Studs and Duds: Round 21

Thursday, June 10, 2021

At the conclusion of each round, NBL Media’s Liam Santamaria lets us know who made the grade and who deserves a little shade.

At the conclusion of each round, NBL Media’s Liam Santamaria lets us know who made the grade and who deserves a little shade.

STUDS

Illawarra Hawks

The Hawks are back in the postseason!

Locking in their spot with a thrilling win over Perth, Illawarra have become the third team in a row to qualify for the finals the year after claiming the wooden spoon.

Just as a reminder… at one point last off-season this club had no ownership, no coaching staff and no players under contract. Then, of course, they lost their name.

But under the leadership of co-owner Dorry Kordahi and head coach Brian Goorjian, the Hawks have reclaimed their identity and have stormed their way into the finals.

That’s a bloody good effort!

Keifer Sykes (South East Melbourne Phoenix)

Speaking of making the finals, well done to South East Melbourne for securing their spot with a hard-fought win across the ditch.

Qualifying for the postseason in only your second year of existence is a remarkable achievement and it was their import PG, Keifer Sykes, who led the way in their playoff-clinching win.

Of course, it wasn’t officially locked in following that victory but it may as well have been… and it was thanks largely to a dominant performance by Sykes that the job got done.

The talented point guard was at his dynamic best in that one, picking the Breakers apart with his pick-and-roll wizardry as he poured in an NBL career-high 29 points and fired the Phoenix to a much-nedeed victory.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">PH?ENIX RISING<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/SEMelbPhoenix?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SEMelbPhoenix</a> get the important <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> W and put themselves in a VERY solid position to nab the final spot in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBLFinals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBLFinals</a> (pending other results and Tuesday's game), beating the <a href="https://twitter.com/NZBreakers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NZBreakers</a> 83-78<br><br>Keifer Sykes lit it up and snagged Bunnings Trade POG ?</p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1401107188047749123?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Sydney Kings

After a season defined by injury and adversity, the Kings finished their year off in style with an undefeated Round 21.

It began with a win down the freeway that kept their season alive and finished with a heart-stopping victory over Brisbane in front of a big crowd at Qudos Bank Arena.

Unfortunately, however, Sykes and the Phoenix had already cooked their goose at that stage by taking care of business in New Zealand.

One thing’s for sure, though… the Kings were resilient throughout NBL21. Dealing with long-term injuries to Xavier Cooks, Angus Glover and Dejan Vasiljevic, as well as the early departure of Didi Louzada, Adam Forde’s men showed terrific spirit to come within a game of making the finals.

Something to build on for NBL22.

Jarell Martin and Xavier Cooks (Sydney Kings)

Actually, while we’re on the Kings… let’s throw some special mentions towards these two talented big men who balled out across the final round of the season.

Cooks was operating at his stat-sheet stuffing best to finish the year as he put 19 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and a block on the Hawks and then 9, 8 and 6 with 2 steals and a block on Brisbane.

As for Martin, well he was a force at the offensive end, averaging 25.5 points and 9 rebounds per game across the weekend.

Let’s hope we see both of these guys back later this year.

Melbourne United

The best team in the league ran through the tape to complete a successful regular season as they peeled off wins over Perth and Adelaide.

The victory over the Wildcats was the more impressive of the two, obviously, as United completely locked Perth up to clinch the regular season title.

Against Adelaide, Dean Vickerman rolled out his second unit to begin the game and managed everybody’s minutes in a regulation win.

Landale, Goulding and McCarron are all in great form, Scotty Hopson’s rolling, JLA’s getting buckets and Melbourne are ready to roll through the postseason on their way to the title.

Perth Wildcats

Speaking of winning titles, much love to the Wildcats for another highly-successful edition of their annual ‘Pink Game’.

The fourth instalment of the event saw another huge crowd roll into RAC Arena and a whole lot of cash raised to support the incredible work done by Breast Cancer Care WA.

Well done to everyone involved.

Jock Landale (Melbourne United)

… including Jock Landale, who got behind the ‘Pink Game’ with his own subtle, but very well-received, show of support.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jock rocks the pink socks for the Wildcats Pink Game ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> <a href="https://t.co/K8NtJ16CON">pic.twitter.com/K8NtJ16CON</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1400780428500299781?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Tony Crocker (Adelaide 36ers)

It’s been a rough end of the season for the 36ers but props to Tony Crocker for finishing the year off with a season-best performance.

Crocker drilled 6-of-8 triples in his team’s loss to Melbourne, as he poured in a game-high 27 points – the most by any Adelaide import this season.

“Crock really started to click,” Sixers coach Conner Henry said.

“The bigs were setting some good screens, our spacing was good and then Tony took the opportunity, when he started to get in a groove, to get downhill a little bit and create his own shot.

“It was nice to see him have a nice final game of this season.”

Mike Kelly (Cairns Taipans)

You know what else is nice? When a coach keeps it one hundred with the media.

That’s exactly what outgoing Cairns coach Mike Kelly did this week.

Asked if his team’s defeat in the final game of the season was “bittersweet”, Kelly responded with refreshing honesty.

“Not a lot of the sweet in it,” Kelly said. “You know, I lost the game and I got fired.”

Andrej Lemanis (Brisbane Bullets)

Speaking of coaches who are leaving their positions, shout-out to three-time championship-winning coach Andrej Lemanis who is moving on from the Bullets and taking his talents to Japan.

One of the most genuine and smartest blokes in the business, this league is going to greatly miss having Lemanis coaching within it. I, for one, certainly feel that way. Come back soon, mate!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Normally it's the coach giving the players a spray ?<br><br>Great scenes at the Armoury as the <a href="https://twitter.com/BrisbaneBullets?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BrisbaneBullets</a> boys send off Andrej Lemanis in style with the win to close out their <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> campaign.<br><br>Best of luck with the next step, Coach! <a href="https://t.co/vTH8xQIcG2">pic.twitter.com/vTH8xQIcG2</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1402228948717559815?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 8, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

DUDS

Yours Truly

Sometimes the right word just evades you.

Caught up in the excitement of Thursday night’s NSW derby, here’s how I described the three-point shooting of Xavier Cooks on the TV broadcast: “This is his first game this season with two made triples, (coming) at a timely… time.”

Timely time? Insert facepalm emoji right here.

(Shout-out to the helpful viewer who slid into my DMs after the game to offer some reasonable alternatives. ‘Timely moment’ was definitely a good suggestion.)

Truth be told: I belong in the duds for another reason as well… for placing these teams and players in this section of the column, week after week, throughout the season.

This is one of the best leagues in the world and our players lay it all on the line each and every game. Our coaches do too. And there’s always more going into their decisions than ever meets the eye.

The competitiveness of the NBL will mean there are always winners and losers. There will always be players and teams who get the upper hand and there will always be ebbs and flows of fitness and form. Especially this year, where the barriers to high performance have been stacked so incredibly high for everyone.

So to all of the players, coaches and teams across the NBL… thank you.

Thank you for your commitment and hard work throughout this uniquely challenging year. Thank you for putting your wonderful talents on display throughout this lengthy regular season and for letting this scribe ride along amidst all the highs and the lows.

You’re all studs and I, along with all the readers of this column, appreciate your efforts.

And to those about to lock horns with each other in the finals: GOOD LUCK!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">E?PECT GREATNESS.<br><br>4? TEAMS. 1??<br><br>The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> Finals are here and it all starts tomorrow night at 9:30pm AEST live on <a href="https://twitter.com/SBSVICELAND?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SBSVICELAND</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/zaFDatH6wQ">pic.twitter.com/zaFDatH6wQ</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1402471939688435712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 9, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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