"Defensively, we kind of suck at the minute"

The Adelaide 36ers will be the first to admit that their past month hasn’t been to the standard of play they hold themselves to, having gone 4-8 in their last eight games.

Despite that, and reports of ‘special leadership meetings’, the 36ers are confident they can turn it around in time for the NBL26 Finals.

To do so, NBL commentator Derek Rucker said the 36ers need to improve on the defensive end, which has dropped to the seventh-best in the League in recent weeks.

Adelaide sharpshooter Dejan Vasiljevic agreed, going as far as to say his team ‘kind of suck’ on that end of the floor right now.

“Obviously, we didn't play our best game against South East Melbourne, who have had our number the last two times we played them,” Vasiljevic said on Tuesday’s episode of NBL Now.

“We went 4-4 in the month of January, and that's not us. Defensively, we kind of suck at the minute. We're seventh in the league [in that category], and we've given up a lot of offensive rebounds, which killed us against South East Melbourne.

“We’re trying to figure out some things and get back to that stretch where we won 14 out of our 16 games. During that time, we were a top-three defence, the number one offence and second in the league in rebounding.

“We’ve discussed this in our team meetings, and we’re all determined to get back to that during two tough away games this weekend, in Illawarra and Melbourne, because, if we can get back to playing some great basketball and continue to win, all that outside noise kind of disappears."

A big part of improving on the defensive end, the two-time NBL champion says come back to effort, especially in games that will determine who secures top spot on the ladder.

“We had a good talk yesterday [Monday] on what we're going away from. [Right now] we're not screening. We need to get Bryce [Cotton] a bit off the ball because he draws a lot of attention, and we're trying to rely too much on him. It’s about how we help him and the group in general.

“[Then on] defence, it’s about the effort and energy. It doesn't matter what coverage we do or what we identify ourselves to do, because if we don't have the effort and the energy, then that's always going to fall apart, and the better offensive team is going to get the better of you.

“[We’re going to need to improve those] because I’ve been telling the guys that these two games are essentially Play-In games for us. Lose these, and you’re done. Not done as in you’re out, but that home court advantage.”

Vasiljevic’s Sixers play reigning champions Illawarra on Thursday night from 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.