Preview: Adelaide v Brisbane (Round 11)

When: 8pm (AEDT), Saturday 17 December, 2022

Where: Adelaide Entertainment Centre

Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Foxtel, Sky NZ

Who won last time?

Brisbane 93 (Cadee 15, Digbeu 15, Patterson 15) d Adelaide 85 (Sotto 21, McCarron 17, Johnson 12) – Round 19, NBL22 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre

With both teams out of the NBL22 playoff race they peeled off an entertaining Round 19 clash, the 36ers jumping 10 ahead early as Mitch McCarron and Daniel Johnson scored 13 of their first 17 points. Ultimately though, the game swung on a trifecta of triples from Anthony Drmic, Lamar Patterson and Tanner Krebs in the third term, sparking a 38-23 run across three quarter-time that gave Brisbane the buffer to cruise home.

What happened last game?

The Bullets never gave up in Cairns, but they rarely challenged after a fast Aron Baynes start, and it was the Taipans cruising to victory. It was a solid defensive performance, conceding 85 points and forcing 17 turnovers, which augurs well for Saturday night in Adelaide. The 36ers didn’t really show up in Melbourne as the Phoenix piled on the points largely unmolested, CJ Bruton’s men defending like a group of individuals for much of the game.

What’s working?

Gorjok Gak – The 26-year-old rookie is making up for lost time since the injury to Tyrell Harrison, averaging 13.0ppg and 8.7rpg in his past three outings. His ability to guard the paint defensively, make good decisions with the ball and attack the o-boards have added greatly to his team, the Bullets +3 in his 62 minutes on the floor and -43 in the other 58 minutes. If he can stay out of foul trouble, expect him to see plenty of time in Adelaide.

Opposition offences – The 36ers had a chance to set up their season last round, so what did they do? Leak 100ppg to Perth and South East Melbourne at 51 per cent from the field, giving up 48 in the paint at 68 per cent and even conceding 50 per cent on long twos. Perhaps the most damning stat, which highlights the lack of effort and intent, was Adelaide forcing just 14 cough-ups in 80 minutes as they generated a paltry 14 points from turnovers.

What needs stopping?

Constant commentary – Coach Bruton’s frustrations were evident at the Fire Pit as he constantly called out ‘close out’, ‘hand’, ‘box out’, ‘rebound’ as his players paid scant attention to defence. The constant yelling only made them more reactive, however, and veterans like Mitch McCarron, Antonius Cleveland, Robert Franks and Sunday Dech need to take ownership of getting the little things right, and allow their coach to focus on the big picture.

Waiting for Greg – Aron Baynes scored eight points on 4/5 in the opening five minutes in Cairns after new coach Greg Vanderjagt’s pre-game address. Then straight from a time-out in the second term he gets the ball deep and gets to the foul line. Following half-time he gets four points on 2/2 in three minutes. That’s 13 points on 6/7 in nine minutes, while over his remaining 20 minutes Banga had four points on six attempts. Veterans like Nathan Sobey and Jason Cadee shouldn’t need their coach’s prompting to run sets for the big fella.

Who’s matching up?

Daniel Johnson v Aron Baynes – TaShawn Thomas scored 22 points at 71 per cent on Adelaide last week, while Alan Williams and Zhou Qi combined for 29 at 79 per cent. DJ must do his work early to prevent Baynes getting catches in the paint, where he was 8/12 in Cairns, while at the other end Johnson must be a regular pick-and-pop target to draw AB from the hoop, where DJ can fire or penetrate to put the pressure on the officials.

Antonius Cleveland v Nathan Sobey – There’s no question Vanderjagt sees Sobes as the man to make things happen, taking 18 shots and dishing seven dimes on Wednesday. He must be better at getting the ball inside, however, then feeding off attention Baynes attracts, because going straight up against Cleveland on penetration is a tough ask. At the other end, look for AC on a steady diet of pull-ups against Brisbane’s three-guard rotation.

Robert Franks v DJ Mitchell – He’s shown plenty this season, but in the past three games Brisbane are -47 with Mitchell on the floor. He needs to be locked in defensively on Saturday to avoid exposing Gak too much to Franks, who will be looking to bounce back after shooting just 33 per cent from the field and 7/25 from deep over the past four games. Look for early Franks post-ups with Johnson spreading the floor ready to fire.

Who’s saying what?

Three coaches in two weeks, no Tyler Johnson, no Tyrell Harrison, no Tanner Krebs, a new import who hadn’t trained with the team, heading into one of the toughest venues to play a top three teams, it all could have turned pear-shaped for Brisbane on Wednesday night.

The fact they galvanised as a group and made the Taipans work for everything they got left the Bullets feeling up-and-about as they head to Adelaide.

“It’s a feel-good situation even though it’s not the outcome we wanted, just to be able to sit there with the people in the locker room and look at the person next to you and say, ‘You did everything you could during the situation and stuck with it’,” Nathan Sobey said.

“I can’t fault what the group’s done considering what we've been through the last two weeks. We've got a good group.”

Those thoughts were echoed by new interim coach Greg Vanderjagt.

“What we need to do moving forward is compete and play for each other like this group did tonight,” he said.

“I’m proud of the group. I think they responded to the challenge that was put in front of them. We didn't have a great preparation, let's be honest, but their effort and intent I can't question.

“I think they played their backsides off all night, they played for each other, they competed for each other and they did all the right things.”

Not surprisingly, with the 213cm Vanderjagt in charge, the Bullets made a big focus of their big men, with Aron Baynes’ 13 shots his second most of the season.

The Boomers mainstay responded not just with 17 points, but a defensive energy reminiscent of his pre-injury days that made him a favoured teammates wherever he’s played.

“Tonight the big fella really helped,” Vanderjagt said.

“Baynesy’s presence out there and his voice, he’s a hell of a basketball player and he can really help us when he’s locked in like that. I think 29 minutes is the most he’s played all year, so I'm really proud of what he gave us coming back from that back injury.”

At the other end of the experience scale, Gorjok Gak was also a key feature, and expect that to only grow while Greg is in charge.

“Super proud of G and I probably didn’t play him enough tonight, 19 minutes he has 10 points, 11 boards, I've got to find some more minutes for G,” Vanderjagt said.

“He’s dug himself out of a hole, earlier in the season he had an opportunity to start and things didn’t go his way. He dug in and really did the individual work, he did some work on his body, did some work on his mind and he’s really matured...

“I think the group’s really starting to trust him as well, they feel good with him on the floor. His length around the rim is wow. Some of the stuff he does at practice you’re like my goodness, so he’s an exciting talent.”

The positivity coming from the Brisbane camp – who are hopefully of regaining Johnson on Saturday and loved Andrew White’s 3/3 long-range display – is almost polar opposite from the feeling in Adelaide.

The 36ers wasted a golden opportunity to move inside the top six in Round 10, their lack of intensity against the Phoenix a serious concern.

“We wanted the energy and effort to be good knowing when you play two games like that with such a short turnaround with time to prepare, you’ve at least got to bring those two things to the table,” coach CJ Bruton said.

“I thought in that first quarter, seeing the way they were able to get 27 points, it’s not the right tone that you’re setting … we gave them everything they wanted and they had their way with us at different times.”

While a big-name import is reportedly on the radar, talent is not the biggest issue, and Sunday Dech knows they need to fix their consistency of effort to still be in touch when their new recruit arrives.

“It’s been up and down for us, we've had some good stretches and some bad stretches, but right now we've got to find a way to dig ourselves out of a hole and that starts on the practice court,” he said.

“The last couple of games we haven't come out with the energy that we need to play at to be able to play finals basketball. That’s something we have to get to the drawing board and address.”