Resurgent 36ers earn praise

Is it time to give the Adelaide 36ers their flowers? Scott Ninnis' side has won three of its past four games and is beginning to shake the ladder from the bottom up – and while they may have left their Play-In run too late this season, they’re one of the in-form teams in the NBL.

Adelaide may not have experienced an immediate leap forward in the same fashion as the Hawks under Justin Tatum, but the 36ers are playing without fear, and Peter Hooley believes the improved form warrants a potential change in the club’s off-season strategy.

The general consensus surrounding the 36ers earlier in the season was they would need to ‘blow it up’ following the culmination of what was looking like – at the time – a dire NBL24, but Hooley believes Adelaide doesn’t need to take as drastic measures now.

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“The only thing Scott Ninnis can control is winning one game at a time – I know it’s cliché – and continuing to tick that off towards the end of the season,” Hooley said on NBL Now.

"What they’re probably heading towards is maybe they don’t need that total reset.

“What initially looked like ‘we’re going to rip everything up and start from scratch and bring in these big pieces’, they could keep a couple of pieces here and there and have a look at what’s been successful in this Scott Ninnis tenure.

“I like to bring up vibe, because it’s a big thing with interim coaches and teams who have struggled in the first half of the season, they’re having fun out there, they’re smiling out there, everyone’s playing for each other, and it looks like an enjoyable place to be around.

“It’s strange to be sitting here on January 18 and be talking nothing but positives for the Adelaide 36ers, but it’s a good change.”

While the likes of Isaac Humphries, DJ Vasiljevic and Trey Kell III have been consistently earmarked for praise in Adelaide’s recent run, Hooley believes the conduct of a pair of veteran role players has provided a platform on which the club has started to reshape its culture.

Jason Cadee and Mitch McCarron initially found their minutes drastically cut under Ninnis, but both have worked their way back into the interim coach’s calculations in recent games.

Ninnis saved praise for the control with which Cadee played to steady the ship at the start of the third quarter in the win over South East Melbourne on Wednesday night, and Hooley says their desire to force their way back into the rotation speaks volumes of their characters.

“Give a lot of credit to everybody for stepping up but also give credit to those guys whose minutes and rotation have changed like Jason Cadee, Mitch McCarron,” Hooley said.

“These guys had every right to say ‘this is not the way I want to be treated, this is the way I want to be playing’, but they said ‘it is what it is, it’s going to benefit the team, any minutes I get I’m going to go out there and make an impact’."

Adelaide will next take to the court on Saturday at 8pm AEDT when they play the Illawarra Hawks live on ESPN via Kayo.