Preview: Sydney v Adelaide

When: 7.30pm (AEDT), Friday 21 October, 2022
Where: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
Broadcast: ESPN; Foxtel; Kayo; Sky NZ
Live scores & stats

Who won last time?

Adelaide 90 (Hannahs 22, Johnson 16, Dech 11) d Sydney 82 (Adams 28, Cooks 21, Maker 15) – Round 20, NBL22 at Qudos Bank Arena

The 36ers gave Sydney a pre-playoff reality check with a stunning 52-point second half fuelled by the unlikely Zac Gattorna, who scored 10 points in four minutes to spark a 44-26 Adelaide run in the final 13 minutes. While Jaylen Adams and Xavier Cooks were their usual superstar selves for Sydney – combining for 49 points, 21 rebounds and six assists – ultimately it was Dusty Hannahs’ 22 points in 27 minutes that proved the difference.

What happened last game?

The Sixers finished strong in their last start too, trailing by four in the shadows of three-quarter-time before unloading a 26-8 burst in just over seven minutes to kickstart their NBL win tally. Sydney managed just four points in the opening seven minutes in Brisbane last Sunday, but then unleashed a 66-35 run bridging quarter and half-time to blow their hosts away and get back on the winners’ list after being outplayed by the Taipans on Friday.

What’s working?

Craig Randall – Sure the body language mightn’t be great at times, but there’s no denying Randall plays with passion and is an instinctive scorer. While Aussie ballers are praised worldwide for their selflessness, that means NBL teams need imports as pure scorers and Randall certainly takes that role seriously. In 66 minutes on an NBL floor, he’s racked up 46 points at a solid 44 per cent, despite 23 of his 34 attempts coming from seriously long range.

Interior defence – Both these sides have built their defence around athleticism on the interior. Adelaide and Sydney rank one and two for blocked shots (4.5 and 3.8), top two for two-point baskets allowed (18 and 17.6), as well as third and second for opposition two-point conversion (48% and 43%). Not surprisingly though, the 36ers and Kings are also giving up the most opposition three-point makes at 13 and 12.8 respectively.

What needs stopping?

Paint scoring – In four wins the Kings are +50 on points in the paint, averaging 45.5ppg inside the key. But they were only a 34-34 draw on PiPs in their loss to Cairns, making 20 two-point baskets compared to 26 in road Ws over Brisbane and Illawarra, and 31 in their home win over the Bullets. Interestingly, DJ Vasiljevic attempted 20 shots against the Snakes, while Cooks, Tim Soares, Jordy Hunter and Justin Simon took just 19 between them.

Adelaide’s bombers – There’s a new bomb squad in Adelaide, made up of Randall, Daniel Johnson, Antonius Cleveland, Robert Franks and Anthony Drmic. In their wins over the Suns and Illawarra, this quintet dropped 32/60 from deep at 53 per cent, while in losses to Oklahoma City and Tassie they were a wayward 11/40 at 28 per cent. How will the need for Sydney’s best defensive rebounders to guard the arc impact their ability to clean the d-boards?

Who’s matching up?

Justin Simon v Craig Randall – Simon toyed with the Bullets last week, finishing with 23 points at 80 per cent, draining two triples, while adding eight boards and a pair of dimes and blocks. With 22 of Randall’s 31 field goals coming from outside the arc in four games across the US and Australia, Simon will need to use that athleticism to make him a driver and contest at the rim, but he’ll also need his bigs contesting Randall’s pull-up off ball-screens.

Xavier Cooks v Robert Franks – So Franks is shooting 1/6 from range this NBL season and Cooks 6/12? Few would have seen that coming. But Robo has added a new bow, getting to the foul line 17 times in two NBLxNBA contests and 13 times in two NBL games thus far. Xavier has shot 32 free throws in five games but made just 13, a major blemish considering his 58 per cent field-goal and 50 per cent three-point clips. Bring this athletic battle on.

Derrick Walton v Antonius Cleveland – It’s been a quieter scoring time for Walton, averaging 10.7ppg in his past three contests after a dream 53 points in his opening two NBL outings. He’s still averaged 7.0 rebounds to spark Sydney’s break and 6.0 assists to keep their offence ticking, however, so watch for Cleveland to ‘ice’ screening action to prevent Adelaide’s bigs, especially Johnson and Kai Sotto, from having to deal with Walton’s class.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The pass. The finish ??<br><br>? Live on <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/10PeachAu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@10PeachAu</a> 10Play <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> Freebies<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://t.co/vXZ0gdb6ce">pic.twitter.com/vXZ0gdb6ce</a></p>&mdash; Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1581522174971518976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s saying what?

The Sydney Kings won the 2022 NBL Championship, the Adelaide 36ers went 10-18 and were never a serious playoff threat.

Few could have predicted that just four rounds into the NBL23 season this would be a marquee match-up, but here we are.

While Adelaide’s stunning win over the Phoenix Suns has added spice to this potential playoff preview, new Kings point guard Derrick Walton just sees another high-quality NBL opponent.??

“Kudos to Adelaide for that win but it doesn’t motivate any more to beat them, I take every team seriously when I step on the court,” he said.??

“We’re excited to take on another strong side and prove ourselves once again.”??

After coming up short against Cairns to end their eight-game winning streak, the Kings proved that was the exception rather than the rule with a dominant 86-64 final 30 minutes in Brisbane.

“Last week’s response in Brisbane wasn't so much a boost to our confidence, rather a solidifier of exactly how good we can be,” Walton said.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A Xavier special ??‍?<br><br>? Live on <a href="https://twitter.com/10PeachAu?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@10PeachAu</a> 10Play <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> Freebies<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://t.co/HJz2v9xseU">pic.twitter.com/HJz2v9xseU</a></p>&mdash; Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1581517626232123393?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

What was most impressive in that game was the all-court contributions from across the line-up.

Chase Buford’s crew outscored Brisbane from inside, outside and the foul line – where they shot a pleasing 73 per cent – while winning points in the paint, second chance points and points from turnovers, highlighting the intensity they brought against the desperate Bullets.

“We knew as a group there needed to be an energy shift, as we didn't play with the intensity we wanted to against Cairns,” centre Jordy Hunter said.

“We were getting good shots in the early part of Sunday's game, they weren't dropping, so we challenged ourselves to take it up a notch, which showed in the last three quarters, as guys went out there and made plays for one another.

“Once we got the ball rolling, it was contagious and we just kept it going.”

They’ll need that energy against an Adelaide team that can seriously score in bunches, and from plenty of sources.

The Taipans bigs stretched Sydney’s defence to the perimeter early in their Round 3 clash, and Adelaide’s frontcourt of Daniel Johnson, Robert Franks and Antonius Cleveland can all do likewise, making it difficult to put too many eggs in the Randall basket.

“Craig can put shots on the board, or he could make great passes all game and someone else gets going,” Mitch McCarron said.

“We’re going to see lots of different coverages, Craig will see coverages, AC and Robo as well.

“They know we’ve got some talented imports and guys that have seen success in this league, we’re going to see different things thrown at us.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Craig Randall II dropping a few Bureau Of Meteorologies in this clip ? <a href="https://t.co/fxWL22xPtE">https://t.co/fxWL22xPtE</a></p>&mdash; Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers/status/1582246117496197121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

No doubt the Kings will see the struggle Randall and Co had against Tasmania’s pressure – which held them to 5/21 from range and forced 16 turnovers – but Adelaide’s star guard is hopeful that lesson has been learned.

“It definitely gave us a reality check, we had to look at ourselves in the mirror, but that game’s behind us now, so is the Hawks game,” Randall said.

“A win, that’s always my focus is to win. It’s never about individual wins, we need this as a team to keep building what we’re trying to do.

“We’re going to treat them with the respect that they are the champs. To go there and beat them, they’re rolling right now, to stop that and keep our roll going will be big for us.”

Captain McCarron is imploring his team to forget about the artificial hype surrounding this contest and focus on the little things that will be required to beat the best, in terms of execution, defence and the possession game.

“We need to be ready to play regardless of what’s been said outside in the media or on social media, we know the energy wasn’t right last Thursday and that’s on us to rectify and we did on Saturday,” he said.

“If we’re not ready to go to play the defending champs then what are we doing?

“It’s the first road game for us, getting a road win early is always good for a group, especially going against the Kings, I couldn’t think of a better way to build confidence.”