Double Trouble: NBL’s Player Points System Is A Cap Too Many

Handicaps are very important to sporting leagues around the world. The large majority of professional leagues enforce some sort of measure to ensure a somewhat even spread of talent.

The NBL has two of these tools to ensure a competitive balance. A salary cap and a player points cap.

In summary, the salary cap involves a $1 million limit on a clubs expenditure on players. This figure has to allow for player accommodation and transportation costs.

The player points cap, gives all players in the league a rating out of 10, one being the lowest and 10 being a player with significant basketball credentials. Each team has a maximum of 70 points to fill a 10-man roster.

Yesterday, the NBL published the official list of player point ratings for the upcoming 2013/14 season. Several weeks ago, the league body posted interim player ratings in which clubs and or free agents had the chance to appeal their point rankings.

Several players were given the benefit of a reduced rating. Others such as one Adrien Sturt could have their dreams of returning to the NBL in tatters.

Adrien Sturt former Melbourne Tiger looking to make a return to the NBL

Adrien Sturt former Melbourne Tiger looking to make a return to the NBL

For those unfamiliar with Sturt, you could be forgiven for your lack of knowledge about him.

Sturt was signed as a development player for the Melbourne Tigers in the 2008/2009 season where he continued in his development role for the following three years. In total, he played 93.2 minutes and averaged less than 1.5 ppg.

Following his three seasons as a development player, he took his talents to the British Basketball League where he averaged 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per encounter against not heavily touted opposition.

When the final list of player ratings was published on Monday, the 6-11 forward/centre from Adelaide was given a rating of nine, a rating higher than Boomer’s and Townsville Crocs guard Peter Crawford, Wollongong’s Oscar Forman and the same rating as players with the quality of Cam Tragardh, Daniel Johnson and even Boomer’s forward Mark Worthington.

While I’m all for keeping a level playing field in the league, the player point system is costing players jobs and denying them employment in the NBL.

Another player who faced a similar fate, Rhys Carter, found it extremely difficult to find an NBL club willing to take on his rating. Playing internationally in Sweden after several years in the NBL ballooned his rating. It took a mid-season injury to the Perth Wildcats and an appeal to his rating to allow him to return to the league.

If Australian players want to play in Australia or show loyalty to the club that took the time to develop them, the points system makes life difficult for all parties while it remains in place.

There has been significant opposition to the points cap in the past and rightly so. When we want to be encouraging talent to stay in the league, to build an exciting product, to produce storylines, to create household names it needs to be easier for players to stick around.

In addition, the contraction of the NBL has reduced the amount of total available points in the league. From as recently as 2008 where the league has shrunk from 10 teams to eight, it has alone reduced the total number of player points spots by 140 (70 per team x 2 teams). The same amount of players but with less positions and available cap space is detrimental to the potential employment of players in the NBL.

With the de-merger of the NBL from Basketball Australia, the significantly controversial player points system is a priority to be looked at.

It is not the bigger name players or the imports that this rule affects. It is the Adrien Sturt’s and the Rhys Carter’s that will face the consequences of this impractical and conservative ruling that needs to change.

 

 

New Zealand Breakers… Champs again!

The New Zealand Breakers have made it three-straight NBL titles with a sensational 70-66 victory over the Perth Wildcats in Game 2. The win (in Perth) gave the Breakers a 2-0 sweep of the Finals series.

After taking Game 1 at home, the Breakers made the NBL’s longest road trip and brought home the trophy behind some magnificent performances by multiple players. The biggest influencer in Game 2 however was the veteran CJ Bruton who racked up 16 crucial points including 4/5 from the three-point arc.

 As New Zealand took the title yet again, they finished the 2012/13 season with an overall record of 28-4, dropping only one home game for the entire season.

A completely dominant performance, leaving a couple of questions on the table…

  1. How many more seasons will CJ Bruton play?
  2. Will an Australian-based team ever win another NBL title?

The Perth Wildcats did come very close, as they did last season but after that there’s a significant gap in results. Sydney moved quickly in their attempt to bridge the gap, signing AJ Ogilvy to a fresh new deal.

It’s up to all the other teams to try and catch up to the standard demonstrated by both Perth and New Zealand. Even though the series was technically a sweep, both teams put on a sensational show… one worthy of a five-game series.

Congratulations to the New Zealand Breakers, a true dynasty and a team who will still be a major force next season.

 

 

Corin Henry Out For Season

The Sydney Kings season and playoff aspirations could be in dire straights with news that import point guard Corin Henry will be ruled out for the remainder of the iiNet NBL season.

Henry faces a stint on the sideline of approximately 12 weeks due to a torn tendon in his wrist. The injury reportedly occurred during last Saturday’s overtime loss to the defending champions, the New Zealand Breakers.

The news of Henry’s injury will be heartbreaking to Kings fans who currently reside in fourth position on the ladder, a position that Sydney would be in severe jeopardy of losing.

Henry, a 24 year old point guard has been a standout contributor for the Kings all season, averaging  13.2 PPG, the second highest average on the Sydney roster.

The Sydney Kings sit fourth on the NBL ladder with 10 wins and 12 losses, however have lost their last six games. While the return of James Harvey will soften the scoring blow and Aaron Bruce will take on a greater role as point guard, Henry’s absence will still leave a massive hole in the squad.

Due to the timing of the injury, the Sydney Kings will not be able to find a replacement for Henry, as there are not enough games left in the season for the replacement player to qualify for playoffs.

 

 

Wollongong Hawks, undefeated in the community

Image via nbl.com.au

The Wollongong Hawks have endured a very tough season by anyone’s standards when it comes to injuries in 2012/13. While their moniker has remained the word “STRONGER” throughout this tough stretch, you could almost forgive them if they had wilted under the pressure. You would understand if the players and management’s collective spirits looked more fatigued than fighting.

Not this club however, as they continue to prioritise not only their commitment to the fans of their basketball team but also their local community as a whole.

Today the Wollongong Hawks visited kids at Edmund Rice College to spread an anti-bullying message as a part of their pilot program “Blitz on Bullying”. The program is all about the kids and the Wollongong Hawks players working together in a mentoring fashion to verbalise the potentially devastating effects of bullying.

These effects can have horrible implications for children both inside and outside the classroom, with statistics showing that 1 in 4 school kids are bullied across Australian schools.

In the midst of what is turning into a very trying season for the Hawks, it’s sensational to see such great role-model activity taking place. Newly acquired import Malcolm Grant was also in the spirit, tweeting the following after his team’s return home:

Just another sign that we have great athletes in the NBL that possess community focus and genuine personalities. As mentioned on Twitter in light of Grant’s comments, perhaps the initiative can be taken to a league level? A “bullying awareness” round would certainly encourage kids and families from all over the country to get involved in the positive message that basketball can bring.

In light of the current issues facing the Australian sporting landscape over the past fortnight, more than ever teams and players such as the Wollongong Hawks and Malcolm Grant should be congratulated for their positive input.

Well done to all involved.

More quotes from the Wollongong press release… (more…)

 

 

Melbourne Tigers – Game On?

The Melbourne Tigers are now in third place on the NBL ladder after a successful weekend of winning basketball. The Tigers took care of the injury-depleted Wollongong Hawks (77-70) on Friday night and then followed up with a strong victory over the Adelaide 36ers (84-71) on Sunday afternoon.

These two wins have now propelled Melbourne deep into the playoff conversation, a possibility we discussed back in early January.

Here are some points of interest from the Melbourne Tigers 2-0 weekend road trip:

  • Jonny Flynn averaged 18.5 points and 6.5 assists per game.
  • The Tigers were called for more fouls in both games.
  • This was Melbourne’s third straight win over Adelaide this season. (by an average of 16.6 points per game)
  • Seth Scott averaged 13.5 points and 10 rebounds per game.

While these stats are fun, I actually expected to see some more definitive ‘wins’ in certain stat categories such as rebounding, turnovers, field goal percentage and the like. I felt that such a great weekend would yield a lop-sided two game result somewhere on the box scores.

As it turns out while winning both games was great for Melbourne, it’s hard to pinpoint a particular area of the game where the Tigers excelled in both games.

  • Rebounding: Out-rebounded by Wollongong 37-34 and then held a 35-31 edge over Adelaide.
  • Turnovers: Won the turnover race 8 to 12 in Wollongong, then lost 17-15 in Adelaide.
  • Assists: Edged Wollongong 15 to 14, then tied Adelaide with 14 a piece.
  • Points in the Paint: Lost to Wollongong 26-20 before outscoring Adelaide 36-28.

Okay, you get the picture. The point to be made here is that the Tigers won both of these games in completely different fashions. Does this speak to their diversity? Or are they simply an unpredictable team that got lucky?

You all know what this blogger hopes to be true and looking at this team finally starting to establish a solid rotation/pecking order is pleasing. Liam Rush was dangerous when given extended minutes against the Sixers, proving again why he can be so valuable to a potential playoff run.

Additionally, getting Seth Scott the ball in the post is essential to the team’s success. Scott absolutely must get opportunities to score for Melbourne to be competitive and his ability to attack from either inside or outside is huge for the Tigers.

The big test comes this weekend when Melbourne hosts the 15-5 (and always dangerous) Perth Wildcats. The Tigers have not beaten Perth this season and have lost by an average of 12 points in their two meetings. Both games saw Melbourne fail miserably in the fourth quarter after being within striking distance at the final break.

A home win this weekend against a Perth team that is practically a dual-favourite for the NBL title may be the final confidence boost required to propel these Tigers into a deep playoff run. It’s a big ask with the varying styles that have been on display over the past three weeks but rest assured, hoops fans are starting to take this team very seriously.

Can Melbourne secure this all-important victory? Get down to the Cage on Sunday or tune in to NBL.tv / ONE HD at 2pm to find out.

Melbourne Tigers… game on!

 

 

Hire-A-Rebounder; Wildcats Smash Sixers On Boards To Secure Victory

When your team gets out-rebounded by 20 rebounds in a game, you’re going to be behind the proverbial eight-ball from the beginning. Add on top of that playing in front of yet another packed house in Perth and that equaled to not a very pretty night for the Adelaide 36ers.

The usual suspects for the Wildcats were involved with Matt Knight and Kevin Lisch scoring 21 and 15 points respectively. Big man Daniel Johnson led the 36ers with 22 points as he continues to be one of the top scorers in the league.

Both team’s three-point shooting was terrible, both shooting at percentages lower than 20 %. But casting your eyes down the box score, you might be shocked to see 14 personal rebounds attributed to one, Greg Hire.

The man who has recently replaced Cameron Tovey in the starting lineup for the Wildcats was wreaking havoc on the boards, six of his rebounds being on the offensive end.

While Adelaide never quite said die all game, an away victory to the Sixers did not seem ominous all evening. While the Wildcats lead was whittled down to a narrow three points with a minute remaining, Perth held on to win 73-67.

Cellar dwellers Adelaide have another game this weekend against the Melbourne Tigers. The Tigers will be celebrating tonight after a 77-70 point win at the Snakepit, as they foray into the top four for the first time this season.

 

 

Tigers Bite Back Against Taipans

Image via: http://www.heraldsun.com.au

The Melbourne Tigers kept their finals hopes alive, defeating the Cairns Taipans 67-64 at The Cage on Sunday afternoon.

It was a battle between import point guards which produced the outcome with both Jonny Flynn and Jamar Wilson determining the fate of their respective sides.

Ex Tiger Cam Tragardh being sent to the bench after less than four minutes appeared to be a blessing. His replacement, Shane Edwards scored 8 points before the end of the quarter. Edwards (17 points) who was the Tigers achillies heel in their previous encounter looked to be the same dominant force again.

With Wilson (19 points) leading the show for the Taipans in the third quarter, Cairns broke out to a 10 point lead with several minutes to play in the half. The Tigers however managed to claw their way back after a travelling violation against rarely clumsy Wilson which resulted in four easy points to the Tigers.

Tigers coach Chris Anstey, realizing the game was in the balance looked to his stars to get him over the line. Import duo Flynn and Scott coupled with Goulding put on a show in the third, recovering a five point deficit at half time and turning it into a five point lead by the end of the quarter.

Flynn and Scott went on to play the full second half but after two big shots from Kerry Williams (six points) and Alex Loughton (nine points), the crowd at The Cage was in for a nail biter.

The Tigers kept their cool while the Taipans faltered. Poor inbounds passes and the unawareness that they needed a three point basket to tie resulted in Edwards giving away an offensive foul and the Taipans surrendering any chance of victory.

Anstey was pleased with his team’s ability to get a victory in a game that could have easily gone either team’s way.

“We were a gear below were we needed to be in the first half. We’re finding ways to win games. Those two final defensive possessions were the best possessions we had all night”

In contrast Cairns Taipans coach Aaron Fearne was disappointed about his team’s effort, and sighted lapses of concentration as a major problem in his team.

“I just thought we lost some momentum before halftime,” said Fearne. “We lost concentration.”

“We thought we could cruise through to half time. The third quarter we played really slow, then cruised through the fourth quarter.”

“We had some opportunities down the stretch and couldn’t execute.”

“We talked about what we would do at the time out, we needed to foul them, send them to the line. Then we either need a two or three (pointer). Some of us don’t even know. I don’t even know what to say about that.”

The Tigers now have the record of 8-10 and are still well within playoff contention. On the other hand, that Cairns Taipans are on 6-12 and would need a lot of things to go right to make the post season this year.

 

 

Melbourne Tigers fall in Cairns

A devastating five minutes from Taipan forwards Cam Tragardh and Shane Edwards secured Cairns a 85-71 home victory over the Melbourne Tigers on Friday night.

The game was an arm wrestle for 30 minutes as both teams traded baskets throughout. While Cairns would occasionally held a 4-6 point advantage, Melbourne were always able to close the gap. The score read 64-60 at the final break with the Taipans still holding onto that slight lead.

That was until Tragardh and Edwards took over in the final period with the former hitting fade away jumpers at will and the latter throwing down monster dunks.

It was a disappointing start to an important two-game weekend for Melbourne, who had a genuine chance to crack the top four. They were again out-rebounded in this contest, this time 40-33. The Tigers also committed twice as many turnovers as Cairns (12-6) and allowed the ‘Pans to score over half their points (44) in the paint.

Melbourne will need to recover quickly for what is now a must-win game on Sunday against Adelaide at the Cage.

Final score: Cairns Taipans 85 def Melbourne Tigers 71

Attendance: 4059 at the Cairns Convention Centre

BOX SCORE HERE

 

 

Melbourne Tigers – Still Work To Do

If the Melbourne Tigers are going to make the NBL playoffs this season, they have a lot of work to do in two areas – defense and rebounding.

While talking about Sunday night’s score is kind of torturous, (Perth defeated Melbourne 73-58) it came about because the Perth Wildcats were given far too many second chances due to the Tigers’ poor defensive rebounding. Melbourne were out-rebounded 51-36 overall and Perth picked up 20 of those rebounds on the offensive end.

Defensively overall the Tigers were stagnant for much of this game and ended up being lucky to only have 73 points scored against them. A number of defensive assignments were blown and while some really unlucky shots didn’t fall at the other end, it was Melbourne’s lack of defense (and Perth’s relentless attack) that mounted pressure on their shooters.

One particular possession summed up Melbourne’s struggles perfectly when two players mis-communicated while defending a pick and roll and subsequently both turned their backs on the ball handler. Perth scored on an uncontested three with no one closer than six to eight feet away.

With a hostile Perth crowd giving Melbourne all they could handle, Tiger fuses were shortened and they were clearly rattled in the second half. Once the deficit got out past 15, Perth never looked in danger and ran out comfortable winners.

Perth were dominant on Sunday against the Tigers.

Chris Anstey had some choice words to say in the post-game press conference, throwing some verbal rocks at the game officials. He was subsequently fined $1,000 by the league for dissent, along with a further $500 as a suspended fine.

Taking shots at officials in a 15 point loss (a scoreline that was somewhat flattering to Melbourne) may seem pointless to some but by doing so Anstey vented on behalf of his players, without putting a target on their backs. There were more than a few contentious calls throughout the game and it clearly frustrated Melbourne.

Frustration aside, the Tigers have actually out-rebounded their opposition in eight of their 14 games this season. Rarely would you see that translate into a 5-9 record but somehow it has. If the Tigers can solidify their defensive effort to compliment that rebounding rate, they are still in a good position to make the postseason having played the least amount of games to date. But it simply mustn’t be as bad as it was on Sunday.

Melbourne needs to put this poor performance in Perth behind them and concentrate on fixing what didn’t work against the Wildcats.

Make no mistake, there’s no shame in losing to the Wildcats in Perth it’s just the way Melbourne lost that is the issue. The Tigers will be back and full of energy on Friday night as they travel to Sydney to take on the Kings.

Number one priority? Defense and rebounding.

 

 

NBL HERITAGE ROUND RETRO UNIFORMS

NBL Heritage Round is here and we thought we’d give you a sneak peak at what uniforms each team will be wearing this weekend to commemorate the history of the league.

We’re still waiting to hear news as to whether or not these will be available to purchase, however if they are sold we hope that delivery by And1 Australia is quicker than last season where some fans waited close to seven months.

See below for the Melbourne Tigers’ retro uniform for Heritage Round and click the link below to see the other seven teams’ versions.

Share your thoughts with us on our Facebook page!

(more…)

 

 

Tigers Outlast Fatigued Kings

No team in this NBL season had to do what the Sydney Kings did today, having to back up after a game less than 18 hours prior. Inevitably their tired legs stopped them narrowly short of securing a valuable away win, losing to the Melbourne Tigers 74-71 at The Cage on Sunday afternoon.

With both teams on the fringe of the NBL playoff hunt, the win was extra important for both teams and their playoff race.

To the surprise of the crowd, the Kings managed to put together a 12-0 run during the first quarter, appearing to silence the fatigue speculation while also silencing the sold out Melbourne crowd.

Ben Madgen (16 points) was a major factor with 10 of his points coming within the first quarter. Melbourne’s shooting guard Chris Goulding (18 points) also ended up with nine points in the first period.

Melbourne’s bench had a very productive night with 31 points compared to Sydney’s seven points. The Tigers reserves came up big in the second period to prevent the Kings pair of Bruce (15 points) and forward Lazare (13 points) from extending Sydney’s lead any further before halftime.

At the 5.21 minute of the third period, Jonny Flynn stole the ball from Sydney and simultaneously stole the lead back with a fast break lay up. If was the first time since early in the first quarter that the Tigers had the lead.

As the Kings tired and frustrated legs began to show, Madgen racked up the turnovers while Lazare finally recorded his double-double.

In controversial fashion in the aftermath of driving to the basket, Madgen fell into a camera man and threw a chair which grazed the leg of the referee. To the Kings star player’s luck, there was no retribution from the referee which would have surely ended Sydney’s chances for victory there.

Melbourne, however, just did enough to hold on, allowing one last Hail Mary from Madgen which would not have counted either way.

Jonny Flynn was instrumental for the victors with 11 points and nine assists, however it was an all-round team effort with four players scoring in double figures.

The victorious Tigers, who are currently on a three game winning streak face an away trip to one of the toughest tasks in basketball in the Perth Wildcats next Sunday.

The Sydney Kings escaped this week 1-1 after beating the Adelaide 36ers last night.

Melbourne Tigers 74

(Goulding 18, Ballinger 13, Flynn 11)

DEF

Sydney Kings 71

(Madgen 16, Bruce 15, Lazare13)

 

 

NBL TV – The Fix

NBL basketball had been nut-punched by its broadcasting deal with Channel 10 for what felt like forever, so when NBL.tv came along all Aussie hoops fans rejoiced. The opportunity to watch nearly every game live and uninterrupted at an affordable price is something that should not be taken for granted and for the most part, has NBL fans feeling extremely appreciative…

…Hoop Diary included.

There are some teething issues with the coverage, which is to be expected with such a new product but there are also some really simple (cost free) adjustments that can be made to improve the overall experience for viewers.

When delivering this ‘first of its kind’ product to the Australian sports public, it is absolutely imperative that it is easy on the eye. It does not need to be quite at the same level of the NBA’s equivalent right away but it does need to be clean. A simple, clean product that works well is always preferred over a shiny, gleaming, under-performing train-wreck.

The NBL.tv product as it stands right now leans way closer to column A than column B, so let’s start by listing some of the positives.

The starting line-ups listed before the game are extremely clean and easy to read. They do not feature the ludicrous spinning shoes that Channel 10 seem to be okay with and they present all the required info in an easy to read format.

This looks fine, much better than spinning shoes on Channel 10.

The streaming quality for the most part is excellent. Varying reports have surfaced on social media platforms regarding this subject but my guess is that individuals’ Internet bandwidth and line contention play a large part in streaming quality for most households and mobile devices. Having had professional experience in this field, I can confidently tell you that this is unavoidable.

The commentary teams overall are really good. Most of the commentary I’ve heard this season has featured plenty of stats, notes and trivia that keeps the audience interested. There are a small number of commentators that really don’t know what they’re saying/doing but let’s face it, the same could be said for AFL coverage at times.

Finally, the integration of social media with this product has been excellent in my opinion. Very rarely have we seen any mind-numbing tweets from the NBL.tv account, which always delivers reminders and prompts users to log on and enjoy the games.

Now for the immediate fixes, which for the record won’t cost the earth (in most cases nothing at all) and will provide an instant and significant improvement to the overall customer experience.

Firstly, I would not go live with audio or video (mainly audio) until the game is being officially introduced by the host. Often the commentators can be heard sound testing and speaking with production crews which isn’t in any way offensive but it certainly looks amateur. Keeping the “live telecast to begin shortly” graphic displayed longer would be a good start.

Secondly, if the video player could somehow save a user’s display settings this would make life a lot easier. Even when switching between games, the default bandwidth setting is so low that the court and players are practically unrecognisable. Once the user has set their chosen speed, it would be great if that info was somehow saved to their profile.

Finally, and this is a big concern to many of the NBL’s paying customers but the choice of camera angles and timing of replays during games needs a major overhaul.

Trying to follow the action from side to side on a baseline camera feed? No thanks, you’ve giving me a headache.

Frantically changing camera angles during such a fast-paced sport is going to result in only one thing, missed action. Basketball’s main selling point is the fast and athletic end-to-end action and if these plays are being missed because a producer has an itchy trigger finger, then someone needs to take charge and put a stop to it.

The use of the baseline camera angle should only be used on free throws, replays, dead ball situations and occasionally when a player has just scored and is running back on defense. It is a required angle as it breaks the monotony of staring at a singular feed and gives people an alternate view of the action. Utilising this camera angle when a team is swinging the ball around the perimeter on offense however is doing nothing for the viewer other than giving him/her a headache… or an epileptic seizure. Timing is also important with the changing of camera angles. Switching between camera angles a dozen times in 40 seconds is way, way too much.

As for the timing of replays, some telecasts are better than others but during a number of games, there seems to be a distinct detachment between producer and the game itself.

Example: The whistle blows and the camera zooms in on two referees discussing a call. The camera stays focused on these referees for approximately 30 seconds (of prime replay time) while they deliberate. Once they have decided on the call, the ball is in-bounded and the replay of the call in question begins. By the time the (sometimes extended) replay is finished, a live basket has just been scored and missed by the viewer.

Broadcasting a basketball game is relatively simple and it is important that the viewer can see as much of the court as possible while the ball is in play. If the crowd and commentators can be heard reacting to live on-court action while the viewer is stuck watching a replay, it is extremely frustrating and practically unforgivable.

Use the AFL once again as an example, this type of mistake wouldn’t happen very often and if it did, it would be a big deal. At the end of the day, a replay should NEVER cut off live action, period.

If the NBL want more and more people to sign up to online services such as NBL.tv in future then it needs to put its proverbial foot down. The league needs to iron out some non-negotiable standards that are to be followed and with these small but significant changes, we’ll have the best online package an Aussie sports fan could ask for.

Without them, it’s just another “she’ll be right mate” attempt at an initiative that could have been so much more.

Make the changes.

 

 

Melbourne Tigers – Goodbye 2012, hello playoffs?

The Melbourne Tigers showed the NBL what they are capable of on New Year’s Eve with a super-impressive 80-72 victory in Wollongong against the Hawks. Chris Anstey’s chargers set the tone early and held on to win in overtime.

The first quarter saw Melbourne come out firing with a lot of intensity and purpose. Chris Goulding was attacking the basket, Lucas Walker was frantically chasing down rebounds and the team as a whole were out-letting defensive rebounds to Jonny Flynn to spring into counter-attacks on offense.

While Melbourne’s fast start was impressive, Wollongong wrestled their way back into the contest to lead 40-38 at the half. Tigers fans were no doubt worried that their team would once again fade out and stack another game in the ‘disappointing loss’ column.

An arm-wrestle of a second half ensued with both teams having their high and low points. Melbourne found repeated success when moving the ball inside to the likes of Seth Scott and Lucas Walker on offense. In contrast, the Tigers looked very ordinary when trying to push the pace without Jonny Flynn being involved. Some costly turnovers resulted and Head Coach Chris Anstey’s heart rate looked to be at an all-time high.

For Wollongong, it felt like their hoop was just as broken as their scoreboard as plenty of shots missed by the smallest of margins. As the two teams ended regulation, it appeared that the home team would however find its groove and finish the game strong. You know, the ‘law of averages’ and all.

But it was Melbourne and more notably Flynn and Walker who finished the game the strongest, hammering the final nail in the coffin with just under a minute to play. A character building road win for the Tigers, their first of the season.

It was a solid team effort from Melbourne with five players scoring in double-figures, highlighted by Lucas Walker’s 19 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. Apart from some obviously scrappy moments, this is the type of Melbourne Tiger basketball that fans have wanted to see. High intensity on both ends, active defense and movement towards the basket on offense.

With hustle and determination at arguably the highest rate we’ve seen this season, the team showed the type of desperation that earns respect, even if the Tigers were to have lost the game.

While Wollongong would be very disappointed with their loss in this game, they still have plenty of good things to look forward to this season and are still going to be a strong playoff contender.

The big question is, can a win like this spark a playoff push from the Melbourne Tigers in 2013? The next six games will answer that question:

  • vs. Sydney
  • @ Perth
  • @ Sydney
  • @ Cairns
  • vs. Adelaide
  • vs. Cairns

The Tigers need to win at least five of these to make a serious push for post-season consideration. All are winnable games judging by their performance against Wollongong, with the trip to Perth a bonus if they can pull it off.

Exciting times ahead for sure. Can Melbourne say ‘goodbye’ to 2012 and ‘hello’ to the NBL playoffs? We’re about to find out. Stay tuned as Melbourne start this six-game stretch on January 6th at the Cage.

Tickets available from ticketmaster.com.au.

 

 

All Star Performance, Amateur presentation

The NBL All-Star extravaganza was completed on Saturday in Adelaide with the South All-Stars defeating the North North All-Stars 134-114. The game was a great display of talent, athleticism and personality, again demonstrating to the sporting public that the NBL has what it takes to succeed.

The much-loved slam dunk competition was quick, only running for about 45 seconds at half time but the athleticism shown by Wollongong’s Lance Hurdle and Melbourne’s own Bennie Lewis was unquestioned. These two super-human dunkers completed two dunks each during the competition, which was enough to seemingly disqualify other participants Tom Abercrombie, Lucas Walker and Darnell Lazare. No footage of the disappointment was shown on Channel 10 but it’s believed Lewis won on countback from… well, other dunks that may or may not have been completed on the day.

While the people of Adelaide cheekily claim their hometown boy Stephen Weigh won the competition, it was sad to see the three-point shootout get cancelled. I personally had money on Peter Crawford at $5.00 odds and sportsbet.com.au haven’t refunded me, so I smell a conspiracy and will be writing an email.

Some of the creative ramblings out of Adelaide even suggested Clint Steindl’s shootout performance was sabotaged by a camera boom. A funny story but obviously he would have been allowed to start again if that happened, so the cancellation of the event seems more plausible.

On a serious note for a moment, the All-Star Game itself was great entertainment. The players put on a spectacular basketball show and from what could be seen on the telecast and social media, people truly loved it.

Both Bennie Lewis and Lance Hurdle showed some amazing athleticism and creativity in the dunk contest, raising the roof off the stadium I’m sure.

Unfortunately for fans outside of the stadium, the Slam Dunk and Three-point Shootout events were either hardly shown or not shown at all during the telecast. This is unacceptable and is extremely disrespectful to the guys that bypassed an early holiday to compete for the fans and league. These types of events give the league and Channel 10 a golden opportunity to capture new audience members.

Note: Look up on the Internet what really kicked off the popularity of the UFC. It was a two-bit reality show finale where two extremely talented (amateur) fighters beat the shit out of each other and rated through the roof. Way back then, people were calling and texting each other during the event saying “You gotta see this!“. A watershed moment for a struggling sport. Think about it.

The unfortunate fact still remains in that Channel 10 have little to no interest in developing the sport or giving a full account of themselves from a production standpoint. While I’m never usually one to say this, the NBL needs to enforce some standards when it comes to events like this and start to get ruthless on mediocrity. From the starting line-up graphics featuring cartoon shoes to the pittance of breathing room in the broadcast schedule (missing dunk contest etc) there are still just too many holes in that relationship and it hurts fans.

I see some people still want to #PromoteTheGood while ignoring the bad and I applaud their upbeat mentality, however there is a big difference between people sending “Dude, you gotta see this!” messages and “Dude, there was a dunk comp?” ones.

I’ll reiterate again for those who think I’m being super-negative, the game was very, very entertaining. The quality of those guys on the court was fantastic and even though the courtside DJ had his volume cranked up way too high, one could hear that the crowd was thoroughly entertained.

I give the televised event a C+ overall based on what was, and what could have been. The fact remains that there are games televised every week to the masses and they can tune in at any time. The All-Star “Weekend” is meant to bring more than just that to the table, encapsulating all the personality and interaction that the athletes have to offer.

I hope a lot has been learned through this event but more importantly I hope the NBL draws a line in the sand to not tolerate that kind of production again.