R17 Preview: Sydney Kings v Adelaide 36ers

When: 3.00pm (AEST), Sunday 9 May

Where: Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney

Broadcast: SBS Viceland; Sky Sports NZ; SBS On Demand; Twitch

The last time
Sydney 94 (Ware 23, Vasiljevic 22, Kickert 11) d Adelaide 77 (Crocker 15, Humphries 14, Dech 13) – NBL Cup Week 1, John Cain Arena

The last time the two teams met was early in the NBL Cup in Melbourne and that was the third meeting in the space of a number of weeks between the Kings and 36ers in the first half of the NBL season, but the last of those was now way back on February 21.

The first two contests were both at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on January 30 and February 6, with both teams coming away with a win each. The Sixers won the first of them on their home floor 85-80 but a week later the Kings proved too good on the road winning big 94-75.

Then the last meeting was the first game for each at the NBL Cup in Melbourne and it was the 36ers were on fire early to lead by three at half-time despite the fact Sydney had shot 58 per cent in that first half with DJ Vasiljevic producing 17 points on 4/5 shooting from deep.

But they lost the possession game after being outrebounded and with seven turnovers, and that's what coach Adam Forde wanted to see tidied up. He would have been a delighted man by the end of the game with the Kings outscoring the 36ers 46 points to 26 in the second half to end up claiming six of the seven points on offer as part of the NBL Cup, and winning by 17.

Casper Ware caught fire with three triples in no time in the third quarter including one from the Kmart logo over Isaac Humphries' outstretched hand. That was on the way to his 23 points with Vasiljevic finishing with 22 while they each went 3/6 from long-range.

Without Jarell Martin, Tom Vodanovich gave full energy for 17 minutes before fouling out with nine points and three rebounds including hitting 3/4 from beyond the arc. The league's oldest player Daniel Kickert returned for the first time this season and showed how valuable a big man who can shoot is by hitting 3/5 from deep for 11 points.

Tony Crocker finished with 15 points, three rebounds and two assists for Adelaide. Isaac Humphries still had 14 points, six rebounds and three steals but was down on his usual influence as was Daniel Johnson (six points, 1/8 shooting). Sunday Dech battled away again for 13 points and five assists while Josh Giddey had 10 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks.

The now

This game on Sunday at Qudos Bank Arena could very well be season-defining for both the Kings and 36ers with Sydney needing to win to maintain its hold on a playoff position while Adelaide has to win to keep their hopes alive of breaking into the top four.

The stage is set for a tantalising encounter with the Kings returning home for their first match in Sydney since beating the Cairns Taipans back on April 17 and determined to bounce back from a 25-point loss to Melbourne United last Sunday that coach Adam Forde was savage about in his response to it afterwards about his team's performance.

Then there are the 36ers who have been in hot form at home recording double-digit wins against the Illawarra Hawks, Perth Wildcats, Brisbane Bullets and Cairns Taipans to revive life back into their playoff push, but to be a legitimate finals threat they now need to be able to replicate that form away from the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

Right now the Kings still occupy third position on the NBL table with a 14-13 record while the 36ers are back in seventh spot at 12-16. That's what makes Sunday's clash so important for both teams.

A win for Sydney and they improve to 15-13 with Adelaide to slip to 13-16. And with the Sixers to only have seven matches to go, to be any hope of replacing the Kings in the top four they'd likely need to win all of those games they have left and just two of them come on their home floor. 

However, a win for the Sixers and suddenly things really tighten up. They'd go to 13-16 and the Kings would slip to 14-14, and with another clash between the two in Sydney next Sunday as well, the door would be wide open for the 36ers.

The most encouraging thing for the Sixers right now is that they are finding their groove under coach Conner Henry, and have a full squad available. With Josh Giddey running the point, Sunday Dech, Brandon Paul and Tony Crocker sharing the two and three spots, and then Daniel Johnson, Isaac Humphries, Keanu Pinder and Jack McVeigh up front, it's a good looking team.

The Kings are still finding their groove since losing DJ Vasiljevic and Didi Louzada for the season, and being without Brad Newley for another couple of weeks, but they have added some depth with the signing of Jarrad Weeks and will expect a swift response from last week's loss in Melbourne.

The stats

- Any offensive rebounds pulled in on Sunday should be cherished with the Kings ranked seventh for offensive boards in the league this season at 9.0 a game while the 36ers come in last at 8.5.

- Adelaide doesn’t rely on the three-point shot and that's why they both lead the league in three-point shooting percentage at 36.7 per cent while also attempting the fewest shots from beyond the arc a game at 23.5. Meanwhile the Kings are shooting the three ball at 35.6 per cent while taking 27.4 long-range attempts a game.

The key men

Casper Ware – With the Kings had full strength with weapons like Didi Louzada, DJ Vasiljevic and Brad Newley on top of those still available right now Jarell Martin, Daniel Kickert, Jordan Hunter and he's more than happy to play facilitator. But without that trio, the Kings need big offensive output from him and he's shown he's willing and able to put on the Superman cape when the Kings need him. He'll lock horns with Next Star Josh Giddey on Sunday too in a fascinating point guard battle. In his last five games alone he is going at 20.8 points and 4.2 assists while up on his season shooting numbers at 42.2 per cent from the field and 36.4 per cent from downtown.

Josh Giddey – He might only be 18 years of age, but there's no question he is the key to the 36ers playing the way coach Conner Henry wants them to. He needs to set the tone for the pace the play at and for all their ball movement, and he is doing such a good job of that lately that he's now expected to be a top 10 NBA draft pick in a couple of months' time. He faces another good test on Sunday against Casper Ware, but if he can run the Sixers how he has been, they'll be a chance of the important win. He rises to the occasion against top teams this season too averaging 3.6 more points, 2.0 more assists and 0.5 more rebounds against teams with winning records than those without so far in his NBL career.

The quotes

Kings coach Adam Forde was embarrassed by last Sunday's loss in Melbourne against United but has had a full week with his group to move on from that even though it was a bitter pill to swallow at the time.

Despite the disappointment in that showing, Forde is confident of a strong response starting Sunday at home to the 36ers.

"I'm very confident and this is it, we know what is needed to get done during the game and also in the lead up to it. By no means are we pulling the pin on this, we are very confident in the group and that we have what it takes," Forde said.

"But the moment we start to fall in love with the narrative, we get handed a 25-point whooping. This just sort of realigns us and puts us back on the path we need to be if we want to be a genuine top four contender."

Forde actually felt like it was the type of disappointing performance that might have been needed to kick the Kings into gear in this run towards the playoffs.

"Melbourne did a great job and they went small ball to exploit the fact that we're obviously very limited in the wing department," Forde said.

"On the flipside to that we didn’t do a good job of trying to exploit the mismatches up the other end and what we found was that we just flowed into our stuff rather than forcing the action. But we are bigger across the board and got outrebounded which is another reason why that was embarrassing. 

"We try to keep KPI's through the season and we talk about things we've improved in, and the rebounding percentage has been one of them, but then we give that performance. We had guys watching the rebounds and it was embarrassing, and I have no answer to that other than it was what was needed."

Kings guard Shaun Bruce echoed the thoughts of his coach, but is looking forward to the chance to respond starting Sunday against the 36ers.

"Obviously the second chance points against the top team, giving them that many was too many," Bruce said. 

"We've made big strides in that area but we let it slip in that game and they were able to make us pay which is disappointing. But with nine games to go we're still in a great position to deal with it and now come back this week against Adelaide and deal with it."

Sixers coach Conner Henry is glad to see that now that his group are finding their chemistry and are now at full strength that more and more they are playing the brand of basketball he has been attempting to instil in them.

"I think they are starting to realise that it's an easy way to play and that it doesn’t cause you to have to work as hard when the ball is moving and popping, and you are getting the ball to the second side and coming off a couple of different pick-and-rolls," Henry said.

"It allows you to get easier shots and even in late shot clock opportunities the defence is spread out and we're able to get good looks. I think it's contagious and that's the way we have to play to be successful. 

"All teams are trying to do similar things on the defensive end, they want to disrupt you and throw multiple coverages at you. I think we can continue to grow on the mental side of that and be able to handle it. We have a couple of days now to rest and recover, and continue to look at film and look at why it's a lot of fun to play easy, and to get ready for Sydney."

After those impressive four double-digit wins at home to keep their playoff hopes alive, Henry is confident they can now take that form on the road starting in Sydney against one of the teams they are looking to try to replace in the top four.

"We know what the situation is that we're in and they are all one-game series. That's what they are. We need to win our games at home and then we need to go on the road and play some very tough teams at home who are above us that are also in that mix to try to get that third or fourth spot," Henry said.

"We know the challenge ahead of us but we need to stay healthy and strong, and in general we feel good about where we're at with our health. When we have that we are starting to play a lot easier and freer, and that makes it more fun to go on the road and we'll be up for the challenge, I hope."

Adelaide import Tony Crocker is happy with the role he's playing as well and with the way the team is finding its groove offensively, it suits his catch and shoot strengths as a player as well.

"I'm happy to do whatever the team needs me to do whether it's starting or coming off the bench, it really doesn’t matter. I've come off the bench on a team before and I'm still going to come out and play hard, and do whatever I need to do to help the team win whether it's to play defence or to knock down shots," Crocker said.

"We've been getting better throughout the season at sharing the ball, finding the open guys and making the passes at the right time. For me it's very important as a player who catches and shoots, and those extra passes, driving and penetrating creates space for me to be able to shoot and help the team out. It just really helps us when everybody plays well and plays together, and shares the ball."