know why I can't give him the award. So we'll respect the integrity and the honour of the Shooter of the Week title and hold off until next round.

Have you seen this man? He failed to show up for the Dragons on the weekend and we NEED to talk to him about that horrible shooting form.

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.