Basketball On The Internet.

WOW! Just wow! Yes indeed. Round 2 of the NBL season unquestionably was the greatest second round of a season in the league's history and would certainly rank among its finest regular season rounds ever.

The finish of the Tasmania JackJumpers game against Adelaide in Hobart was epic - the game overall maybe notsomuch - but Dusty Hannahs' desperate 3-point heave to beat the shot-clock did just the trick to turn around his season.

A double-overtime epic in Perth was memorable too, not only for the fact Brisbane has never before started a season with back-to-back overtime games. But winning in the West over the Wildcats always is a tonic.

The derbies - Sydney-Illawarra, Melbourne-South East Melbourne - were at an elite level of play, no issue, with big play after big play.

There may have been better regular season rounds since tip-off in 1979, but not many better games than some of the ones we witnessed these past few days.

 

 

   ROUND 2 RAPID REVIEW

 

 

 

CLINT Steindl led from the front with wicked early shooting for the JackJumpers but Adelaide hit Hobart with a will to win and break its 0-2 start.

Dusty Hannahs was prominent early, then came up trumps in the end-game, first with a big 3-pointer under pressure to give the 36ers breathing space.

His next basket sealed the win, Adelaide much livelier than the home team which at times seemed strangely listless against an opponent down on some key personnel. Those are the ones you cannot let slip.

ADELAIDE 36ERS 83 (Hannahs 15, Johnson 14, King 10; McCarron, Humphries 6 rebs; Hannahs 4 assts) d TASMANIAN JACKJUMPERS 80 (Steindl 22, Adams 15, Magette 11, McVeigh 10; McVeigh 6 rebs; Magette 8 assts) at The AntHill, MyState Bank Arena. Crowd: 4,738

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WATCHING the Mitch Creek-Finn Delany matchup - a game within the game - was fun in itself before the Breakers' star forward hit the wall and Creek hit the record books.

His 36-point haul was the most by any player in South East Melbourne's short history and showcased Creek's game at its finest, with his points tally produced at 59 per cent with a scorching 6-of-7 threes.

Giving up 35 points in the first period set New Zealand up for a long night but they hung in undermanned to keep their fans hopeful of what may yet lay ahead.

The officials' treatment of Chinese import Zhou Qi was abominable.

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 95 (Creek 36, Munford 17, Adnam 16; Gliddon 6 rebs; Munford 6 assts) d NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 88 (Besson 26, Delany 23, Wetzell 18, McDowell-White 11; Besson 8 rebs; McDowell-White 8 assts) at John Cain Arena. Crowd: 3,752

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THE teams' respective owners acted like pork chops in their less-than-subtle efforts to build up a game which, with its rich history, really needed no such obvious contrivances.

(Calling a team "scumbags" and "idiots" did everyone a disservice to be honest and if that's the depths someone has to plumb to create interest, maybe it's time to pack up and go home.)

Instead, promoting the hell out of what would be a cracker of a match may have been more to the point because that's what it was, Angus Glover fulfilling his potential before losing emotional control for a totally unnecessary physical confrontation.

Duop Reath showed again why I had him on the first line of MVP betting, his game-high 27 points at 70 per cent, with 3-of-4 threes, plus 7 rebounds.

Such a high quality game, Xavier Cooks also showing up with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, the Hawks too accomplsihed down the stretch.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 92 (Reath 27, Cleveland 19, Jessup, Harvey 13; S Froling 13 rebs; Rathan-Mayes, Jessup 4 assts) d SYDNEY KINGS 84 (Glover 16, Cooks 14, Martin 13, Bruce 12, Swaka Lo Buluk 11; Cooks 11 rebs; Bruce, Cooks 5 assts) at The Kingdome, Qudos Bank Arena. Crowd: 6,212

* * *

LOSING Scott Machado after only 6:08 of action - at which point he already had four points and two assists - was a blow for Cairns but Tasmania could not sustain that advantage.

Tahjere McCall came up big but this wasn't a game for the time-capsule.

The Orangemen shot at 40 per cent, were 5-of-21 from outside the arc, and had 21 turnovers. The JackJumpers shot it at a shocking 31 per cent, were 5-of-35 from long range - imports Josh Magette and Josh Adams a combined 3-of-20 from 3-point territory - with 19 turnovers.

Both teams had one quarter where they only scored 6 points. Six. Even Aaron Fearne was furious. So when we're talking "best round of all time", maybe we just jump over this match?

CAIRNS TAIPANS 69 (McCall 20, Noi 17, Kenny 8; Zimmerman 12 rebs; McCall 5 assts) d TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 62 (Magette 19, Steindl 13, Adams 9; McDaniel 8 rebs; Magette 5 assts) at The Snakepit, Cairns Convention Centre. Crowd: 4,015

* * *

ANOTHER match that was simply sensational, South East Melbourne running up an 18-point lead courtesy of a 27-12 opening quarter rout.

Matty Dellavedova (19 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists) rallied United which steadily dragged its way back into the game to make it a contest.

Given a chance to play without the referees riding roughshod over him, Zhou Qi (22 points, 10 boards) ran rampant before Mitch Creek threw down arguably the dunk of the year over Delly.

In some misguided attempt to support a fallen Dellavedova, who wasn't being disrespected, Mason Peatling shirt-fronted Creek to the floor, setting off another melee. Please don't buy the rhetoric and confuse this kind of emotional immaturity or lack of emotional discipline as "being a great teammate".

It was just stupid. You had five rebounds, four points and were thrown out. You really think you sent a message there Mason?

Down the stretch after United again showed its backbone to turn this into a thriller, Shea Ili - who had 14 points and 2-of-3 triples - foolishly passed up a couple of open looks and Melbourne paid the price as the Phoenix closed out this classic Throwdown.

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX 94 (Qi 22, Munford, Creek 16, Broekhoff 14, Adnam 11; Qi 10 rebs; Le'Afa, Creek 5 assts) d MELBOURNE UNITED 86 (Dellavedova 19, Lual-Acuil 17, Agada 16, Ili 14; Newley, Dellavedova 9 rebs; Dellavedova 5 assts) at John Cain Arena. Crowd: 6,361

* * *

WILLIAM McDowell-White and Hugo Besson looked set to singlehandedly ruin Adelaide's season as an undermanned New Zealand ran up a 19-point lead during the first half, built on a 28-15 first quarter and 59-42 interval buffer.

But the Breakers ran out of steam after the main break as the 36ers received key contributions from Dusty Hannahs, Todd Withers, Daniel Johnson and Mitch - Shoot the Ball More Mitch!! - McCarron, who produced a career and game high 13 rebounds with his six assists.

Cam Bairstow again was the height of efficiency off the bench as New Zealand looked for someone to carry them and did not utilise Yanni Wetzell nearly enough.

By three quarter-time, the die was cast and the Breakers drowning. That Adelaide could win by 13 after trailing by 19 - a 32-point turnaround - showed just how badly the Breakers ground to a halt against the onslaught.

ADELAIDE 36ERS 98 (Hannahs 25, Johnson 22, Withers 16, Bairstow 15; McCarron 13 rebs; McCarron 6 assts) d NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 85 (McDowell-White 27, Besson 25, Wetzell 20; Loe 6 rebs; McDowell-White 7 assts) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Crowd: Not supplied

* * *

COULD this game be any better as an advertisement for the bona fides of the NBL as a quality competition and amid the best leagues in the world?

Lamar Patterson, Vic Law, Bryce Cotton, Nathan Sobey and Robert Franks all produced when the game was on the line and it was on the line repeatedly.

Whether losing Anthony Drmic to injury in-game may have helped by shortening James Duncan's Bullets rotation is a debate worth considering.

But how resilient was Brisbane? Having contained Cotton, the Bullets had to endure one of his classic four-point plays to give Perth a 76-70 lead with 68 seconds of regulation left.

That should have been it but nup, Brisbane kept coming, Patterson feeding Nate Sobey for a three before closing regulation with a 3-pointer of his own for 76-76.

It was Sobey who tied it up again at 84-84 with a hard-driving layup before Law went crazy for 10 straight points in the second O/T, giving the Wildcats the lead at 94-92.

Enter Franks with the biggest shot of his brief NBL life, the three for 95-94, with some great D and a Jason Cadee layup to conclude this amazing contest. If next round's rematch is half as good, it will be a gem.

BRISBANE BULLETS 97 (Patterson 27, Franks 21, Sobey 19, Harrison, Cadee 10; harrison 14 rebs; Sobey 5 assts) d PERTH WILDCATS 94 (Law 29, Cotton 19, Blanchfield 14; Majok 14 rebs; White, Travers, Cotton 4 assts) in Double Overtime {76-76}, {84-84} at The Jungle, RAC Arena. Crowd: 11,295

* * *

WHAT WE LEARNT
*All Dusty Hannahs needed to get back his shooting confidence was a calculated wild throw to beat the shot clock and, effectively, beat Tasmania.
*That Mitch Creek-Finn Delany is a fun match-up to watch but the Horsham Hurricane still holds the edge.
*Leaving Creeky unguarded outside the arc now is at your peril.
*Our referees have zero idea how to umpire big men – witness the farcical way calls were made against Zhou Qi in the NZB match.
*“Oh my” said slowly or “Oh. My. Goodness.” said with punctuated effect for gravity, remain the sad unimaginative staples of too many TV callers.
*Our referees have zero idea how to umpire big men – witness the appalling way calls were made against Nathan Jawai in the TJJ match.
*Yeah I know, Nate should be used to it by now but is that a valid excuse for the crap calls he cops week after week? Are refs even accountable?
*Andrew Gaze’s on-air description of Mason Peatling’s idiotic rugby shirt-front on Mitch Creek after the latter dunked on a sprawling Matty Dellavedova probably said it best: “Really silly stuff by Peatling. Not necessary. Hellacious dunk by Mitch Creek. Spectacular. What was Peatling thinking? … Sometimes you’ve just got to wear it…. That is completely unnecessary and hurts your team just when you’re getting back into it.”
*Tuning out of the new Crossover TV show. Settled in to hear Damon Lowery actually lauding how good Peatling’s behaviour was to hit Creek when he wasn’t expecting it while the SEM talisman rightly still was celebrating the likely dunk of the year. Yes, thanks Damon. I’m out.
*The most popular new basketball term for coaches currently is “downhill” which is enjoying multiple time-out airplay. But no, it’s still not in the “Awright?” stratosphere.
*TV caller Dwayne Russell still has zero historical perspective or credibility when blathering on about “greatest import of all time” “the best this or that blah blah”. He is the absolute Regent of Recency Bias.
*It might just be me but I could listen to Andrew Gaze and Lanard Copeland all night. No other combination comes close.
*Cairns and Tasmania are bound for the bomb shelter but there are seven teams legitimately in the hunt for the Final Four and maybe eight if New Zealand doesn’t slip too far into the red before regaining its elite troops.
*Ah, of course. Now we have "downhill" rampant in the TV commentary. Fair enough. After all, that's regularly gone downhill.

QUOTE of the WEEK

“You go one and one, attack and go ahead and score on Kyle Adnam. He is the f---ing shittiest little defender in the league. Go ahead and score on him.”

- United coach Dean Vickerman at a timeout during the Throwdown, evoking memories of an Ian Stacker timeout in Townsville long ago and too far away to trouble Dwayne Russell.

"I really wish I'd never left Adelaide." "Don't worry man, I hear you."