Preview: Adelaide vs Sydney - Round 15, NBL24

Thursday, January 11 at 7:30pm AEDT | Adelaide Entertainment Centre

Watch: Live on ESPN via Kayo | International viewership details
Box scores: Download the free NBL App

The Adelaide 36ers registered a surprise win against ladder-leaders Melbourne in Round 14, and head coach Scott Ninnis stated his pride in the fact the victory was completed in front of the 1999 title-winning side.

DJ Vasiljevic will take on former side Sydney for the first time since departing the club in the off-season. Vasiljevic won two titles with the Kings before departing for the Washington Wizards and then returning to the NBL with Adelaide.

Former Sydney assistant coach and NBL legend Lanard Copeland stated his belief the Kings have “given up” when appearing on NBL Overtime, and lamented the side’s defensive deificiencies.

Derek Rucker said while he disagreed with Copeland’s statement that the side has given up, he believes a lack of direction has manifested itself as a perception of not caring.

Adelaide
100-96 win over Melbourne
84-91 loss to Illawarra
82-100 loss to Perth

Sydney
93-101 loss to Brisbane
85-101 loss to Melbourne
101-82 win over Cairns

DJ Vasiljevic
The divorce between the Sydney Kings and DJ Vasiljevic began with the most well of wishes, after all, the Kings were farewelling a two-time champion who was chasing an NBA dream – but then things turned sour.

His arrival in Adelaide just weeks into the NBL24 season led to something of a ‘he said, she said’ beef between player and organisation, and this fixture has been circled ever since.

This will be the first time Vasiljevic takes on the Kings in 36ers colours, and while there’s been a head coaching change and plenty of roster movement since his departure, the core of that two-time title winning side is still there.

Vasiljevic torched Melbourne United in Adelaide’s surprise win over United last week, and looks to be more and more settled in his ball-heavy role at Adelaide – so this ‘prove yourself’ game against Sydney could not be coming at a better time.

“Whatever animal metaphor you want to use in relation to DJ, whether he’s a shark, or a wolf, or whatever he is, I guarantee you he senses weak prey, and that prey is the Sydney Kings … he’s been getting better and better each game with Adelaide, he’s getting more efficient, he’s starting to be that three-point shooter we know he can be, and he’s the leader of that team, make no doubt about it” – Derek Rucker on NBL Now.

Jaylen Adams
When a team is struggling, it looks to its stars to step up – and across his two tenures at the Sydney Kings, that star has undoubtedly been Jaylen Adams.

Adams’ numbers are down on his MVP season of NBL22, but they’re certainly comparable – and his 17.8 points and 5.4 assists per game is a more than respectable output for one of the competition’s stars, but if the Kings are going to break their current run of poor form and perceived low morale, Adams will likely be the player to pull them out of it.

Sydney has plenty of game-winning weapons on its roster, and the likes of Denzel Valentine, Kouat Noi and Jonah Bolden have already proved that in NBL24, but when the game is tight, there is no doubting who the Kings want to have the ball.

Adams is one of the best imports to have graced the NBL in the past half-decade, and while he’s been strong in NBL24, it’s time for him to take the leap to spectacular once again.

“Everybody gets along, it’s not like we’re in the locker room beefing even though sometimes I feel like we should be after some of these losses we’ve had. I think the cohesion is there, everybody respects one another and I think we’ve just got to find a way. The moral of the story is I don’t think it’s a problem like that.” – Jaylen Adams following the loss to Brisbane.

Scott Ninnis vs Mahmoud Abdelfattah
While the distance between the best and the worst of the Adelaide 36ers under Scott Ninnis is still way too far apart, there’s no denying the appointment of the former Adelaide championship player and former head coach in an interim capacity has the side playing with renewed vigour.

The early slashing of minutes has relented slightly, and each of Jason Cadee, Mitch McCarron and Sunday Dech are becoming accustomed to their new roles under Ninnis, while the desire to have traditional wing players DJ Vasiljevic and Trey Kell share the bulk of ball-handling abilities has been paying dividends – at least on an individual level for the pair.

It looks to be a different scenario in Sydney under Mahmoud Abdelfattah, and such is the lackadaisical nature of the Kings’ defence, former assistant coach and NBL legend Lanard Copeland voiced his belief on NBL Overtime that the side had given up.

Ninnis has tinkered with his starting group to great effect early in his tenure, while Abdelfattah looks to be finding which pieces fit best in a stacked wing rotation that includes Jaylin Galloway, Alex Toohey, Denzel Valentine, Angus Glover and Makuach Maluach, while also experimenting with Kouat Noi as a small-ball five.

Both the 36ers and Kings have shown that, at their best, they can beat anyone in the competition. They’ve also shown themselves to be near walkovers when things aren’t going their way.

Which coach can inspire his team to a fast start to break the back of the opposition on Thursday night?

Sydney has lost four of its last five games. The last time they registered such a run was between rounds four and eight in NBL22.

Kouat Noi.

Adelaide
Nil

Sydney
DJ Hogg – shoulder (TBC)