In The Post – Wednesday October 20

Catch up on all the latest headlines from around the basketball world in today’s edition of In the Post.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBL, its Clubs or partners. 

Bullets will prove people wrong

Brisbane Bullets star Nathan Sobey says the team will surprise people this season as they aim to get back to the finals.

“We’ve definitely got a great group of guys and we’re going to prove a lot of people wrong,” Sobey said via the Courier Mail.

“We haven’t played in the playoffs since I’ve been here in Brisbane and I haven’t played (in the playoffs) since my second last year in Adelaide either, so I’m pretty hungry to get back there and see what we can do.” 

Mills thrilled with Wildcats roster

Perth Wildcats basketball GM Danny Mills felt a great sense of relief and satisfaction after finalising the club’s roster last week.

“I sat down, had a beer and felt pretty good about the work everyone has put in. I feel very optimistic about the season ahead. I feel we have a very balanced roster, we’ve got versatility in every position, depth and it’s a great group of guys. I am extremely excited,” Mills said via The West Australian.

How United planted NBL seed in Cleveland’s mind

NBL22 won’t be Antonius Cleveland’s first NBL experience. The 27-year-old filled in for Melbourne United when they faced the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017 and that game sparked a curiosity in Cleveland’s mind about the NBL.

“I played with Casper Ware, Josh Boone, Casey Prather. I think I got four points and played 10 minutes, but I trained with Melbourne for two days and everyone was cool and they were telling me how awesome Australia was,” Cleveland said via the Illawarra Mercury.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fun fact: Antonius Cleveland already has a bucket for an NBL team in the books.<a href="https://twitter.com/ac_uno1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ac_uno1</a> played for <a href="https://twitter.com/MelbUnitedHQ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MelbUnitedHQ</a> in their <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLxNBA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLxNBA</a> thriller against the Thunder back in 2017 ? <a href="https://t.co/kiD3U9iKya">pic.twitter.com/kiD3U9iKya</a></p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1422050290635730944?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

“After that it was in the back of my head that, if I had to leave, Australia was one of the first places I wanted to go.”

Phoenix re-sign development big 

The South East Melbourne Phoenix have re-signed Tristan Forsyth as a development player for NBL22.

“We feel with continued development and experience, Tristan can position himself to challenge for inclusion onto our roster in the near future,” coach Simon Mitchell said.

Simmons suspended by Sixers 

Australian basketball star Ben Simmons has been suspended by the Philadelphia 76ers for their season opener against New Orleans tomorrow due to conduct detrimental to the team.

According to an ESPN report, Simmons was thrown out of 76ers practice by coach Doc Rivers after he refused to participate in a drill several times.

Ingles laughs at “stupid” Giddey question

Utah Jazz and Australian Boomers star Joe Ingles couldn’t help but laugh when he heard Josh Giddey explain how Ingles would stay up at 3am to watch Giddey’s NBL games.

“Is this that stupid question that he got the other day saying I stayed up all night or something? That was because I was on a plane…I did watch him. He played for my hometown, which was nice,” Ingles said.

However, Ingles did say he has embraced the role of Giddey’s mentor and has helped him during his journey to the NBA.

“Just giving him an open line and vice versa. If I watched the game, because of that travel, not because I stayed up to watch him play, I would watch a lot of games and shoot him a text with some things and vice versa,” he said.

Baynes out for NBA season 

Australian Boomers star Aron Baynes will miss the 2021/22 NBA season with a serious neck injury according to the ABC.

His manager, Daniel Moldovan, believes Baynes is hopeful of returning next season.