Preview: Adelaide v Brisbane (Round 13)

When: 7.30pm (AEDT), Thursday 29 December, 2022
Where: Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Broadcast: ESPN; Kayo; Foxtel, Sky NZ
LIVE SCORES & STATS

Who won last time?

Adelaide 108 (Franks 25, Cleveland 20, Drmic 16) d Brisbane 77 (Cadee 18, Mitchell 12, White 12) – Round 9 at Adelaide Entertainment Centre

Adelaide needed a boost after three-straight losses and got it, streaking 17 ahead in the opening quarter as Antonius Cleveland and Robert Franks dominated. That margin passed 20 before half-time and 30 before the last break as the 36ers scored inside at will, burst their long-range shooting drought and owned the o-boards to clean up anything the missed.

What happened last game?

It wasn’t so easy against the undermanned Phoenix, but CJ Bruton’s men got the job done despite being without Anthony Drmic and Ian Clark. The 36ers’ defensive schemes were a mess at times, but offensively they dominated the paint thanks to Franks and Daniel Johnson. Brisbane has lost seven of its past nine games and won the other two in overtime against Perth. Nathan Sobey was the star on Tuesday night, and the intensity the Bullets played with was a promising sign for the loyal fans who packed the Armoury.

What’s working?

Choosing culture first – It’s not easy releasing a player who scored 62 points in two NBLxNBA games and was top four in NBL23 scoring, but Adelaide have reaped the rewards for a tough choice. They are 7-4 without Craig Randle, despite being an import short, and now get to introduce Clark. He’ll need to be on defensively, the 36ers conceded 93.5ppg with their original line-up, but have cut that to 86.9ppg, including just 81.4ppg in those seven Ws.

Switching defence – Brisbane got lucky with Perth going 22/40 from the foul line, but they still wouldn’t have won without a seriously improved defensive effort. They held Perth to 18 points on 5/16 shooting in the third period, their aggressive switching defence creating havoc. Gorjok Gak was the key, anchoring a line-up with Sobey, Tyler Johnson, Andrew White and Tanner Krebs that extended and switched superbly, forcing Perth into 2/9 shooting and three miscues in the final four minutes of the term to set up a 10-point lead.

What needs stopping?

Penetrate & pitch – The level of body contact required for a shooting foul in the NBL is often less than other high-level professional leagues, so there’s no excuse for not attacking the rim. The other benefit of penetration is opening up shooters who are facing the rim, and Brisbane shot 9/17 from pitch-out threes against Perth, compared to 3/22 from perimeter-only plays. In the opening 17 minutes they had 10 perimeter-only plays and just four free throws, while in the final 28 minutes they had 12 perimeter-only plays and 17 free throws.

Antonius Cleveland – AC’s past three games have delivered 17.7ppg, 10rpg and 3.0apg, but perhaps most importantly he's grabbed 23 d-boards and pinched nine steals. To put that in perspective, Cleveland only had 23 d-boards and eight steals in the seven outings prior to that, and his appetite at the defensive end has put Adelaide’s high-speed bus in motion. Will he take on the challenge of Sobey from tip-off and cut the head off the Bullets’ snake?

Who’s matching up?

Antonius Cleveland v Nathan Sobey – Of course, shutting down Sobes is easier said than done at the moment as he returns to All-NBL form. His past two outings have delivered a staggering 61 points at 54 per cent, 12 assists, 10 rebounds and 17/19 from the foul line as he capitalises on the abundance of bail-out basketball on offer. Cleveland must use his length and athleticism to gap Sobey on drives to keep whistles to a minimum.

Ian Clark v Tyler Johnson – TJ is shooting 55 per cent on twos, and an impressive 15/27 on mid-rangers in his past nine games. He’s Brisbane’s most efficient scorer from ball-screens, and they need him hunting his pull-up and then exposing the overplay to get to the rim. Clark was Sydney’s most efficient pick-and-roll scorer last season, and had 13 points in 19 minutes in his Kings debut. A repeat of both those feats will leave Adelaide fans very happy.

Kai Sotto v Aron Baynes – Banga is shooting just 46 per cent on twos and has a one-to-two assist-to-turnover ratio, having not yet recovered the dexterity to catch-and-finish on the move. He must screen and seal on the roll – using his weight advantage on Sotto and Johnson – so he can finish off two feet or make composed decisions. Kai needs to stick his jumper and rolling hooks, and run hard in transition to capitalise on Baynes’ lack of mobility, as he did last time they met with 13 points at 50 per cent and eight boards in 22 minutes.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">First start for Kai Sotto and he wastes NO time with the slam ?<br><br>Our second game of the night is underway, live on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel. <a href="https://t.co/txyVI380Il">pic.twitter.com/txyVI380Il</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1604041240692940800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 17, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Who’s saying what?

It was the moment that typified the 36ers’ new approach.

Antonius Cleveland was defending Reuben Te Rangi early in the fourth quarter and ran hard into a Mitch Creek screen as he tried to deny the ball.

When Te Rangi did get it, AC darted around a Creek ball-screen at speed, hip-and-shouldering Reuben and throwing him off balance.

Seizing the moment, Cleveland then placed a forceful armbar on Te Rangi as he tried to penetrate, and then as RTR retreated, the relentless Sixers small forward advanced and put another armbar on his opponent’s rib cage.

After a brutal defensive possession, Cleveland finished it off by picking his pocket and gliding to the other end for a slam that brought the Adelaide crowd to fever pitch.

In the NBL, you don’t get far defending by the rules, history says you have to push the line as far as the whistle allows.

For much of this season, the 36ers were far too nice at the defensive end. That was certainly the case as they leaked 32 points in the opening term to SEM, but not as they held them to 56 in the final 30 minutes.

“You got to be able to defend if you want to have success in this league,” Mitch McCarron said.

“That second quarter we really brought it back a lot and got back into the game.

“I think the group understands that and we are going to continue sending that message from the coaching staff and the players on the floor.

“We've just got to be consistent.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mitch ???????? that one...<br><br>? - <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> + <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> <a href="https://t.co/fdbHsJeOoj">pic.twitter.com/fdbHsJeOoj</a></p>&mdash; Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers/status/1606563198010028035?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 24, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

So what has brought about this change of mindset to play NBL-style playoff defence? Coach CJ Bruton put his men through a mid-season training camp after their inept defensive effort against the Phoenix in Round 10.

“I think after losing three in-a-row we kind of had a reality check and changed our processes,” Sunday Dech said.

“We treated it as a pre-season and we have won three on the trot, which we are happy about.”

Bruton’s message was the team hadn’t done themselves justice going 6-8 in the first half of NBL23, and since he wiped the slate clean they’ve been unbeaten with Ws over Brisbane, Tasmania and SE Melbourne.

“I’ve been excited since we have started our new season. Going into training camp bringing that to the boys every single day, so they see that and understand that,” Bruton said.

Brisbane have wiped the slate clean a few times recently, but they appeared to have genuinely turned the corner on Tuesday night with their fighting overtime win.

If there was a moment that typified Brisbane’s new approach, it was the final play of regulation as Bryce Cotton looked to drop yet another game winner on the Bullets.

Tyler Johnson took ownership of running the double-team on Cotton to force a tough shot, while rookie Gorjok Gak stood tall to deny the three-time MVP.

“We put him in the game with 25 seconds left and he switches onto Bryce Cotton, whose been a perennial tough shot maker in that situation, he switches onto him and moves his feet, late contest, blocks the shot,” coach Greg Vanderjagt said.

“His length and athleticism are unique in this league, there’s not too many guys in the league that can do the things he does.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">GAK SAYS NO ? AND CADEE HITS THE TRIPLE!<br><br>Watch on ESPN via Kayo and Foxtel<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RIVERCITYSTRONG?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RIVERCITYSTRONG</a> <a href="https://t.co/aDaQfTYWFc">pic.twitter.com/aDaQfTYWFc</a></p>&mdash; Brisbane Bullets (@BrisbaneBullets) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrisbaneBullets/status/1607677928242024449?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 27, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Gak’s performance spearheaded some quality D from a team that came in ranking sixth in defensive field-goal percentage (46%), seventh in blocks (2.3) and eighth in turnovers forced (11.2).

On Tuesday they held Perth to 42 per cent shooting, forced 15 turnovers and Gak had four blocks of his own.

While much has been made of the Bullets’ top-end talent, it’s the contributions from across the board that change the course for their team against Perth.

“They’ve shown the joy in each other’s success, which is pleasing,” Vanderjagt said.

“Gak blocks that shot everyone gets around him. DJ’s o-board at the end of the first half to give us a kick-out three so we go into half-time with momentum, little plays like that from our role players are huge.

“They give energy to the group… they give energy to us and the enthusiasm follows, we need to continue that and the role players need to keep doing the things they need to do.”

There’s no time for celebrations though, having to face an Adelaide team who can move within one game of third place with a fourth-straight home win.

“It certainly hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for us over the last two or three years, it’s tough, a little bit of adversity again to back up 48 hours later after playing an overtime game, some bodies that are still coming back in,” Vanderjagt said.

“We have to go and beat a really good basketball team in Adelaide, they're playing confident, Robo’s playing good basketball, Cleveland’s a good player, Ian Clark’s probably going to play significant minutes. So a very talented team, but so are we.”