"You've still got a knife in your back": Lowery calls out Adelaide

Four teams opened their NBL campaigns with a Round 1 double-header, but only one emerged from the weekend’s action with a 0-2 record – Adelaide.

A hot start was not enough to see the 36ers over the line against Brisbane in their opening game, before a final quarter storm saw a flying Melbourne team relegate them to a winless start. 

After a difficult off-season, NBL Blitz and now opening round, it's a tough run ahead for CJ Bruton and his team. The 36ers face what is, quite possibly, the toughest weekend road trip in the NBL.

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They travel to Perth to face a reeling Wildcats on Friday night, before heading to the east coast to battle Sydney on Sunday night.

Bruton has been vocal in his hunt for a new import following the pre-season departure of Jamaal Franklin, but Lowery says Adelaide needs to figure out a way to win, regardless of any personnel issues or opposition.

“You’ve got a knife in your back, it’s sticking out six inches. Someone pulls it out three inches and that’s improvement, but guess what? You’ve still got a knife in your back,” he said.

“There are no moral victories, nobody cares you’re down one import, you have got to find a way to win with what you’ve got.

“Going into these next games for Adelaide they need to find something, otherwise they’re 0-4.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In the first of the NBL double header, Melbourne United secured their second win of the season against the Adelaide 36ers. <br><br>HERE ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS!<br><br>Catch all the NBL action on ESPN ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL24?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL24</a> <a href="https://t.co/6q2y6vC0zy">pic.twitter.com/6q2y6vC0zy</a></p>&mdash; ESPN Australia &amp; NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ/status/1708411517606195604?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Ahead of the clash with Adelaide, NBL fans have already seen both sides of the Perth Wildcats. 

First was the Jordan Usher-led excitement machine where the whole team was up and about and absolutely thriving in the 101-95 win over Tasmania, but then the wheels fell off against South East Melbourne,  dropping to the wrong side of a 20-point deficit and the frustrations became apparent.

Head coach John Rillie coaches with the same level of passion with which he played, and that has filtered down into his side.

That high passion, emotional game is quickly embedding itself into the Wildcats’ identity, and while it can be positive, Rillie believes his side needs to harness and control it better in future weeks.

Like Rillie, NBL champion Damon Lowery played with his heart on his sleeve during his time in the NBL, and he believes Perth’s emotion can be a huge weapon in the season ahead.

“I thought John Rillie spoke from the heart. He’s exactly right that they’re an emotional team and he’s an emotional coach – he was an emotional player,” Lowery said on NBL Now.

“What he said was ‘I can’t take all this emotion out because that’s what makes us who we are, but we have to harness it’. That is huge, emotional control – you’ve got to have it or it’ll run rampant and it’ll come out at the wrong time.

“The South East Melbourne Phoenix exposed them, got them all emotional, they got in their feelings and started moaning and complaining to the ref and it completely took them out of the game.

“You need to be able to toe that line. It’s one thing when you’re up by 20-25, everyone can be emotional, but it’s detrimental when you’re 20 down and you’re emotional.”

Round 2 of the NBL24 season is set to open with a Thursday night double-header.

First the Breakers take on the Bullets live from 5:30pm AEDT, before the Taipans host the Phoenix at 7:30pm AEDT.