Club-By-Club: One BIG question

With the NBL season officially tipping off on Thursday night, we have seen enough from all 10 teams to understand some of what we can expect throughout the regular season.

There are many questions that surround each team and over the course of the next 20 rounds, a lot of those will be answered.

As we approach NBL25, here’s one big question about your team.

Are they deep enough in the big man department?
The 36ers shocked the league last week by bringing in a remaining NBA Sixth Man of the Year in Montrezl Harrell, as an injury replacement for Jarell Martin. That was a decision that simply had to be made, with Martin looking to be sidelined for four to six weeks and still coming back from a knee injury that has held him out all of this year. What we saw at the Blitz was that Adelaide needed insurance in the big man department, if they want to make a run at the top six.

Even with Harrell arriving, the 36ers will be relying on contributing minutes from either Starling, Griscti or Rigoni at some point of the season. Another injury or early foul trouble to any of their starting big men and it will be an interesting chess game for Mike Wells to play.

What Harrell gives the team is the opportunity to also slide down to the center position and hold that down when Humphries is on the bench. This would then allow the team to go small with Lat Mayen at the power forward.

There’s still plenty of reasons to be excited about what this team can achieve with the talent they have on the floor, but how long will it take before their depth is tested this season?

Montrezl Harrell. Photo: 36ers Media.

Can they maximise the twin towers?
The Brisbane Bullets are in a unique position heading into this season, as they have the two tallest players in the league as their big man duo. Exciting Next Star Rocco Zikarsky and Tyrell Harrison, both stand clear as the two biggest players across the competition, which gives Justin Schueller a unique edge.

The question now is, how does he maximise that in certain matchups? There will no doubt be times where the Bullets will try to play small and match their opposition, but can they do enough damage with their own playing style will be something for them to ponder.

The Kings, for example, have listed Alex Toohey as their tallest rostered player at 205 centimetres. With Harrison and Zikarsky both 10-plus centimetres taller, can that be the Bullets' point of difference in NBL25 and help them march back to the post-season?

What they gain in terms of rim protection and lob threats, they potentially lose when you look at some of the more dynamic big men who like to put the ball on the floor. Teams will look to bring Harrison and Zikarsky away from the hoop and attack from the perimeter, which is where Schueller will have to try and protect his twin towers.

Rocco Zikarsky.

What do the non-Armstrong minutes look like?
The Taipans were dealt a tough blow ahead of the first two weeks of the season, with none of their three-point guard options available. Taran Armstrong picked up a calf injury at the Blitz, Kyle Adnam is out with a knee injury and Jackson Makoi is suspended for the first two rounds.

Cairns have brought in Tad Dufelmeier as a short-term replacement to cover for these losses, but the question still lingers on from what we have seen.

The games that Armstrong did play at the Blitz, there was a clear difference in their offensive execution when he was on the floor, compared to when he sat on the bench.

At times this meant that new import guard Rob Edwards had to bring the ball up the floor and set up the offence. While Edwards is more that capable of doing so in sporadic minutes, having him play a majority of the game as the point guard takes away what he excels at. Edwards is a dynamic scorer and will be heavily relied on to lead this team on that end, which poses the question of how does Adam Forde navigate this challenge going forward? Can they find a way to be at their best without their young star point guard?

Taran Armstrong.

Who is their number one option?
The Illawarra Hawks are essentially running it back from last season’s Playoffs loss and just added a couple of dynamic pieces to the mix. With Trey Kell coming across from Adelaide and Darius Days joining the squad recently, they look well placed to contend this season. With the depth of talent they have on this roster, who is going to be Justin Tatum’s number one option?

While this answer could change numerous times over the course of the season, the question has to be asked as there is now a few candidates to be the Hawks leading man. Tyler Harvey has shown that he is more than capable of being the go-to guy since he arrived at Illawarra five seasons ago, and will no doubt have the ball in his hands with the game on the line.

However, another season of improvement and could this be Sam Froling’s year to lead from the front? The 24-year-old big man showed last season that he's ready for even more responsibility on his shoulder and NBL25 could be the chance for him to set himself apart from the competition.

Or are the Hawks at their best when new signing, Darius Days, takes over? At the Blitz, we saw Days be extremely aggressive offensively and it was also what Illawarra saw from him when he played for Shanghai last month against them, which eventually landed him on the team. Days is a strong power forward who has versatility to put the ball on the floor and make plays from the outside.

Trey Kell.

Can Jack White play at an All-NBL level?
If the pre-season was anything to go by, then this question is already answered, and Melbourne will be right up there by the end of NBL25. Jack White looked phenomenal across the course of the Blitz, leading the week in rebounds and averaging almost 20 points per game.

White returns to United after some time in the USA where he desires to return to after a strong season in the NBL. What many are expecting from him this year is more aggression on the offensive end especially, while also keeping up his reputation as one of the best defenders in the league. His strength and athleticism is unique in his position and his ability to understand where that can utilised is why he’s set for a major contribution this season.

With United retaining their core from their heartbreak last season, a lot of the damage they can do in NBL25 will come from Jack White’s performance. He has all the tools to be one of the best players in the league, but can he rise to the challenge?

Jack White.

Can they navigate their tough schedule?
There’s no sugar coating the NBL25 season schedule for the Breakers – it’s brutal.

With a trip to the USA to take part in the NBLxNBA games next month, they’ll be playing catch-up when they get back home. Upon their return, they get straight into it with three double-header rounds to test where they are at both physically and mentally.

With some regional games sprinkled in, the Breakers will play eight games from November 28 until Christmas Day, which includes Tasmania and Sydney twice.

There’s no doubting that this challenge will test new head coach, Petteri Koponen, but it can also be one that brings the team closer to rise above it.

With all the changes that have taken place for the Breakers since last season, they still have Parker Jackson-Cartwright running the show. That will give them some confidence that if they can navigate through this tough stretch and peak at the right time, then anything is possible.

Petteri Koponen.

Who will play the majority of the point guard minutes?
The Wildcats addressed key improvement areas in the off-season and look to be every piece of a contending team in NBL25. With fresh faces like Dylan Windler and Next Star Izan Almansa joining the team, there’s plenty of reasons to be excited about how far this squad can go.

With their trip to Japan before they arrived at the Blitz, Perth played more pre-season games than any other team. From all that we saw across the last few weeks, John Rillie is going to have plenty of options on lineups when the season begins.

There’s a very strong case for both Elijah Pepper and Ben Henshall to step into a consistent and contributing role right away, with both young stars showcasing that they’re ready for an extended opportunity.

Rillie has also been open about how important Tai Webster is to this team, which raises the question about what lineup plays the most for this stacked Perth team? Is there a world where Bryce Cotton slides down to play the point guard with Windler, Dootlittle, Almansa and Pinder around him?

There’s a lot of questions about what is the best looking five for the Wildcats, and it’ll be fascinating to watch how it unfolds in NBL25. 

Elijah Pepper.

What is their defensive identity?
There’s one certainty about this new look Phoenix roster ahead of this season – they’re going to have no trouble in scoring the ball. With all the fresh faces joining the team, this squad has a plethora of offensive firepower across the board. The biggest question now is how they find a defensive identity.

Mike Kelly spoke about that challenge over the course of the Blitz, yet there wasn’t any indication on the floor that would resemble an answer to it. The best defenders on this team likely come off the bench in Angus Glover and Matt Kenyon, which will make Kelly have to figure something out for his talented starting five.

Could this be a team that finds success in playing a zone? Or will they be thrown the challenge of stepping up individually on the defensive end?

If the pre-season game against Sydney was anything to go by, perhaps they can get away with answering this question for a few weeks longer. Their offensive firepower just ran over the top of a stacked Kings' team, and they came away victorious with both teams scoring over 100.

Angus Glover.

Are they too deep?
A lot of fans will say that the short answer is no, there’s no such thing. However, that’s not exactly true, and there’s been many examples of teams in the past that have too much talent and not enough playing time to share around.

What we have seen from the pre-season is that this team enjoys playing with one another and is buying into an idea where there will be quicker rotations and more of them over the course of a game.

Brian Goorjian spoke two weeks ago about the desire to play a “WWE tag-team” style of play, where there will be consistent substitutions to keep the defensive energy and hustle at its maximum throughout. If that is what we are going to see in the regular season, then Sydney will be close to setting new records in terms of pace and defensive pressure.

Another question that could pop up throughout NBL25 is, what is their back-up plan if a team finds a way to limit their offensive pace and slow the game down. Does that alter the way Goorjian rotates his players? Do they have the half-court game to sit and grind out a win? A lot of those questions will be key in understanding just how special this talented team is and it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out when the season gets underway.

Cameron Oliver.

Where do they find another 17 points per game?
Scott Roth said it himself ... there is simply no replacing Jack McVeigh with one player.

McVeigh has been pivotal to the JackJumpers' success, ever since they began their journey three seasons ago and he was their most important piece on their championship-wining quest in NBL25.

With the door slightly open for a McVeigh return at some point of the season, the JackJumpers need to find a solution to his absence for the foreseeable future. It likely means that it will fall on the shoulders of Milton Doyle and Jordon Crawford to deliver a little more offensively. Yet it will also give more opportunity to Sean Macdonald (out for three months with an ankle injury) and Majok Deng to step up and carry this team on the offensive end as well. 

History tells us that Tasmania are able to step up collectively and rise to the occasion, but finding an extra 17 points a game for a team that usually scores around 80 is going to be tricky. 

Majok Deng.