Studs and Duds: Round 9

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

 

Sydney Kings

Don’t let the biff distract you from the fact that the Kings thoroughly outplayed the Wildcats yesterday.

It’s not something we’ve seen too often in recent years, but Sydney put the hurt on Perth to claim their second consecutive win. Backing up from the beatdown they served up to Brisbane last week, the Kings used an impressive defensive effort to spark their up-tempo offensive attack. 

All of that began with former Wildcats guard Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, whose efforts on the MVP were outstanding throughout the game. It’s worth mentioning, though, that he also had plenty of help, with the entire Kings squad – including star guard Jaylen Adams – locked into helping each other on and off the ball.

“The way we guarded frustrated them for a lot of the night,” Sydney coach Chase Buford noted.

“Our shifts were great, our help defence was terrific. They came off and saw bodies a lot and it was tough for them to execute… I think our defence was terrific throughout the majority of the game.”

Jaylen Adams (Sydney Kings)

Speaking of Adams, he was brilliant all afternoon.

The talented PG was in beast mode right from the opening tip as he pushed the tempo and made plays off the bounce. Let’s be clear: Adams is one of the best, if not the best, in the league at creating out of pick-and-roll and the Wildcats simply had no answer for him as he tore them apart.

When all was said and done, the Sydney star finished just a few stats shy of an almighty triple-double as he amassed 30 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in a powerhouse display.

The scary thing for every other team: he’s still getting warmed up.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jaylen Adams did a serious number* on the Wildcats yesterday ?<br><br>*lots of numbers<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> By the Numbers powered by <a href="https://twitter.com/LaTrobeFin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LaTrobeFin</a> <a href="https://t.co/JTun864CBs">pic.twitter.com/JTun864CBs</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1487934373387468800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

Tasmania JackJumpers

Big props to the JackJumpers who are suddenly on the first winning streak in the history of their franchise.

The Ants applied their trademark grit and determination to outduel Adelaide on Friday and then completely outclassed New Zealand two days later for their first ever set of consecutive wins.

Tassie’s import backcourt stepped up this week, but they also received key contributions from numerous other sources. Will Magnay continued his improved play while fellow starters Jack McVeigh (17 points) and Matt Kenyon (8 points, 8 rebounds) were both excellent in the win over the Breakers. Just quietly, the JJs need to keep making a focus of McVeigh. His offensive production is key for that squad.

Before we move on, there are a couple of other JackJumpers whom I’m keen to give special mentions ….

Josh Magette (Tasmania JackJumpers)

Let’s start with Magette who was the man for Tassie across their two wins.

The crafty point guard put up 16 points, 7 assists and 3 steals in the win over Adelaide, when his fourth-quarter shot-making was a massive factor. He then backed that up with an outstanding performance on Sunday, when he caught fire from deep to pour in 22 points and 8 dimes.

He’s been up and down across NBL22 so far, but this is the guy Scott Roth signed to lead that ball club. 

Scott Roth (Tasmania JackJumpers)

Speaking of the big man in charge, you’ve got to love Roth’s passion for building something great on the Apple Isle.

It wasn’t a playoff win or Game 5 of a championship series, but that’s okay… heck, any win’s a big win when you’re an expansion franchise trying to make your mark. 

Go ahead and let those emotions flow. I’m here for it!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pretty much sums it up. <a href="https://t.co/373xJVUDCu">pic.twitter.com/373xJVUDCu</a></p>&mdash; Tasmania JackJumpers ? (@JackJumpers) <a href="https://twitter.com/JackJumpers/status/1487011776545755137?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

South East Melbourne Phoenix

On the flip side, it’s well understood that South East Melbourne are genuine championship contenders, so let’s not get too excited about this particular win… but credit where it’s due: that was a very solid victory for the Phoenix.

This is a squad that has been re-building nicely over the past two weeks and this week’s W – their third in a row – was another solid step towards reaching their potential. The primary factor for SEM was their focus and effort defensively, helping them limit a dangerous Brisbane squad to just 73 points.

“I was really happy with the way we won,” head coach Simon Mitchell said.

“What we want to pride ourselves on and what we’re trying to overcome in our growth is: we can be a great shooting team and win but we can’t be a team that defends because we’re shooting well. We need to be a team that can defend when we aren’t shooting well. That’s the next step in our growth as a franchise.

“I thought tonight, despite not shooting particularly well from the perimeter, we went inside and we defended Brisbane coming down with pace really well. That’s what we want to pride ourselves on.”

The Phoenix have now risen to third in the league for defensive efficiency on the season. That’s a great sign for a team that still has room to grow as they sharpen up their schemes involving Zhou Qi and continue to integrate Brandon Ashley.

Before we move on, let’s also throw some (more) love at Mitch Creek for his ongoing outstanding play. My pre-season pick for MVP, Creek is currently second in the league for scoring, just behind Cotton, and ranks third in steals. He’s also just there for the Phoenix every single possession of every single game. Locked in, kicking butt and having a career-best year.

Cam Bairstow (Adelaide 36ers)

While we’re on the topic of kicking butt, that’s exactly what Cam Bairstow has been doing for the 36ers this season.

Now officially the league’s leading rebounder, Bairstow continued his outstanding form this week as Adelaide split their road-home double.

Against Tassie, the former NBA big man hauled in a massive 18 rebounds – the most of any player in a single game this season – to go with 11 points and 3 blocked shots. Bairstow then stood tall once again in the win over Melbourne, contributing 16 and 13 with a season-high 5 assists.

Dusty Hannahs had some BIG moments over the course of Round 9, as did Kai Sotto and Sunday Dech, but it’s Bairstow’s consistent production that has been the biggest positive for Adelaide this season.

Logan Moody (NBL Broadcast)

Excuse me for a moment while I quickly shout-out this outstanding operator.

Game after game, night after night, over the last few years, this mild-mannered Kiwi has been doing his thing behind the scenes for the NBL broadcast. Weaving his magic as the broadcast’s Senior EVS Operator, Moody has been functioning as a key component of the league’s all-star production team. 

Sadly, yesterday’s clash in Tassie served as Logan’s final game in that all-important chair as he’s set to embark on the next phase of his career. Good luck, mate, and thanks for all your great work. 

DUDS

 

Matt Hodgson (Perth Wildcats)

To be honest, not much needs to be said about Matt Hodgson’s brain fade in Sydney on Sunday.

The big fella just snapped and his momentary lack of discipline – and sportsmanship – has seen him cited by the Game Review Panel for striking (twice).

I’ve no doubt there’ll be some people who disagree (in fact, I’m sure I’ll encounter one on NBL Overtime tomorrow), but let’s be perfectly clear about this: that kind of behaviour has no place in our game.

‘Hodgy’, who is actually a terrific bloke, needs to be smarter than that in the heat of the moment.

“You want your guys to be competitive, you want them to have an edge. You don’t want them to be backing down,” Wildcats coach Scott Morrison said.

“But, at the same time, you have to keep your head and stay locked in.”

You also need to understand that toughness on a basketball court is about much more than slapping someone in the face. Morrison, who clearly wasn’t happy with his big man’s actions, spoke eloquently about this following the game.

“Toughness isn’t just going there and swinging your elbows and pushing people,” he explained.

“Toughness is locking into the game plan, executing it, making adjustments and putting your body on the line in a legal way to get stops and get your teammates shots. 

“Maybe we need to make sure that everyone knows the definition of toughness as it relates to basketball.”

Precisely. 

Brisbane Bullets

The Bullets have chalked up some very impressive wins so far this season but they let themselves down this week in that loss to the Phoenix.

It wasn’t all bad – Lamar Patterson (26 points, 5 assists), for instance, was tough throughout the night – but they just didn’t get the job done for key stretches of that game. The Bullets gave up 50 points in the opening half and then, after fighting back in the third quarter, scored just 6 points in the fourth – the second-lowest final-quarter score in franchise history. 

One guy who just couldn’t get it going at all was…

Robert Franks (Brisbane Bullets)

Franks has been fantastic for Brisbane in his first NBL season but he had a rough one on Saturday, fouling out after registering just 2 points and 2 boards on 0-for-7 field goals. 

Those kinds of shooting nights will happen, from time to time, but the concern for Bullets coach James Duncan was that Franks wasn’t able to work his way into the action.

“He missed a few shots and couldn’t get himself rolling,” Duncan said.

“If he’s able to get a few steals and get a few rebounds and just impact the game in other ways, the ball will fall for him.”

New Zealand Breakers

Covid legs. On to the next one.

Chris Goulding (Melbourne United)

Goulding is having yet another outstanding season but he just couldn’t buy a basket in Melbourne’s loss to Adelaide.

It was just one of those games for the superstar where, no matter where or when he launched it, the ball just wouldn’t drop. Adelaide’s defenders – Sunday Dech and Mitch McCarron, in particular – deserve some credit for challenging his shots, but Goulding also had a number of really good looks… they just weren’t going down.

In the end, the Melbourne captain notched up the worst shooting performance of his career as he went 0-of-14 from the field, including 0-for-9 from long range.

As you’d expect, however, the high-scoring guard is completely unperturbed about landing in the duds.

“I’ve set a pretty high standard for myself so of course there’s going to be people talking about it when it goes the other way,” Goulding said.

“But (I’ll) get back to work, put in the reps and let the work show for itself next game.”

Stephen Zimmerman (Cairns Taipans)

From the moment Hawks big men Duop Reath and Sam Froling scored three quick buckets on Zimmerman in the game’s opening minutes, it was clear it wasn’t the Cairns centre’s night.

Big Zimm recorded season lows in minutes (14), points (4), rebounds (2) as the Hawks outscored the Taipans by 19 during his limited time on the floor.

The Snakes are going to need more.

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