NBL Round 8: Newley for MVP, last chance saloon for some clubs

In a reduced five-game Round 8 of the NBL, it looks like the easiest to tip of the season so far, with only a single that game that is a genuine head-scratcher.

This week, we have a look at Brad Newley and which teams’ seasons are just about over.

There might only be five games, but the action is still going to be red-hot on court.

The weekend opens with a match that you may want to get some popcorn for. Adelaide go head-to-head with Brisbane on the road, and after a mid-week twitter stoush between Daniel Kickert Adelaide coach Jerome Randle things are expected to be heated.

Kickert of course, was charged with a headbutting offence from their match last week, and posted to Twitter that he couldn’t wait to play the ‘Adelaide thirty snitches’ on Thursday.

Wright fired back strongly, calling the Brisbane-based club a few colourful names, before Randle got involved defending his coach, and Wright along with Kickert were both fined $500.

The game itself though could be incredibly one sided with the Adelaide defence resembling a leaky boat, and the Bullets attack starting to click.

Melbourne United will then look to breathe some life back into their season after a day with no hoops against the league-leading Sydney Kings in what will prove to be another tough clash.

Sunday brings us a double header, and the game of the round as the Cairns Taipans take on the New Zealand Breakers. Both sides have been in some fantastic form despite a loss for the Taipans last weekend against United, they have really turned their season around.

It will come down to Cairns’ hard-nosed home court defence against the Breakers exoubrant attack, led by fill in point guard David Stockton, and sharp shooters Corey Webster and Kirk Penney.

Perth then get another opportunity too play the Illawarra Hawks and will be confident of victory at home, before the Kings round out the round with a chance to extend their lead at the top of the table against the struggling Adelaide.

Fixtures (all times AEDT)
Brisbane Bullets vs Adelaide 36ers at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (Thursday 7:30pm – live Fox Sports 503)
Melbourne United vs Sydney Kings at Hisense Arena (Saturday 7:30pm – live Fox Sports 503)
Cairns Taipans vs New Zealand Breakers (Sunday 3pm – live Fox Sports 503 and SBS)
Perth Wildcats vs Illawarra Hawks (Sunday 7pm – live Fox Sports 503)
Sydney Kings vs Adelaide 36ers (Monday 7:30pm – live Fox Sports 503)

My Tips
Bullets by 15
Kings by 12
Taipans by 3
Wildcats by 11
Kings by 17

Lock of the week: Fate for Adelaide, Melbourne to be decided this round
In such a close competition, it’s not normal to be writing off two out of eight teams when we aren’t even half way through, but it’s getting to the point where any more losses will spell disaster with a capital ‘D’ for both Melbourne United and the Adelaide 36ers.

We have talked quite enough about Melbourne in this column over the last couple of weeks – their form is absolutely woeful and despite a much needed win over Cairns last week, it was far from convincing.

They now have Chris Goulding back on the floor, so that’s a huge advantage and with Todd Blanchfield also due back, they must win, and win a lot from here on.

Given they have now played 11 games for just four victories (almost half their season) and the expected number of wins needed to make the playoffs is somewhere around 15 or 16, that means United are still at least 11 wins away.

With only 17 games to go in their season, and with the form they have been displaying they can ill-afford anymore losses, but a win against the Kings looks a little unlikely this Saturday Night.

The 36ers, numbers wise are in a better state than Melbourne, given they have only played nine games but have three wins.

That leaves them needing 12, probably 13 wins from their final 21 games which is a fractionally easier scenario.

What puts them up the wrong end of the proverbial creek without a paddle though, is their incompetence on defence. Despite not having captain Mitch Creek, he won’t be able to fix their defensive woes upon his return, and the club are leaking a ridiculous 97 points per game.

Simply put, their season is just about done and with a double header against Brisbane and Sydney, both on the road this weekend it’s just about time to declare a re-build for Adelaide with an eye to next year, no matter how well Jerome Randle plays.

Big question of the week: Are the Bullets the real deal?
In my pre-season preview series, the Bullets were tipped to just miss the finals, but that was without much certainty.

The club who have struggled on the offensive end of the floor appear to be finally putting those worries behind them and getting ready to make a serious run into the playoffs.

While they played the 36ers last Saturday (who they play again to open this round), and they have been defensively incompetent, putting up over 100 points against any team in 40 minutes shows the offence is clicking at worst.

Given that, and not defence was their problem earlier in the season with the guard combination of Adam Gibson, Jermaine Beal and Torrey Craig not clicking, the pressure was on them to produce points.

They have started to do that, looking like a more cohesive team with more and better options on offence, and it really shows in their play, and results on the ladder as they have moved up to second on the ladder with a record of six wins and four losses.

The question still remains though – are they the real deal? They have beaten both the Kings and Wildcats who are seen at the moment to be the measuring stick of the competition, albeit at home so you would have to say they are there and about.

While some of you might rightfully point out the Kings lost at home to the Bullets in Round 1, we won’t count that because let’s face it – Sydney are a different team now to what they were then.

If they can pinch some important road wins down the track, then Brisbane are definitely championship contenders, but for now they will be extremely content with making the playoffs in their first season back from a long stint out of the league.

Bonus talking point: Is Brad Newley a legitimate MVP candidate?
Given the form the former Boomer and Sydney Kings forward has been displaying in the last fortnight it’s not out of the question.

When looking at the talent around the league, there is no question the MVP is an open race. From Newley’s teammate Kevin Lisch, to Casey Prather who is killing it in Perth, a handful of Breakers players with Kirk Penney leading the charge, or Jerome Randle who would have to find form in a hurry the options are plenty.

Newley though, has been a real standout in the last few weeks. He has put up massive numbers, particularly in the Kings double header against Perth last week but has also led the team all season.

34 points and eight rebounds with an efficiency rating of 36 is no mean feet on the road in Perth, and while it was his best performance of the season thus far, he has been fantastic and there is no reason he won’t keep putting up big numbers.

If he keeps up the level of production on display last week, then he is a definite option for the NBL’s biggest individual award.

Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of every match in the NBL this weekend.

Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde