Round 4 Recap: SuperCoach NBL Classic

Adelaide 36ers guard Bryce Cotton ($400,700) bounced back in a big way in Round 4, topping the round with 91 SuperCoach points from Adelaide’s double. But it was a costly week at the top end, with Parker Jackson-Cartwright ($468,300) and Arnas Velicka ($301,900) both going down injured.

Cotton had 33 points and 10 assists for 56 in the 96-91 loss to Melbourne United on Wednesday, then added 35 in Sunday’s 84-78 win against the Sydney Kings despite shooting 6-from-20. It’s his second 90-plus round of NBL27 after his 94 in Round 2, although his price still dropped again when the Round 4 changes landed.

His teammate Nick Rakocevic ($349,400) has taken over at the top of the season standings. Rakocevic added 81 from the double, including 54 against Melbourne off 33 points and 14 rebounds, to move to 278. Cotton is six back on 272, with Jackson-Cartwright third on 267 after missing the round.

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Jackson-Cartwright was ruled out hours before the Breakers’ game in Perth with a lower-leg injury. The Breakers say he’s likely to miss their road games against Sydney on Wednesday, October 14, and Tasmania on Sunday, October 18, which make up New Zealand’s Round 5 double. Ouch.

Velicka scored 29 in Thursday’s 97-91 loss to the Cairns Taipans, managing 8 points on 3-from-15 shooting and 8 assists. The League’s assists leader hurt his quad in that game and is expected to miss about eight weeks, which rules him out until after the FIBA Break.

Melbourne United won both games and had three players in the round’s top seven. Josh Oduro ($318,900) posted 84, the second-best score of the round. His 60 in Saturday’s 104-99 win against the South East Melbourne Phoenix came from 21 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 blocks. Cole Anthony ($329,500) added 78 and Luke Travers ($277,900) 72, including 45 against the Phoenix.

Cairns also went two from two and put five players in the Round 4 top 15. Jonah Bolden ($209,500) led the way with 80 off the bench. He made 7-from-10 from three across the two games and had 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks in Sunday’s 110-100 win against the Illawarra Hawks. Jack McVeigh ($315,400) scored 32 points in the same game on his way to 79.

The Hawks lost both of their games, but new big man Makur Maker ($123,300) made an instant SuperCoach impact. Signed with Todd Blanchfield and Mason Peatling both injured, Maker scored 39 off the bench in Round 4. That included 25 against Cairns from an NBL career-high 18 points on 6-from-7 shooting and 9 rebounds in 17 minutes. He has 58 from his first three games.

At the Kings, Makuach Maluach ($163,700) has come off the bench in all four games and keeps delivering. He added 17 in the loss to Adelaide off 12 points in just under 26 minutes and now has 75 from four games. Kendric Davis ($428,500) managed 33 in the same game, shooting 6-from-19.

The round was another reminder of what SuperCoach NBL rewards. With Jackson-Cartwright out, Breakers big man Sam Mennenga ($302,300) had 40 points and 18 rebounds in the 100-84 loss in Perth for 62, the biggest single-game score of the round. Tasmania JackJumpers guard David Johnson ($226,700) scored 32 points off the bench on 9-from-10 shooting in the 122-112 win against Illawarra, but with 1 rebound and 2 assists it was worth just 41.

Double-headers ruled again. Four clubs played twice in Round 4 (Adelaide, Melbourne, Cairns and Illawarra), and 13 of the top 15 came from those four. Mennenga and Brisbane centre Tyrell Harrison ($345,100), who posted 59 off 23 points and 18 rebounds in Cairns, were the only single-game players to make it. In Perth, Brandon Knight ($277,000) scored 9 on debut in under 20 minutes off the bench, while Dylan Windler ($321,000) made 7 threes for 42.

Jackson-Cartwright still holds the best average in the game at 53.4, ahead of Tasmania’s Will Magnay ($356,800) on 42.6, Davis on 41.8 and Velicka on 40.2.

With Jackson-Cartwright and Velicka both sidelined, plenty of SuperCoaches have some surgery to do before Round 5.

Below are the top 15 scores from Round 4 and the top 25 overall scorers after four rounds.

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