Adelaide travel excuse slammed

There are questions that need answering in Adelaide. After the false dawn of a three-game winning streak earlier this season, a pair of Round 9 losses has seen the 36ers slump back into the bottom two on the NBL ladder, and their defeat to Tasmania was almost a historically poor performance from the proud club.

The 36ers opened their return from the mid-season break with a 13-point loss to New Zealand, before heading to Hobart to take on the Tasmania JackJumpers.

Adelaide scored just 59 points across the entirety of the game. The result marked not only the lowest score and biggest margin (35 points) in the entirety of NBL24 so far, but it also equaled the lowest score the 36ers have produced in the 40-minute era.

DJ Vasiljevic top scored for the 36ers with 15 points, and was one of just two players to hit double-digit scoring in the loss, and while he lamented the fixturing of the Round 9 double-header, former NBL MVP Derek Rucker believes the side should be making no excuses for such a poor showing.

“This is the way it is. It’s not like it’s a potluck schedule where you go in and pick two teams for a road trip and you find out the week before.” Rucker said on Moments That Mattered.

“You’ve got to make the plans and if they’re saying the NBL didn’t help us in that regard ... OK, you know what? Everyone’s just got to do better.

“You’ve got to play better, and ultimately after you get your butt kicked like that, the last thing you need to be making is any type of accusations or pointing your finger anywhere except at yourself in the mirror.

“If they were so tired, they could have actually stayed at the hotel a little bit longer, got some more sleep and just roll the ball out of play and still produce more than 59 points, I can guarantee you that.”

With Adelaide now sitting back in ninth and three games adrift of the post-season positions, any hopes of a Play-In spot come season’s end are rapidly vanishing.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tasmania has registered the biggest win in NBL24 so far, while the 36ers have equaled their lowest ever score in the 40-minute era ?<br><br>Milton Doyle led from the from to take Foot Locker Player of the Game honours ? <a href="https://t.co/rc22uthJCN">pic.twitter.com/rc22uthJCN</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1730902620003614847?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The end of Round 9 marked the halfway point of the regular season, and the only team in the top six to have played fewer games than the 36ers at this point in the season is Sydney, with the Kings currently sitting fourth following a defeat to Perth.

Rucker says the 36ers need to figure out what their goals are for the remainder of the season – and quickly.

“I’m also confused about what is their short-term plan. What are they trying to do? They still have an import spot that is unfulfilled. Why is there not something going on there?,” Rucker said.

“Are there financial considerations that must be taken into account and if that’s the case I respect you don’t want to spend any money, but then you’re letting down your basketball community, those people that put money into your program to make it work.

“They’ve got something to figure out.

“They have, I think, three straight weekends of single games only, they have to make it work and they’ve got to get themselves up off the deck and play basketball with pride.”

Adelaide’s next fixture is scheduled for Saturday, December 9, when they host the Cairns Taipans at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.