NBL Power Rankings - December 22

By Liam Santamaria

Every week this NBL season, I’m releasing my power rankings.

They drop each Tuesday on NBL Overtime and then run on nbl.com.au the following morning.

Here’s my money-back guarantee: they won’t ever correlate with the ladder. They also don’t reflect where I think each team will finish. Instead, like most ‘power rankings’, they represent how each team is currently tracking when you consider form, injuries, recent opponents, etc. In other words, the team on top is the one other teams do not want to be playing right now.

With that in mind, here are this week’s power rankings:

 

 1. ILLAWARRA HAWKS

Previous rank: 1

The Hawks maintain top spot after a weekend that involved a double-overtime win and their first loss of the season.

Something worth noting about Illawarra, however, is that they’ve been breaking down defensively more often than your typical Goorjian-led team. It’s a tiny sample size, but the Hawks currently rank eighth in defensive efficiency, per spatialjam.com, with only Adelaide and New Zealand giving up more points per 100 possessions. Their pressure has been pretty good and they’re cleaning the defensive glass but untimely breakdowns have been resulting in too many easy/open looks. That’s led to a defensive effective field goal percentage which also ranks third-last in the league.

As I said, we’ve only seen a handful of games, but for a team whose D was elite last season but struggled offensively, right now the scales have tipped slightly the other way. Definitely something to keep an eye on.

This week: vs South East Melbourne

Oh, one other thing to keep an eye on with the Hawks: XRM’s drip!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Home Opener ?? 3-0 <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@illawarrahawks</a> <a href="https://t.co/L1fWJ9PNE1">pic.twitter.com/L1fWJ9PNE1</a></p>&mdash; XRM 22 (@xrm_22) <a href="https://twitter.com/xrm_22/status/1472019031783718913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

2. SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX

Previous rank: 2

Another team to suffer their first loss, South East Melbourne hold steady at number two despite a sub-par effort against the Kings.

Mitch Creek is always a problem and his frontcourt partner, Zhou Qi, is growing more and more comfortable in the NBL. What they need, however, is for guys like Xavier Munford and Ryan Broekhoff to provide consistent production every single game.

Huge clash tomorrow in the ‘Gong.

This week: @ Illawarra

 

3. PERTH WILDCATS

Previous rank: 5

The Wildcats have been terrific over the first three weeks as they’ve taken advantage of the world’s friendliest early-season schedule.

After five straight home games, Scott Morrison’s men are now 4-1 with their only loss coming after two extra periods. That’s a job well done by the ‘Cats.

The result of all that winning is a squad that has built chemistry, confidence, and momentum before hitting the road. Oh, and it’s worth noting that while they are officially ‘hitting the road’, two of Perth’s next three games are against an Adelaide squad which hasn’t really impressed to this point. Honestly, who created this schedule? Lachy Reid?

This week: @ Adelaide

 

4. BRISBANE BULLETS

Previous rank: 4

A controversial loss in Perth and a win over the PR leaders sees the Bullets hold firm in the number four spot.

Patterson, Sobey and Franks continue to impress while Tyrell Harrison, who is a real key to this team, was influential against Duop Reath and the Hawks. If they can stay healthy and continue to enhance their defensive effort – an area which is the primary focus for head coach James Duncan – this team’s only going to get better.

This week: vs Cairns

 

5. MELBOURNE UNITED

Previous rank: 7

Speaking of getting better, Melbourne went to a whole new level this week as they cranked up their D and welcomed Chris Goulding and Jack White back into the frame.

Goulding’s shot-making is immeasurably important for this team, but I tell you what: United’s defence, especially in that history-making first quarter against Sydney, really was something to behold. Heck, even some State Premiers would’ve been impressed with that level of lockdown.

This week: @ Sydney

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Melbourne United are the first team in NBL history to keep two opponents to 60-points or less in the same weekend.<br>(47 vs Sydney, 60 vs New Zealand)<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/L7a6PRVMw6">pic.twitter.com/L7a6PRVMw6</a></p>&mdash; NBLfacts (@nblfacts) <a href="https://twitter.com/nblfacts/status/1472756011865763840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

6. SYDNEY KINGS

Previous rank: 3

What a tumultuous week Chase Buford’s squad had. From the embarrassment of last Thursday to the satisfaction of a bounce-back performance, the purple and gold have ridden a roller-coaster of emotions over the past seven days. When push comes to shove, though, this is a young team trying to establish an identity under a brand-new coach. Throw in some injuries to key guys and there’s bound to be a level of inconsistency from one game to the next. Unfortunately, the difference between Sydney’s best performance and their worst is massive right now.

This week: vs Tasmania, vs Melbourne

 

7. NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS

Previous rank: 8

The Breakers are 0-5 but here’s a question for all those who have watched this team play: what do you think New Zealand’s record would be if they’d had the same schedule as, say, Perth to begin the season?

Just as an exercise… imagine if the Breakers had played Adelaide, Cairns, Brisbane (twice) and Tasmania ALL AT HOME instead of SEM (twice), Adelaide, Illawarra and Melbourne all on the road.  What do you think they’d be? It’s hard to say but I’m confident they’d have a few wins on the board.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not another comment about the Wildcats. They’re legit. But rather, yet another reminder of how rough things are for our Kiwi friends yet again this season.

This week: @ Tasmania

 

8. CAIRNS TAIPANS

Previous rank: 9

Written off by every man and his pooch in recent times, the Taipans came out in Round 3 and wiped their home floor with the Adelaide 36ers.

Credit to Adam Forde, man. Just like he did with his injury-riddled Kings last season, he has his guys playing with plenty of energy and, while it may not be pretty at times, they’re certainly competing.

After the first few weeks of action the Snakes possess the second-ranked defence in the league, behind Melbourne United, albeit from a tiny sample size. If they can keep a lid on their turnovers – something that plagued them over their first two games – they’ll give themselves a chance.

This week: @ Brisbane

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">SCENES FROM A HISSTORY-MAKING WIN! ?<br><br>Were you there? Don’t miss the next one on NYE: <a href="https://t.co/i1fH9RTsmM">https://t.co/i1fH9RTsmM</a> <a href="https://t.co/hQ7z5fIn5Q">pic.twitter.com/hQ7z5fIn5Q</a></p>&mdash; Cairns Taipans (@CairnsTaipans) <a href="https://twitter.com/CairnsTaipans/status/1472181596337762317?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

9. ADELAIDE 36ERS

Previous rank: 6

The 36ers slide down the rankings after their dispirited performance in Far North Queensland. The Sixers, who have loads of talent on their roster, were never in the game on Saturday against a Cairns squad that just played harder from the opening tip.

As I mentioned last week, this squad is really missing Sunday Dech, whose recovery from a corked thigh has taken a fair while. Hopefully he’ll be back in the line-up this week.

The good news for the 36ers is that their next three games will all be at home. The bad news is the quality of opponents, with two clashes against Perth and one against South East Melbourne up next on the slate.

This week: vs Perth

 

10. TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS

Previous rank: 10

First and foremost, let me take this opportunity to send my thoughts and prayers to the JackJumpers family and the people of Tasmania, following the tragedy that recently struck the Hillcrest community in Devonport.

It’s been heart-warming to see the response from the JackJumpers – the entire front office, coaching staff and playing group – in support of their community.

In fact, you know what? It doesn’t seem appropriate to write anything about basketball after turning our minds to those tragic events. With a minute silence being observed at all NBL and WNBL games this week, let’s all take some time over the coming days to honour everyone down in Tassie who have been impacted by this heart-breaking incident.

This week: @ Sydney, vs New Zealand

 

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