Basketball On The Internet.

THERE were two stand-out facts we learnt from NBL Round 2. Bryce Cotton will be as impactful at Adelaide as he was wherever else it was he played, and no rival big man will be looking forward to tussling with Illawarra's boom recruit Javale McGee. Oops, make that three facts, the third being Kendric Davis has flopping skills.

They were right on show from Sydney's tip-off against Cairns, leaving those of us without a dog in the fight finding ourselves wishing some lessons were learnt from the Euroleague ref who nailed Davis in the match with Partizan for a blatant flop.

No waiting, no warning, no time delay, just whack, technical foul for flopping.

Sadly, the officiating crew "controlling" the Kings home game was more inclined to buy what Captain Throw-Your-Head-Back-At-The-Hint-Of-Even-The Slightest-Contact was selling, his blatant performance for three free throws before the halftime break bordering on pathetic.

Funny, I never thought someone as straight-down-the-line as Andrew Bogut, now a Kings assistant, would stand for that kind of phony baloney. Perhaps in this cut-throat world of needing to get the result, the "all's fair in love and war" rule over-rules.

(Which is why I forever will advocate that the first sign of a flop should result in a tech foul for the COACH of the perpetrator. It would clean up this bullcrap after one call.)

The good news is Cairns coach Adam Forde wasn't having any of it and had three successful Coach's Challenges. (Which, just by the way, reflected exactly how the referees were inclined to call the match.)

But even more amazing, as is evidenced below, somehow post-game Fordey must've jumped on a plane to Adelaide where he led the hair-raising halftime entertainment! Mr Snoop Dogg II?

What Did We Learn - Round 2

Adelaide: Bryce Cotton dominated the round with 39 points, showing he hasn't lost a step in 36ers' blue. Zylan Cheatham may just be the most complimentary import piece this team needed to be a genuine threat. Flynn Cameron looks the coach's scapegoat as "first man to sub out because he'll whinge the least" as he was starring when yanked early. Isaac Humphries is poised to fulfill his potential - although he's also in the "won't whine if subbed out" category - coach Mike Wells seemingly running a stopwatch over some of his rotation. Wells remains the most suspect piece of Adelaide's championship drive. 

Brisbane: Coaching-by-committee has its pitfalls and trying to defend Bryce Cotton with "newbies" is fraught with peril. Stu Lash should have seen what happened when Adelaide tried that against Cotton while he was at Perth last season. Disaster. Losing to the Taipans in Cairns, plus Sam McDaniel to injury, activating Lamar Patterson to cover the absence of Javon Freeman-Liberty meant the Bullets were far from at their best.

Cairns: If it's late in the game and Jack McVeigh is on the floor trying to control the ball, it is absolutely OK, in fact recommended by eight out of 10 dentists, to simply jump on him with abandon. Whether it's Jaylen Adams or Matthew Dellafellova jumping into his prostrate body, there's no foul there, just a jumpball. Oh, and the arrow will favour the opposition. We also learnt Andrew Andrews is going to be a stud.

Illawarra: The Hawks will be around at the season's business end but can ill-afford to drop too many early games, especially with Javale McGee such a powerhouse in the paint. It was amazing how easily this talented 37-year-old shredded Tasmania's defence. What we learnt is he still has game and in a big way.  But a huge question-mark still hovers ominously over Jaquori McLaughlin who, hopefully, has another gear.

Melbourne: United is every bit as talented, deep and disciplined as we expect a Dean Vickerman-coached outfit to be. Kyle Bowen might rival Matthew Dellavodova for the ugliest shooting action in the NBL - excluding FT attempts by Xavier Cooks, Will Magnay and Marcus Lee - but he also may be the league's most reliable player when it comes to flipping in a reverse layup. Any time he cuts baseline, that reverse is money.

New Zealand: Maybe Parker Jackson-Cartwright isn't as hurt as we thought but then, maybe these Breakers aren't as deep as we thought either. Izayah Le'Afa wound back the clock for a game but his fellow Kiwi returnees Reuben Te Rangi and Rob Loe have their best games in the rearview mirror. Sure, they'll have a few moments but until Peteri Koponen is ready to put greater trust in players such as Lopez and his bench, the Breakers will remain the league welcome mat. 

Perth: Dylan Windler must've looked at his embarrassing season-opening stats because he had a career-high 15 rebounds with 20 points at his first chance to make amends. That was a lot more like it, Kristian Doolittle finally also flickering to life in the cross-Tasman road win. Jo Lual-Acuil continues to be under-utilised but the player we learnt most about was Jaron Rillie. Yeah, there were ugly whispers of nepotism directed at the coach when he came into the squad but Jaron played the endgame to perfection. Bravo. 

South East: The refs finally appear less inclined to give Nathan Sobey free throws when he drives to the hoop, jacks up a shot, flings himself to the ground and yells out: "Hey!" while glaring at the nearest ref. Of course, it is catching on with a few other notables employing the ploy now. United smacked its "little brother" around in the Throwdown so we've now seen the Phoenix at their best and their worst. There's plenty of scope for improvement so South East fans should not despair.

Sydney: The Kings need to draw more from Tim Soares and Xavier Cooks, while Kendric Davis should stay upright instead of trying to sucker referees. He's too good to waste time on that stuff and Sydney already has someone in the whiner role, namely Bul Kuol. A shadow of a silhouette of the player he was at Cairns and promised to be in Sin City, instead he continues to hold, scrag, incite and get called for stupid fouls, then bitch and plead his case. For quite a while now it's simply been a case of grow up.  

Tasmania: Bryce Hamilton took a while to find his shot but with Tyger Campbell stepping up and Majok Deng a major asset, the JackJumpers showed their bona fides to the Hawks in Wollongong. The injuries to David Johnson and now potentially to Deng (leg) and Josh Bannan (wrist) are of greater concern, the league as usual doing the Ants no favours with a draw which gave them the championship favourite at home first up, then three straight road games, with Brisbane next. 

TV: Said it before and said it often but commentators surely do realise we actually hear what you say. So please, don't trot out the same cliches time after time. Tinker with being original. Joel Peterson came up with a great line a LONG while back regarding an offensive rebound, saying player A or B had "recycled the possession". Loved it, well, the first 50 times. We hear it, every time you say it fellas. And please, no more lame stories about your career heroics, digs at the GOAT or at Jack McVeigh's big payday. It wasn't even three minutes into Cairns' match with Brisbane when one caller, who ought to know better, began speculating about how much pressure McVeigh felt because of his million-dollar contract. Clearly, he couldn't wait to say it. Sad. Oh yeah, and the other thing, again, NO REPLAYS DURING LIVE ACTION. It's really not that hard.

UMPIRES: Stop pretending you cannot see the flops and worse, stop rewarding them. What we learnt in Round 2 is flopping is very much still in vogue, as is making games harder for small market teams. No-one minds if the game now is more physical, just stay consistent with that to the very end. 

General: Attention Stu Lash, John Rillie and Mike Wells, What we learnt is you guys have quality centres who can take over games in Tyrell Harrison, Jo Lual-Acuil and Isaac Humphries BUT you don't deliver the ball to them nearly enough. Take a minute to watch how Justin Tatum maximised Javale McGee. It might help.                                                                             We also learnt Stu Lash and Michael Ciklis have never been seen in the same room together.

Andrew Andrews, Majok Majok and Deng Deng walk into a bar for a drink with David David, the barman shaking his head. "Is this some kind of joke?"