36ers Vow To Protect Home Court

The Adelaide 36ers will be hoping to use their tight Round 4 win over Sydney as a launching pad for the rest of the season according to import Antonius Cleveland.

Cleveland was one of a number of star performers for Adelaide's in the exciting four-point win over the Kings on Friday night. He put in a mature performance to finish with 15 points and seven rebounds during what was a chaotic finish to one of the games of the season so far.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cleveland picks the pocket and finishes with the dunk<br><br>Catch the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL23?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL23</a> action live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel <a href="https://t.co/XfEVs0soSJ">pic.twitter.com/XfEVs0soSJ</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1583386371284037633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 21, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

After suffering a disheartening 25-point loss to Tasmania in their opening game of the season, the 36ers have rebounded to win two straight games - and they take on the second-placed New Zealand Breakers on Friday night.

“To beat a team like [Sydney] on the road early on is good for us,” Cleveland said.

“I think New Zealand is number one in the league right now. They’re pretty tough [and] they play pretty hard.

“They will come here ready to play, and they have a nice team. I think it will be a good game.

“Defensively it’s going to be on us. Whatever the coaches say just come out and get a good start, get the crowd involved. You don’t want to be playing from behind.

“[We want to] protect home court. We want to make this place hard to get a win on. We’ve got to protect home court.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">???<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreSixers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreSixers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SwoopTheHoop?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SwoopTheHoop</a> <a href="https://t.co/IVCA6HCoEF">pic.twitter.com/IVCA6HCoEF</a></p>&mdash; Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers/status/1584394251827232768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 24, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

New Zealand’s early rise up the ladder in NBL23 following their bottom-place finish last season is a testament to the evenness of the competition this year.

Much like the Adelaide, the Breakers opened their season with a loss – however they’ve rebounded to win four of their last five games.

Despite scoring just five points in the opening quarter of their game against Cairns on Sunday, New Zealand locked in on defence and eventually emerged as four-point winners in a gritty contest.

That stingy Breakers defence is set to be tested by the 36ers, who impressed with the team nature of their offence against the Kings – each of the team’s five starters finished in double figures, with Craig Randall II top scoring with 24 points.

“I think it makes us harder to guard and it shows that we trust each other,” Cleveland said of his team’s offence.

“Anyone can hurt you on any given night. We have a long way to go and we set our standards pretty high. I don’t think we’re anywhere near out best, but we are heading to trend upwards.”