The day has finally arrived. The NBL have three games against NBA teams in an official capacity for the first time and it will be the Sydney Kings taking on the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City to get it underway. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 12pm – midday (AEDT).
The rise of the NBL over the last 24 months has been phenomenal, and they have finally got matches against NBA sides during their official pre-season.
While the matches on paper look like they will be ridiculously one-sided, this is an opportunity for the league to showcase what it has, and for individual players to audition for contracts in future years.
Whether the Jazz come in with a full-strength roster is up for debate, but if they do, this is a franchise who were Western Conference finalists last season.
Joe Johnson and Rudy Gobert are the two main men left on the roster, after one-time NBA all-star Gordon Hayward jumped ship to the Boston Celtics during the off-season.
Utah also have an Australian contingent on the squad, with Joe Ingles likely to start at the two in this match, and Dante Exum to form part of the guard rotation from the pine.
The Kings have made a swathe of changes as they prepare for the new season. While Kevin Lisch and Brad Newley will still be the leading lights in Andrew Gaze’s team, they are joined by former Los Angeles Clipper Travis Leslie, young centre Isaac Humphries, who will be out to impress scouts, and forward Perry Ellis.
They will be the key men if the Kings are to make a fist of this, but they look very light on up front. It’s an issue which has been highlighted throughout the pre-season, and against the shot-blocking extraordinaire Gobert, Humphries could be well and truly found out here.
One of the battles to watch in this one will be that of Ricky Rubio and Kevin Lisch. The two point guards will be essential to each of their sides in their respective upcoming seasons.
Prediction
The Jazz are going to be far too strong for the Kings in this one, but don’t be surprised if the Kings are in the contest during the first half playing a physical brand of basketball with Lisch and Newley taking over.
Jazz by 19.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the first NBLxNBA match from 12pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Cheers Chook, And yeah mate, I thought anything under 20 was probably a victory so the Kings did a pretty damn good job given they were down 19 at the end of the first. I would hope it becomes a thing, and that eventually, we get American teams down under. Ellis could well make all the difference this year - might get the Kings over the line and into the finals (after I've predicted them to miss).
Machooka
Roar Guru
Big ups Scott for all the effort you put into this one... and again apologies for not joining you. Hey, that was a pretty respectable effort and result by the Kings... especially their second quarter effort (31 pts?). And apart from Connor may have thought pregame :) I was expecting anything up to 50 pts + win by the Jazz. So 20 + odd pts was not a bad result all things considered. Very positive comments from the Jazz commentators... so I hope this initiative is only the first of many NBA pre-season games against NBL teams. Lastly, I'm stoked that the Kings have recruited Perry Ellis... and having watched him, over the last four years at Kansas, the guy can ball. If he can acclimatise to Kings culture he'll be a great addition to the team.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Well, history has been made today. That'll just about do it here on The Roar for our live coverage of the first NBLxNBA game, as the Utah Jazz took victory over the Sydney Kings. Hopefully you enjoyed the call. Plenty of sport coming up here on The Roar. The NBL season begins on Thursday night with the Adelaide 36ers taking on Melbourne United, and that will be our 'game of the round' for the first week of competition, so I'll be live here on The Roar from 7:30pm (AEDT) for that one. The Kings start their season at 5:30pm (AEDT) on Saturday against the 36ers, and that could be live as well. On top of that, we will be back on Monday morning from 6am (AEDT) as Melbourne United take on the Oklahoma City Thunder. In other sports, the Bathurst 1000 is on this weekend. I'll be live with Friday practice and qualifying from 8:45am (AEDT). Bye for now.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thoughts on the game Roarers?
Scott Pryde
Expert
The Jazz are going to be a force out west this season I'd say. Lots of depth there, and while it's hard to judge on the pre-season, all of Ingles, Johnson, Hood and Gobert looked good. Sydney - well I may have underrated them. If they can play like they did in the second quarter when they picked it up by eight, they could be in for a strong season.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Joe Ingles talking about how different it was hearing his own national anthem before the game. Exum also saying it was a quality game. "The NBL is getting better. Obviously we were a bit too strong for them today, but the league is only getting better."
Scott Pryde
Expert
FULLTIME Sloppy play from the Jazz. They turn it over before the Kings go through Singh and he turns it over, with Neto making a layup. The Kings take the last shot of the game and it's Sam Daly to make the final three of the game. 25-point win for the Jazz. They are looking good ahead of the NBA season, but when you consider the Kings were down 19 at the end of the first quarter, they adapted quite well to only drop six points across the final three quarters. Utah Jazz - 108 Sydney Kings - 83
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 0' Thoseby makes one. Jazz - 106 Kings - 80
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 0' Turnover for the Jazz, before Bolomboy wraps up the ball as Thoseby comes down the court. That'll be a foul and the rookie will go to the line. Jazz - 106 Kings - 79
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 0' Singh with an offensive rebound for the Kings now, and there's a whistle as his put back misses. Jazz - 106 Kings - 79
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 1' Miss from the Kings, before a lovely pass inside finds Bolomboy and he makes it count. The Kings struggling to finish this game here. Blanchfield a miss before Bradley makes a shot on the put back. Jazz - 106 Kings - 79
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 1' Three from Burks, then a missed three from Blanchfield at the top - way too long that one. Now a turnover for the Jazz. Jazz - 102 Kings - 79
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 2' O'Neal loses it out of bounds for the Jazz, before the Kings turn it over themselves with a play that was a bit all over the place. Jazz - 99 Kings - 79
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 2' Nice shot from Burks, before Lisch makes a three-ball and gets the lead back to 20. If the Kings can lose by 20 or less, that's a pretty good effort really. Jazz - 99 Kings - 79
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 3' Newley makes both. Jazz - 97 Kings - 76
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 3' Quick foul against Lisch, then it's Neto missing a shot in the paint. Bolomboy now fouls Newley in transition. Kings still looking to get out and run here, even into the final few minutes. Jazz - 97 Kings - 74
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 3' Not too much drama left in this one as the clock goes under 4 to play. Lisch makes a tough three now after a foul. Jazz - 97 Kings - 74
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 4' Bolomboy with a rejection now before the Jazz go inside the paint and Neto makes the layup. Jazz - 97 Kings - 71
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 5' The Jazz inside now and they have a ball tipped out of play. The inbound goes to Neto and then it's Bolomboy with an offensive board and jam. Jazz - 71 Kings - 95
Scott Pryde
Expert
Q4 5' Looks like Ingles and Exum are both done for the night. Wouldn't surprise me if the Kings started to take their stars off as well here, noting the start of the season is only a few days away on the other side of the world. The last thing they need is an injury. Anyway, Newley draws a foul and makes both at the strike. Jazz - 93 Kings - 71