With Round 2 of the NBL in the books, any doubts over whether Sydney were going to again be the team to beat have been extinguished.
When the champions lost NBA-experienced trio Jaylen Adams, Jarrell Martin and Ian Clark in the off-season and replaced them with Derrick Walton jnr, Tim Soares and Justin Simon, it seemed like their import strength may have dropped.
But Walton is the early MVP frontrunner and teammate Xavier Cooks is his main rival along with perennial Perth star Bryce Cotton.
The Kings and Wildcats are the only undefeated teams, both 3-0, after the first two rounds.
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All eyes will be on Adelaide in Round 2 after their record-breaking NBA pre-season swing in which they upset one of the Western Conference contenders, the Suns, in Phoenix.
The way in which they did it was extraordinary – the NBL tourists shot 24 from 43 at a whopping 55.8% from three against the Suns in Phoenix. They were in the collective zone with imports Craig Randall II (nine of 17) and Robert Franks (six of 10) bombing from well beyond the exended NBA three-point line.
Craig Randall II of the Adelaide 36ers dribbles around Damion Lee of the Phoenix Suns. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
Melbourne United nearly knocked over OKC in 2017 during an NBA pre-season clash, beaten by a point when Josh Boone’s potential game winner was blocked by Thunder forward Josh Huestis.
Adelaide took on Oklahoma City on Friday and went down 131-98 in the second fixture of their US pre-season jaunt before returning home.
The Sixers, after three straight seventh-placed finishes, should be definite playoff contenders this season – hopefully the experience of NBA pre-season will outweigh the travel miles they log leading into their first clash at home against Tassie onThursday.
Here’s all the talking points and post-game views for this weekend’s Round 2 fixtures.
Thursday
Illawarra Hawks 85 South East Melbourne Phoenix 72: Thursday, 7.30pm AEDT at WIN Entertainment Centre
Hawks import Justin Robinson was out with a knee injury and scans have revealed a torn meniscus which means he will likely miss the rest of the season with the club on the lookout for a replacement.
He and backcourt comrade Tyler Harvey had a rough shooting night in last week’s home loss to Sydney but Harvey shot superbly in the win over the Phoenix, scoring a game-high 22 while George King (16 points) may have one of the purest shooting motions seen on an NBL floor.
The Phoenix were led by Junior Madut (21 points, seven rebounds) and former Brooklyn Nets big man Alan Williams (13 points, 11 boards) but are down on troops.
Friday
NZ Breakers 71 Tasmania JackJumpers 65, 5.30pm AEDT at Spark Arena
The Breakers celebrated their return to Auckland for their first game on their home floor in 18 months. It wasn’t the most free-flowing of matches but the fans went home happy after the Breakers opened their account for the season following a loss to Melbourne. The JackJumpers are suffering a Grand Final hangover after their Cinderella run to the decider last season and are now 0-3 at the bottom of the ladder.
Jack McVeigh stepped up for Tassie with 19 points and six rebounds with Clint Steindl and Will Magnay still on the injury list. Jarrell Brantley bounced back after a quiet first outing for the Breakers with 16 first-half points on his way to equalling McVeigh’s game-high 19 points while also grabbing six boards. The 17 points the teams tallied in the third quarter (Tassie 11-6) was just two higher than the all-time record for the lowest in a perid in NBL history.
Sydney Kings 100 Brisbane Bullets 90, 7.30pm AEDT at Qudos Bank Arena
On the back of former import Jaylen Adams winning last year, Derrick Walton jnr is the early, early MVP candidate after bringing down the Hawks and Bullets in back-to-back weeks. Walton inspired the Kings to a 10-point win over Brisbane, taking over in the fourth quarter in front of 11,478 fans as the club unveiled its championship banner. Walton scored 32 against Illawarra and broke a 67-67 deadlock against the Bullets with 10 points in the final term to finish with 21, eight rebounds and four assists.
Xavier Cooks top-scored for Sydney with 23 while Aron Baynes continued his comeback from spinal surgery with 16 points and nine rebounds. Veteran guard Jason Cadee also had 16 but star import Tyler Johnson could only manage 13 points after getting up only 10 shots as the visitors went 0-2 to start their campaign.
Saturday
South East Melbourne Phoenix 76 Cairns Taipans 85: 5.30pm AEDT at John Cain Arena
Powered by a 26-14 fourth quarter, Cairns have surged home to upset a depleted Phoenix side in Melbourne with rising star Keanu Pinder filling up the box score. He led the way with 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal while imports DJ Hogg (18), Tahjere McCall (15) and Shannon Scott (15) also contributing as they joined Sydney in first place with a 2-0 record.
Apart from Mitch Creek’s game-high 27 and Alan Williams adding 18 points and eight rebounds there was little to like from the Phoenix who are now 1-2 after a winless second round. Chinese centre Zhou Qi is expected to return earlier than initially expected, potentially for next week’s clash with the Breakers.
Perth Wildcats 77 Illawarra Hawks 71: 8pm AEDT at RAC Arena
Bryce Cotton and Luke Travers were again the stars of the show for Perth as they stormed past Illawarra in the final quarter with a 23-12 run. Cotton had 13 points and four assists but was overshadowed by Travers who scored 14 with seven rebounds, four assists and a couple of steals off the bench for the Wildcats, who lost import Tashawn Thomas to an ankle injury less than three minutes into the first quarter.
Illawarra have a stanky record in Perth and after backing up from Thursday night in Wollongong, they ran out of puff as a few contentious refereeing decisions went against them down the stretch. George King continued his sweet shooting from outside the arc with five of eight threes landing in the bottom of the net in his game-high 25-point haul.
Sunday
Tasmania JackJumpers 90 Brisbane Bullets 86 (OT): 2pm AEDT at MyState Bank Arena
They both went into this one winless after five games between them – the early-season pressure meter was high in Hobart.
Milton Doyle shone for Tassie as they fought back from a 16-point lead to win by four in overtime. They should have won the game in regulation but turned it over in the closing seconds and the Bullets fired the ball ahead for Tyler Johnson to drain a corner three.
Doyle registered 32 points, six rebounds and four assists while Johnson only missed one of his seven three-point attempts in his 24-point haul for the visitors who are now 0-3 after being tipped to be one of the big improvers this season.
Boomers legend Aron Baynes, in his third game back from spinal surgery, played less than 20 minutes to finish with just four points on 2/8 shooting and six rebounds.
(Photo by Kelly Defina/Getty Images)
Melbourne United 71 Sydney Kings 91: 5.30pm AEDT at John Cain Arena
Xavier Cooks unleashed the early candidate for dunk of the year when he posterised Isaac Humphries en route to the Kings’ 91-71 caning of Melbourne United at John Cain Arena. Cooks flew above the centre with an almighty one-handed slam in the second quarter as the champions obliterated the hosts, converting a 27-17 quarter-time lead to a 57-23 drubbing by half-time.
Cooks finished with 23 points on 9/15 shooting to go with nine rebounds in a dominant display with four other Kings in double figures. Only two Melbourne players reached 10 points and no higher with the final scoreline no reflection of Sydney’s dominance due to the extended stretch of garbage time. United shot at less than 30% from the field. Ugly scenes.
Monday
Cairns Taipans 76 Perth Wildcats 105: 7.30pm AEDT at Cairns Convention Centre
The Snakes returned to the tropics after starting the season in Hobart and Melbourne but after beating the JackJumpers, they were brought back down to earth by a combination of Perth’s stifling defence and the visiting team draining 12 of 24 three-pointers. Perth celebrated veteran swingman Todd Blanchfield’s 350th NBL game by ending the contest by half-time to lead by 23 on the back of a 37-13 second-quarter demolition.
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