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Rankings #19 ... Surprise, surprise
TweetTHIS weekend's round of NBL action will be season-defining for Adelaide 36ers, away to first-placed Perth and third-ranked Melbourne.
Since season tip-off, rarely have Adelaide's playoff bona fides been so clearly challenged, the 36ers and Wildcats initially the pacemakers of the 2013-14 season. At least through the 2013 portion of the season.
But both have fallen off their own pace at the same time as clubs such as Sydney and New Zealand have been finding their identities, the Sixers finally cutting import Jarrid Frye this week to try and right their ship.
With both Perth and Adelaide - #1 and #2 - coming off road losses, they will be anxious to make some kind of statement at The Jungle.
It's just that, at home and also keen to prove Adelaide does not have its measure, Perth seems to have just a fraction more to play for and also has a stability the 36ers risked this week.
While Adelaide has its sights firmly on Perth's top placing, truth is Melbourne and Sydney are eyeing the 36ers' second ranking, the Sixers risking losing their footing from below while they assault the summit.
After a bye and a chance to heal wounds and refocus, Melbourne, which previously smacked Adelaide in Melbourne when the 36ers were coming off a game in Cairns, has every right to feel good about making its move upward.
And Adelaide fans will sit nervously on their hands this round, wondering if their team is for real or is about to be found out.
CONGRATULATIONS to the additional WNBL award winners which Basketball Australia is revealing now by carrier pigeon.
Not sure who on Saturday will make the presentation to Lightning's Laura Hodges for her All Star Five selection - before the season has even ended - but maybe BA's marketing guru Aaron Flanagan could do it? He should be back in town.
Congrats too for Suzy Batkovic in her All Star Five selection and Alex Wilson of the Fire winning the Rookie award, making it back-to-back wins for South Aussie country players.
Pardon my surprise that ABC-TV won the league's television award, but not sure the network was up against much once BA shut down Canberra Capitals' live streaming.
Just kidding. The Inside Edge piece on Caps coach Carrie Graf was brilliant, as has been the work of The Age's Roy Ward and Chris Wilson's moving feature in the Canberra Times.
CONGRATULATIONS to my personal choice Suzy Batkovic for claiming the WNBL's Player of the Week honors for the third time.
The Batgirl led Townsville to convincing road wins in Sydney and Canberra, averaging 33.5 points and 15.0 rebounds against two of her former stomping grounds.
She batted a couple of shots in off the backboard, used her patented "batarang" move - the spinning steparound - battered the Flames and Caps, and didn't bat an eyelid in the process.
In her spare time, she is Rockin' Robin.
RELIABLY informed Adrian Preposterous, er, Adrian Proszenko, the "chief rugby league writer" for Fairfax Media, who magnanimously dubbed Kings' import Sam Young as "the best basketballer to step foot on to an Australian court" agrees with the ABC's Darren Boyd that Phil Brown is one of the greatest coaches in Australian history.
Apparently Brown was a key man in introducing the metric system to Australia.
Online
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/adelaide-36ers-lose-patience-sack-jarrid-frye-and-bring-back-nbl-veteran-rhys-carter-for-run-at-championship/story-fnii09ki-1226823684258
RANKINGS
YEAH, after last week’s tumultuous results, it was time to shake up the rankings in the NBL on the basis of how teams are travelling right now, not “recently”.
Let’s face it. Perth pre-Christmas was a bit more imposing than the version we are seeing now, and the Adelaide team which spanked the Wildcats in the preseason, lost by three in Round 1 and then inflicted Perth’s first loss, did not even indirectly resemble the mob Wollongong pantsed last week.
Sydney is coming together beautifully and, frankly, the season is heading toward one hell of a regular season finish.
The WNBL regular season DOES finish this weekend, so BA can announce the MVP on Monday.
NBL Rankings
This Wk - Prev
8 (4) TAIPANS – It doesn’t take much to hit the trough and Cairns has been a roller-coaster ride all season.
7 (3) BREAKERS – Fell again from contenders to pretenders but can still make it, starting with skinning Taipans.
6 (6) TIGERS – Had plenty of time to rest, relax and prepare. A loss Sunday spells spiral, a win spells homecourt.
5 (7) HAWKS – Only took a fully focused effort to take flight and a split or better this round would be huge.
4 (8) CROCODILES – Hardly extinct, with quite the performance last round and definitely on a roll.
3 (2) 36ERS – Hoping last round’s revisit by the 2012-13 team was an aberration but this round will tell.
2 (1) WILDCATS – Have not looked anywhere as impressive this year and need a statement game.
1 (5) KINGS – Met the challenge again last week and a win over Wollongong would help consolidation.
WNBL Rankings
This Wk - Prev
9 (9) WAVES – A season which started with such promise – e.g., a WIN – ends with a run of 23 consecutive losses.
8 (8) THUNDER – A tough finale against two in-form, finals-bound opponents. Goodnight.
7 (7) FLAMES – Sydney will close with a win and with a lot of thinking to do ahead of 2014-15.
6 (4) CAPITALS – Losing Nat Hurst hurts but Canberra will end on a winning note regardless.
5 (5) LIGHTNING – Took care of business and has a score to settle with Dandenong.
4 (2) RANGERS – Losing form is never good form so winning on the road should be a priority.
3 (3) FIRE – Will seal homecourt for the KO semi by taking out Melbourne in Boomers second leg.
2 (6) BOOMERS – Bounced back in no uncertain terms but how much did that take ahead of playoffs?
1 (1) SPIRIT – The spectre of injury is suddenly hovering over Bendigo, though beating Logan should be a given.
THIS WEEK'S TIPS
CAIRNS shot itself in the foot – though pretty sure Taipans don’t have feet, so it was some feat – losing at home to Townsville. Beating New Zealand now in Auckland, with the Breakers’ finals heart barely beating, is most unlikely.
BOTH teams had super wins last round with Townsville taking out Perth and Cairns before Wollongong smacked Adelaide. This is a real coin flip and it being a Friday, The Sandpit should have some fans in the building. So tight, but maybe the Hawks end the Crocs’ streak.
ADELAIDE has had a big week, cutting import Jarrid Frye, bringing in Rhys Carter and now hit Perth with the real risk of this game being a Valentine’s Day Massacre. The Wildcats will be fired up to prove the 36ers, in fact, DO NOT have their measure, as many seem to believe.
HAVING twice beaten Sydney, Wollongong should go into the Kingdome confident. But Sydney’s win over the Breakers last round also was a cracker and this time the Kings finally should over-run the arch enemy.
ADELAIDE can fall right back into the pack with Melbourne and Sydney if it drops this road game and with the Tigers enjoying a bye and plenty of time to prepare for this, there is no excuse for them if they falter. Don’t expect them to.
WEST Coast at Canberra presents Abby Bishop another chance to highlight the folly of declaring All Star Fives three weeks out from the end of the regular season, the Caps to close 2013-14 on a winning note.
AFTER banishing the doubters, Melbourne should continue making a point at Logan while keeping a wary eye on what awaits in Townsville.
SYDNEY too will close the season as it began, with a victory. It’s just a shame what happened in between, West Coast with an even more lamentable story.
WITH this being a dress rehearsal for the first semi final, it will be interesting to see if it is a flat-out contest or a keep-something-up-the-sleeve situation for Melbourne at Townsville. My bet is flat out and in that situation, the Fire reigns.
JO Hill bids farewell to a 351-game, five-WNBL championship career and Adelaide will be doubly up after flopping calls against her and Jenni Screen in the last two minutes cost Lightning last time at Dandenong. Lightning to go out on a W.
MANY will be hoping Logan’s last game at Bendigo is not Logan’s last game, period. Word is there is optimism the Thunder will continue beyond this match’s final siren, even though their chance of closing on a win is non-existent.
DEAR Basketball Australia
We happily would have provided dips for a WNBL awards cocktail party
Sincerely,
Wattle Valley
