Studs and Duds | Round 16

At the conclusion of each round, NBL Media’s Liam Santamaria lets us know who made the grade and who deserves a little shade.

STUDS

Adelaide 36ers

The 36ers are our headliners this week after keeping their finals hopes alive with back-to-back victories.

Conner Henry’s men had fun against the Bullets and then took care of business against the bottom-placed Taipans for two straight double-digit wins.

Last Saturday’s performance was particularly impressive. Yes, the Bullets were flat but the Sixers took advantage; throwing a season-high 29 assists and becoming the first team this season to register 50 – 40 – 90 shooting clips in a single game. In fact, the 36ers went a perfect 14-of-14 from the stripe in that one as part of a highly efficient offensive night.

Daniel Johnson and Josh Giddey were outstanding across the round, as was Keanu Pinder who looks increasingly comfortable having returned to his role off the bench.

Adelaide’s imports, meanwhile, played especially well against Cairns with Tony Crocker knocking down shots and Brandon Paul filling the box-score with 18, 10 and 5.

That’s now five wins for the 36ers from their past eight games and, with Isaac Humphries back in the line-up, their fans are starting to dream about a genuine playoff push.

“We need to go on the road and play some very tough teams who are above us and are also in the mix to get that third or fourth spot,” Coach Henry said.

“We know the challenge… it’s fun winning games on the road. Every game will be big and we’ll be up for the challenge, I hope.”

The big question for Adelaide, however, revolves around…

Josh Giddey (Adelaide 36ers)

I mean… let’s be honest: any hope the 36ers have of making a legitimate run at a top four finish sits in the hands of this young man and his management.

The kid is balling. There’s no doubt about that. This week he became the first local player in NBL history to produce back-to-back triple-doubles and only the second Aussie ever to notch up multiple trip-dubs in a single season (joining the legendary Sam Mackinnon).

His improvement over the course of the season has been spectacular and his impressive play has seen his NBA Draft stock soar. And, as crazy as it sounds about an 18-year-old in a league as tough as this one, he really is crucial to Adelaide’s chances of winning games.

The question is: how long will he play?

If he keeps lacing ‘em up, there’s every chance Giddey just continues to impress and continues to rise up draft boards.

However, there’s also that element of risk that needs to be considered. After all, the lad has a wonderfully bright future ahead of him and he needs to make sure he’s cherry ripe for draft night in order to kick-start that promising NBA career.

It’s a fascinating situation to monitor and one that holds the key to any faint playoff hopes the 36ers currently have.

Daniel Johnson (Adelaide 36ers)

Before we move on, a quick shout-out to ‘DJ’ who played his 350^th NBL game this week.

The softly-spoken star has been a bucket his entire career and, of course, it was no different in this milestone match. Johnson scored 20 of his 26 points in the opening half against Brisbane as he vaulted his team to a resounding victory.

The big fella then notched up his fourth double-double of the season in the win over Cairns, posting 15 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.

He just continues to get it done.

Tyler Harvey (Illawarra Hawks)

The Hawks only played once this week and when they did, they made it count, getting the better of New Zealand in a low-scoring grind down in Tassie.

The Hawks defended brilliantly to limit the Breakers to just 67 points – their equal lowest score of the season – and it was Tyler Harvey who led the way down the other end.

The import guard scored 21 of his game-high 29 points in the opening half and, as the Breakers adjusted, things became a little easier for the rest of the Hawks to operate.

“That’s our guy, that’s our scorer, that’s who we’re playing off offensively,” Hawks coach Brian Goorjian said.

“It wasn’t only his 29 points but the double-teaming opened up the other guys and created for them… with this group we have to have a scoring point and he’s that for us.”

The challenge for the Hawks now is to continue to bring that defensive intensity on a nightly basis. With marquee signing Deng Adel not panning out and Cam Bairstow still on the sidelines, they just don’t have the offensive firepower to approach it any other way.

Perth Wildcats

Over the past 24 hours the Wildcats snapped Melbourne United’s 11-game winning streak and, well, announced this…

As a reminder: this club is about to make its thirty-fifth straight appearance in the postseason and is on the verge of winning a third consecutive NBL title. They are excellence personified.

John Mooney (Perth Wildcats)

While we’re on the Wildcats… the Moon Dogg was an absolute savage last night.

Coupling his usual strong inside work with elite three-point shooting, Mooney poured in 30 points to go with 14 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in a player-of-the-game performance.

The man was just a picture of efficiency all night long. He went to work on the block, finished strong around the basket and then punished United on pick-and-pops, shooting a white-hot 4-of-5 from long range.

“Credit to Mooney,” United coach Dean Vickerman said.

“He was one of the guys we helped off a bit and (lived with) making a late recovery and he shot the basketball extremely well tonight.

“He was massive and was a big part of why Bryce (Cotton) had 10 assists.”

It’s worth noting that it also wasn’t Mooney’s only standout showing for the week.

The first-year pro also brought it against the Breakers, albeit in a loss, posting a game-high 25 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists.

Levi Randolph (New Zealand Breakers)

I know, I know… Randolph was quiet in his team’s loss to Melbourne and didn’t even play when they went down to the Hawks.

But never mind all that… the man hit a game-winner to beat the arch rivals. That will always earn you a place in the studs.

Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (Melbourne United)

Last but not least, let’s throw some love JLA’s way for his excellent play throughout Round 16.

The captain of the All Green Light Team was a dominant force across Melbourne’s two wins as he put 23 and 9 on the Breakers and 20 & 9 on the Kings.

His scoring cooled off last night against Perth (8 points) but he still notched up 10 boards and 5 blocks in what was a rough offensive night for United.

Lual-Acuil’s improvement has been huge for MU this season and he has become a key element of their championship aspirations. In fact, his importance grew even larger today with the announcement of Magnay’s signing out west.

DUDS

South East Melbourne Phoenix

What is going on with the Phoenix?

Just when this squad was on the verge of marching towards a playoff appearance (in only their second season of existence!), they no-show a couple of crucial games.

In fact, this is a third straight week in the duds for South East Melbourne, whose loss to Brisbane last Thursday was their fourth defeat from their past five games.

And you know what? It’s been the same ol’ story in each of those losses: a lack of energy and intensity, especially at the defensive end.

“(We had) an inability to contain the ball,” head coach Simon Mitchell said.

“They just blew by us, drew the second defender and kicked the ball out for open threes. They made us pay.

“Just one-on-one containment of the ball, being able to stay in front of your direct opponent, was really poor. We’re putting a lot of work into it but it’s not translating into the games.”

Truth is, the Phoenix also had trouble knocking down shots. They connected on just 6 of their 27 attempts (22 percent) from long range against the Bullets; their lowest three-point percentage for any game this season. To make matters worse, Mitch Creek attempted only six field goals. Six! Yes he shot a couple of free throws but come on, that man is averaging 20 points a game at 55 percent! He’s got to be more involved.

Unfortunately for Phoenix fans, things are not getting any easier. I’m hearing Ryan Broekhoff is likely to miss a couple following that errant elbow he copped last week and a match-up with a fired-up Melbourne United is right around the corner.

The good news? Keifer Sykes is nearing a return.

Sydney Kings

The Kings were the other squad who were a little flat this week as they got thumped by United on the road.

Casper Ware did all he could to spark his squad against his former side, scoring 25 points, but he was a bit of a lone ranger, as Melbourne ran away with a 25-point win.

“We needed that,” Sydney coach Adam Forde said.

“I don’t know if it’s us falling in love with the headlines but there’s slippage. There’s slippage in our trainings, there’s slippage in the coaching staff, there slippage in the extended staff, there’s slippage in the playing group and that’s the result.

“That’s what we needed; we needed a swift kick in the nuts.”

One thing’s for sure: under Adam Forde’s leadership, this is a team that has regularly bounced back over the course of this season.

The Kings had won four in a row prior to losing to United. They won’t stay down for long.

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