Studs and Duds: Round 11

STUDS

 

Colton Iverson (New Zealand Breakers)

Let’s tip things off with the big fella.

Limping into Saturday’s game on an injured ankle, Iverson was a pillar of strength against the Bullets, scoring 10 points and equalling a franchise record with 20 rebounds.

Yes there were a lot of boards available (both teams shot poorly and it went to OT) but that’s a huge effort nonetheless. Especially from a guy with a wonky wheel.

“I really didn’t think he’d play,” Breakers coach Dan Shamir said.

“He twisted his ankle and from what I saw of how his ankle looked I really didn’t believe it. But he played with a lot of heart; obviously 20 rebounds and ended up playing 38 minutes. Really amazing.”

It came after a frustrating night in Bendigo 48 hours prior. The import copped a couple of rough calls against Melbourne and wound up fouling out on a tech – a moment I’m sure he’d love to have back.

In Brisbane, however, it was a totally different story. He moved his feet, stayed vertical and wasn’t whistled for any soft fouls.

Let’s hope this was a turning point (both for Iverson and the officials) because the Breakers are a completely different team with their big man on the floor. He’s the league’s best screener, a huge presence around the rim and a key contributor on the glass, ranking fourth in the comp for rebounds per game. 

With Rob Loe out of the picture, Iverson’s ability to stay out of foul trouble is the key difference-maker for the Breakers as they try to turn their season around.

Bryce Cotton & John Mooney (Perth Wildcats)

Speaking of difference-makers, this dynamic duo just continues to dominate.

What else can I say? That’s now seven on the trot for the top team in the league and eleven wins from their past twelve games. 

Of course, it all revolves around Cotton who delivered yet again this week with a couple of dazzling performances. The MVP had 13 of his game-high 22 in the fourth quarter against the Hawks and then backed that up with another ass-whooping of the Kings, pouring in a game-high 29.

“He flat-out owns the Sydney Kings,” my colleague C. Williams said during the broadcast. You know what? He’s right. 

As for Mooney, well he was equally impressive in his own hard-working way; averaging 15 points, 17 boards (!) and 4 assists per game across the round.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">They don&#39;t call him Mr. Double Double for no reason.<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/PerthWildcats?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PerthWildcats</a> BIG guy doubled down in the Cats&#39; round of double wins ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> By the Numbers powered by <a href="https://twitter.com/LaTrobeFin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LaTrobeFin</a> ?</p>&mdash; The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1376714566986461185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mitch Norton (Perth Wildcats)

Hold on… we’re not quite finished with the champs. It’s time for Mitch Norton to receive his props.

‘Norto’ has been terrific recently and his tenacious play has made him one of the leading candidates for this year’s Damian Martin Trophy.

The Wildcats have the league’s most efficient offence (per spatialjam.com) but are also ranked inside the top three for defensive efficiency. A big part of that has been Norton’s work on opposing PGs. 

Remember Scott Machado’s zero assist game in Round 10? How about Tai Webster’s 5-of-16 in Round 9? Norton’s influence in both of those wins was massive.

This week he was the primary defender on Tyler Harvey and Casper Ware – two of the league’s top ten scorers – and gave both of them all that they could handle. Harvey finished with 13 points and 1 assist, shooting 5-of-15 from the field, while Ware had 6 and 6 on a woefully inefficient 2-of-10.

“[Mitch]’s going against great imports every week and it’s taxing; he throws his body on the line and does what the team needs,” Perth coach Trevor Gleeson said. 

“He plays his role perfectly for us… he’s been in great form for the last six weeks.”

Chris Goulding (Melbourne United)

United flexed their own defensive muscle in Throwdown VII but it was CG43 who broke the game open, exploding for 25 points on a highly-efficient clip. 

Truth be told, Goulding has knocked down a bunch of big shots over the past two weeks. 

Last week he scored 12 points in the fourth quarter to guide United past the Hawks and this week he made big plays down the stretch to beat the Breakers before flaming SEM right out of the gate.

Cairns Taipans

That’s more like it from the Snakes!

Good energy, early paint touches for Cam Oliver, big smiles throughout the team and a much-needed home win.

 

Adam Forde (Sydney Kings)

Best dressed coach in the league.

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Slicker than your average. ??‍?? ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeTheKings?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeTheKings</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/coachadamforde?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@coachadamforde</a> <a href="https://t.co/bp0nStL2Qm">pic.twitter.com/bp0nStL2Qm</a></p>&mdash; Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) <a href="https://twitter.com/SydneyKings/status/1376013939515871233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mason Peatling (Melbourne United) & Luke Travers (Perth Wildcats)

Before we move on, let’s give a quick shout-out to the DPs.

We’ve had a bunch of up-and-coming prospects take their opportunities this season and this week it was Mason Peatling and Luke Travers who particularly impressed.

Peatling has started each of Melbourne’s past three games – all wins – and on Sunday he brought all kinds of hustle, grabbing a game-high 12 boards in just 14 minutes on the floor. 

As for Travers, his impact off the bench in Sydney was enormous. The 19-year-old scored a career-high 16 points (without missing a shot!) and his energy both on D and on the glass was big-time for the ‘Cats. 

DUDS

Adelaide 36ers

That’s now five losses in a row for the Sixers.

With Isaac Humphries out of the line-up, Adelaide have sadly struggled to stay afloat, dropping 7 of the 8 games he’s missed (including the one in which he got hurt).

One of their many issues right now is the management and form of Brandon Paul. 

The former NBA guard continues to come off the bench and after scoring 45 points over his first two games has produced just 14 in total across his last two.

According to head coach Conner Henry, Paul’s current lack of impact is primarily due to fatigue.

“The first game he was real good and he was just running on straight adrenaline coming off the plane. He was playing at some really good pace,” Henry said.

“The last two games there’s been some fatigue that has set in with him. I don’t if that is due to the long lay-off that he had before he got here and then the two weeks quarantine but the fact is that he has not played really well on both ends of the floor these last two games.

“I just spoke to him and we are committed to him. We’re going to keep giving him as many minutes as he can. He’s a great guy and he fits in well with our group. We’ve just got to get him better.”

One obvious way to help that process might be to chuck Paul into the starting line-up. Sure, he may need some extra breaks but let’s have a look at the man as the team’s starting shooting guard and see what he can do. 

Of course, Paul needs to come to the party as well. He was highly inefficient in his 24 minutes on Sunday, hoisting tough contested threes and coughing up turnovers. Maybe a shift to a different role will help to turn that around.

Sydney Kings

The Kings came tumbling back to Earth this week thanks to their lord and master, Bryce Cotton. 

Of course, Cotton wasn’t their only problem; they also got absolutely monstered on the glass.

In fact, let’s talk about their rebounding as it’s an issue that the Kings really need to address. 

“We’re not a very good rebounding team,” coach Adam Forde said.

“This is the final piece… everything is fitting in nicely but we’re just so far off the mark for where we need to be as a rebounding team.

“This is the difference for us right now between winning and losing.”

He’s right as the Kings currently rank second-last in offensive rebounding percentage and, more importantly, third-last in defensive rebounding percentage. They’re giving up way too many extra possessions on the glass.

Now, it must be said: this is where Sydney are really missing Xavier Cooks. He ranked third in the league last year in rebounds per game. 

But for me, a big part of the issue also revolves around Martin. 

When Sydney signed the former NBA big man back in December I flagged that, while he’s definitely a talented scorer, Martin’s never really been a dominant presence on the glass. That’s proving to be true in this league as well and is fast becoming an issue for the Kings. 

In fact, since returning from injury a few rounds ago, Martin has averaged just 4.6 boards per game which ranks him 27th in the league across that stretch.

And, of course, this all came home to roost on Sunday when the big fella grabbed just one defensive rebound in his 26 minutes on the floor. Just one! That’s not going to cut the mustard. Especially not against the Wildcats, who controlled the game by seizing a massive 43 percent of available offensive boards.

Work to be done for Martin and the Kings. 

Taunting Techs

While we’re on the Kings, let’s talk about the T that was called on Casper Ware because that was a buzzkill.

Techs for ‘baiting and taunting an opponent’ are in the rules, I get it, but surely there are times and places for these to be called. 

I mean, you’ve got to know the players – the history that exists between them – and have a genuine sense for the situation. 

After all, Ware vs Cotton is the greatest individual rivalry currently in the league. Let those guys talk! We want to watch those guys compete and talking a little trash along the way is all a part of the battle.

South East Melbourne Phoenix

The Phoenix are managing all kinds of things right now including, on the court, an inability to handle intense defensive pressure. 

With Melbourne crawling right into the ball, Simon Mitchell’s men produced just 60 total points in the Throwdown on Saturday; the lowest total score from any team this season.

The Injury Bug

Okay, that’s enough. We’ve had way too many big names missing games in recent times. Time to get those guys back on the floor!

Fingers crossed we see a return to action from blokes like Vic Law (Brisbane), Corey Webster (New Zealand), Scotty Hopson (Melbourne) and Josh Giddey (Adelaide) this week.

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