Basketball On The Internet.

LAST round in the NBL easily could have been dubbed "Brain Fade Round". First Tassie didn't foul late against Brisbane. Then Sydney left its big boy pants on the plane in Adelaide. Zylan Cheatham tried to call an on-court time-out, Jordon Crawford took a three when his team had time to win with an easier basket.

It didn't end there. Adelaide went hero-ball to blow an 11-point mid-last quarter lead in Cairns, and in the final game of the round, Sydney's stellar "Pink Hoops" day against New Zealand, Jordan Hunter rose to tap the game's opening tip forward, straight into the hands of the Breakers.

All his Kings teammates were standing behind the centre line. 

Sigh. Should you let your guys know they have two fouls to give before getting into bonus when they go back out with less than 13 seconds left and the opposition advancing the ball for the last play?

Should you know that with four seconds left and down by a point, we don't have NBA-style "players calling time-outs on the floor" rules?

Should you come to play on the road and not spend two hours skulking and sulking?

Can you fashion a better play than a jacked up triple attempt when you're trailing by a point and have the final possession?

Are there times you should stay disciplined and simply win a game?

And when you're taking the opening tip, should you notice that it's only opposition players ahead of centre?

Thank goodness Brain Fade Round is done. It certainly impacted on our weekly Rankings table with movement everywhere ... except at the very top.

Melbourne and Perth to battle out the championship? The smart money suggests it very strongly ... but as the last round showed, we're not always very smart. 

ROUND 16 TIPS
Hard to trust SEM or Adelaide but the 36ers look the more reliable bet.
Cairns at Illawarra should go to the wire so maybe it's Hawks at home.
Tassie's record slips into the red if it loses to Melbourne, so it won't.
Perth playing well, may be due a slip, and Brisbane is ready to oblige.
NZ needs a bounce-back home harvest and SEM is ripe for the plucking.
Fondling finals feels, Hawks should bank a thriller at home over Adelaide.
Unlikely Perth would lose twice and Sydney is still "a work". Wildcats win.
Long trip to Cairns from Perth for Brisbane, plays into the Taipans' hands.

NBL RANKINGS – WEEK 15
This          Last
Week       Week   Club
  1               1       Melbourne (16-5) escaped the ditch, can United escape the island?
  2               2       Perth (13-7) A split would be fine but both opponents are firing.
  3               5       Brisbane (11-11) Best win streak since Federation but a split likely.
  4               8       Sydney (11-11) Looked the part against NZ but Perth is tougher.
  5               4       Illawarra (9-10) Great opportunity to bump record into the black.
  6               3       Tasmania (11-11) In a major slump. Beating Melb would save season.
  7               9       Cairns (10-12) Has a super chance to square ledger this round.
  8               7       New Zealand (8-12) Can't afford any more losses now. In deep do-do.
  9               6       Adelaide (7-14) The good/the bad last round. Let's hope there's no ugly.
10              10      South East (9-12) Sadly watching as another season of hope passes by.