Round Six Player of the Month

Sorry for the lateness of this post, I have been busy doing other things, getting married and going on a Hawaiian honeymoon being on the top of that list.  This blog isn’t about my personal life so let’s get to some NBL action.

This round was one of highs and lows.  The Melbourne Tigers had a massive outing in highly touted recruit Jonny Flynn’s debut while Sydney gave Wollongong their first loss of the season and Cedric Jackson was electric in New Zealand’s two wins.  On the other hand Townsville still haven’t won a game in eight tries and in their loss to the Breakers Cairns scored a team total of 25 efficiency points.  That’s right, 25 total points for 11 players, or 2.2 points on average and.  Ouch.

Dabster Award

Round Six Dabster Award Winner

Chris Goulding, Melbourne Tigers – 30:11 minutes, 24 points (9/12 FG, 3/6 3P, 3/3 FT), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 turnover.  ER – 27

Having an excellent point guard in Jonny Flynn can do wonders for slashers like Goulding who got his shots in open positions.  Cut import Kevin Braswell was known to be a shoot first point guard which didn’t give as many opportunities for the rest of the team but now with a PG who knows how to get people shots the rest of the team is reaping the rewards.  Goulding has always had the talent to be a top flight scorer in the league and now he has been given the green light look for more games of this calibre.

Honourable mentions

Cedric Jackson, New Zealand Breakers – 2 games, 17.0 points, 11.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals.   ER – 24.5

Seth Scott, Melbourne Tigers – 18 points, 10 rebounds.  ER – 24

Matthew Knight, Perth Wildcats – 21 points, 8 rebounds.  ER – 21

Rhys Martin, Wollongong Hawks – 15 points, 9 rebounds.  ER – 21

If it wasn’t for Goulding’s massive shooting night Jackson would be a shoo-in for this award and I’m betting that he will get the NBL’s player of the week award.  Two wins and averaging over eleven assists a game while playing excellent defence.  Scott also benefitted from Flynn’s play while Knight and Martin were lone shining lights for their losing teams.

Previous Dabster Award Winners

Round One – Stephen Weigh (Adelaide) and Matthew Knight (Perth)

Round Two – Alex Pledger (New Zealand) and Corin Henry (Sydney)

Round Three – Mika Vukona (New Zealand)

Round Four – Adris Deleon (Wollongong)

Round Five – Cedric Jackson (New Zealand)

Menga Award

Round Six Menga Leader Board

1.       Seth Scott, Melbourne Tigers – 20.0

2.       Cedric Jackson, New Zealand Breakers – 19.6

3.       Ben Madgen, Sydney Kings – 17.0

4.       Cameron Tragardh, Cairns Taipans – 16.1

5.       Matthew Knight, Perth Wildcats – 15.8

6.       Stephen Weigh, Adelaide 36ers – 15.5

7.       Adam Ballinger, Melbourne Tigers – 15.3

8.       Daniel Johnson, Adelaide 36ers – 14.0

9.       Adris Deleon, Wollongong Hawks – 13.5

10.   Larry Davidson, Wollongong Hawks – 13.0

A down year so far on last season, at this stage last season all of the top ten players were averaging over 15 ER points.  However, four of the top ten last season are now out of the league and most of the rest are playing below their previous production.  Good news is that there are only three imports in the league so take that whichever way you want, are the imports not as good as before or are the locals playing better?  I think it might be a bit of both.

Zike Award

Round Six Zike Award Winner

The Cairns Taipans – 54 points (18/67 FG, 3/19 3P, 15/21 FT), 28 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 14 turnovers.  ER – 25.

I was going to give Clint Steindl (-4) the Zike Award but I think the whole team deserves it.  They shot 27% from the field and their ER points look like a phone number – 1,4,-2,7,0,3,1,-4,10,5,0.  Cameron Tragardh was the only player in double digits and that was only the minimum.  Things don’t get any better for the Taipans as they play the upstart Hawks next season in Wollongong but they would have to get more than 25 points, right?

Post Season Review - Gold Coast

The Season

The Blaze started slowly, going 1-3 in the first five rounds but had some quality wins to get them to 6-5 by round 12.  After that they powered through the rest of the season with an 11-6 stretch to grab hold of the third seed.  That meant they would face off against the second seed Perth in the semi finals and were able to steal the second game by two points even though they shot a woeful 36% from the field.  Shooting 29 free throws will get most teams out of trouble though.  They fell in the third game to lost the series 2-1.

What went right?

They had some bonafide stars on this team and after the initial gelling period this team was in the elite tier of teams.  Mark Worthington and Adris Deleon were handed second team All-NBL positions from this blog while in the official awards Worthington was named to the First Team, Deleon on the Third Team with Adam Gibson wedged in-between on the Second Team.  They shared the honours with Perth and New Zealand with having three players on the All-NBL teams.  Will Hudson was also decent, picking up the Dabster Award for round two.

What went wrong?

Not much, it was just unfortunate that Perth and New Zealand were in a league of their own.  The team had everything you could want from a squad – an elite point guard (Gibson), a dazzling import (Deleon), a savvy veteran (Worthington), good role playing big men (Hudson and Anthony Petrie) and some guys who could give some spark (Chris Goulding and Stephen Hoare).  Unfortunately this team was kind of inconsistent, shown by their poor shooting percentages.  Only one player shot above 50% from the field (Hudson) while their three best players were all below 42%.  That just doesn’t cut it and shows the glaring weakness of a jump shooting team.  They didn’t rebound particularly well either with Worthington and Hudson being the only two Gold Coast players to average six rebounds or more.

Most Valuable Player

This team has some stars but none more than Mark Worthington.  Sure he shot 41.9% from the field and has been known to exaggerate contact to get bailed out by the refs but he is a top notch player.  His First Team All-NBL team selection probably tells it all but he won two Dabster Awards this season and averaged 15.6 ER points, more than eventual league MVP Kevin Lisch.

Targets

They have already lost James Harvey and Tom Garlepp to Sydney and Jason Cadee to Adelaide as this team has been put under voluntary administration which is never a good sign.  Unfortunately there is a chance that this team won’t be around next season but we will get to that when it happens.  As of right now they have Gibson, Petrie, Goulding and Worthington under contract and would be wise to re-sign Deleon as soon as possible.  He was great for the team and with another pre-season under his belt I’m sure the team will be better for it.  For the other import I won’t be surprised if Hudson comes back but if he is lured somewhere else another big man would be imperative.   If Deleon was not to come back getting a definite shooting guard would be the way to go as Gibson would be given the complete reigns to run the show at point guard.

Losing Harvey and Garlepp isn’t a big deal as Harvey needed a change of scenery if he is to get back to his dominant self while Garlepp hasn’t shown me anything to say that he will be a quality rotation player.  Cadee is a little disappointing as I believe that he could be a fantastic player in this league so hopefully he gets plenty of court time in Adelaide.  They are right on the edge so if they can get some good role players to compliment the big three it will be a big step in the right direction.

Next Season

If the team comes back next season (and I have confidence that they will) this team will again be in the hunt for the third spot but I don’t think they will be up with Perth and New Zealand in the guaranteed championship contender level.

Grade

A-

Round Twenty Four Player of the Week

The final four is set which made this round a very tense one.  Cairns losing to Sydney was a heart-breaker for the guys up north but when the Kings are on their game they are very hard to play.  Too bad that hardly ever happens.  Perth and New Zealand continued their form at the top of the table with easy wins while Melbourne’s season continues to sink, losing to lowly Wollongong.

I will be attending the Sydney/Wollongong game and the Wollongong/Adelaide game this coming weekend.  Finally I will be able to see a live game instead of relying of One HD’s terribly late broadcasts and it will be enjoyable to see Mat Campbell’s send off in Wollongong.

Dabster Award

Round Twenty Four Dabster Award Winner

Julian Khazzouh, Sydney Kings – 17 points (7/12 FG, 3/5 FT), 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks and 2 turnovers.  ER – 26

This is a textbook case of a dominant big man.  Taking on the playoff hopeful Cairns Taipans, Khazzouh (and co) turned it on.  Not only did the Captain score a double double he also dished out five assists, showing he great court vision.  He had a bit of a low patch after coming back from the States but it seems like his funk is over, just in time for the last round of the season that doesn’t mean anything.  Good to see him back to his old form.

Honourable mentions

Jerai Grant (Sydney) – 21 points, 9 rebounds.  ER - 24

Diamon Simpson (Adelaide) – 21 points, 11 rebounds.  ER - 23

Thomas Abercrombie (New Zealand) – 24 points, 5 rebounds.  ER – 22

Jamar Wilson (Cairns) – 27 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists.  ER - 22

Gary Wilkinson (New Zealand) – 20 points, 5 rebounds.  ER - 21

Cedric Jackson (New Zealand) – 9 points, 12 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals.  ER – 21

Anatoly Bose (Sydney) – 18 points, 11 rebounds.  ER - 21

Kevin Lisch (Perth) – 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists.  ER - 20

Big games for the big names at New Zealand and Sydney while Jamar Wilson was a lone hand in the Taipans’ loss.  Perth’s depth is crazy deep with six players scoring 10 or more.

Previous Dabster Award Winners

Round One – Kevin Lisch (Perth)

Round Two – Will Hudson (Gold Coast) and Alex Pledger (New Zealand)

Round Three – Julian Khazzouh (Sydney)

Round Four – Stephen Weigh (Adelaide) and Daniel Johnson (Adelaide)

Round Five – Gary Wilkinson (New Zealand)

Round Six – Cameron Tragardh (Melbourne)

Round Seven – Diamon Simpson (Adelaide)

Round Eight – Cameron Tragardh (Melbourne)

Round Nine – Diamon Simpson (Adelaide)

Round Ten – Julian Khazzouh (Sydney)

Round Eleven – Diamon Simpson (Adelaide) and Adam Gibson (Gold Coast)

Round Twelve – Eddie Gill (Townsville)

Round Thirteen – Liam Rush (Melbourne)

Round Fourteen – Jerai Grant (Sydney)

Round Fifteen – Jesse Wagstaff (Perth)

Round Sixteen – Mark Worthington (Gold Coast)

Round Seventeen – Daniel Johnson (Adelaide)

Round Eighteen – Mark Worthington (Gold Coast)

Round Nineteen – Oscar Forman (Wollongong)

Round Twenty – Jesse Wagstaff (Perth)

Round Twenty One – Gary Wilkinson (New Zealand)

Round Twenty Two – Adris Deleon (Gold Coast)

Round Twenty Three – Larry Davidson (Wollongong)

Menga Award

Round Twenty Four Menga Leader Board

1.       (1)  Julian Khazzouh, Sydney Kings – 20.1

2.       (2)  Diamon Simpson, Adelaide 36ers – 17.7

3.       (3)  Daniel Johnson, Adelaide 36ers – 17.0

4.       (4)  Cedric Jackson, New Zealand Breakers – 16.9

5.       (5)  Jerai Grant, Sydney Kings – 16.7

6.       (8)  Gary Wilkinson, New Zealand Breakers – 15.8

7.       (9)  Kevin Lisch, Perth Wildcats – 15.7

8.       (6)  Mark Worthington, Gold Coast Blaze – 15.7

9.       (7)  Cameron Tragardh, Melbourne Tigers – 15.1

10.   (10)  Jacob Holmes, Townsville Crocodiles – 14.8

Tough stretch for Jacob Holmes, totally a massive 11 points in his last three starts putting him below 15 since I don’t know when.  Hopefully with the Crocs in the playoffs they can rely on some more input from the rising star.

Zike Award

Round Twenty Four Zike Award Winner

Rhys Martin, Wollongong Hawks – 20:17 minutes, 0 points (0/5 FG, 0/2 3P, 0/0 FT), 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers.  ER: -2

For a player who started out so well and was looking the next big point guard Martin has regressed something shocking in the latter half of this season, culminating in his first Zike Award.  He did have four assists which is decent for a starting point guard but going scoreless for the game is not going to make any new friends.  With Mat Campbell’s final game this weekend look for all the Hawks players to bring their all for the Club Champion.

Round Twenty Three Player of the Week

With only a few weeks left in the season and still playoff place to be had, this round was great.  Even though the final scores of all the games were a bit lop sided there were some excellent individual performances.  And hey, Adelaide hung around against league leaders New Zealand.

Dabster Award

Round Twenty Three Dabster Award Winner

Larry Davidson, Wollongong Hawks – 24 points (10/12 FG, 3/3 3P, 1/1 FT), 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 turnovers.  ER – 30

Where did this game come from?  Sure Julian Khazzouh wasn’t playing which freed the Hawks up but this was out of the blue.  Davidson turned back the clock with a dazzling shooting performance, hitting all but two of his shots.  The team may not be in the playoff race any more but they sure can play spoiler for the rest of the league.

Honourable mentions

Luke Schenscher (Townsville) – 25 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds.  ER - 28

Diamon Simpson (Adelaide) – 19 points, 11 rebounds.  ER - 28

Jerai Grant (Sydney) – 20 points, 8 rebounds.  ER – 27

Gary Wilkinson (New Zealand) – 21 points, 6 rebounds.  ER - 25

Daniel Johnson (Adelaide) – 21 points, 9 rebounds.  ER - 25

Luke Martin (Sydney) – 17 points, 6 assists.  ER – 24

Damian Martin (Perth) – 11 points, 9 rebounds.  ER – 21

Very good round for individual performances, as Schenscher, Simpson and Grant were all unlucky that they had their outings this week as they would have taken home the Dabster Award two weeks ago.  As all the playoff teams are gearing up for the post season, look for them to really put the foot down and get some confidence in the next two weeks.

Previous Dabster Award Winners

Round One – Kevin Lisch (Perth)

Round Two – Will Hudson (Gold Coast) and Alex Pledger (New Zealand)

Round Three – Julian Khazzouh (Sydney)

Round Four – Stephen Weigh (Adelaide) and Daniel Johnson (Adelaide)

Round Five – Gary Wilkinson (New Zealand)

Round Six – Cameron Tragardh (Melbourne)

Round Seven – Diamon Simpson (Adelaide)

Round Eight – Cameron Tragardh (Melbourne)

Round Nine – Diamon Simpson (Adelaide)

Round Ten – Julian Khazzouh (Sydney)

Round Eleven – Diamon Simpson (Adelaide) and Adam Gibson (Gold Coast)

Round Twelve – Eddie Gill (Townsville)

Round Thirteen – Liam Rush (Melbourne)

Round Fourteen – Jerai Grant (Sydney)

Round Fifteen – Jesse Wagstaff (Perth)

Round Sixteen – Mark Worthington (Gold Coast)

Round Seventeen – Daniel Johnson (Adelaide)

Round Eighteen – Mark Worthington (Gold Coast)

Round Nineteen – Oscar Forman (Wollongong)

Round Twenty – Jesse Wagstaff (Perth)

Round Twenty One – Gary Wilkinson (New Zealand)

Round Twenty Two – Adris Deleon (Gold Coast)

Menga Award

Round Twenty Three Menga Leader Board

1.       (1)  Julian Khazzouh, Sydney Kings – 19.9

2.       (2)  Diamon Simpson, Adelaide 36ers – 17.5

3.       (4)  Daniel Johnson, Adelaide 36ers – 17.1

4.       (3)  Cedric Jackson, New Zealand Breakers – 16.7

5.       (6)  Jerai Grant, Sydney Kings – 16.4

6.       (5)  Mark Worthington, Gold Coast Blaze – 15.9

7.       (8)  Cameron Tragardh, Melbourne Tigers – 15.6

8.       (NR)  Gary Wilkinson, New Zealand Breakers – 15.6

9.       (9)  Kevin Lisch, Perth Wildcats – 15.5

10.   (7)  Jacob Holmes, Townsville Crocodiles – 15.3

Adris Deleon’s stay in the top ten was as brief as can be, only one week with Wilkinson replacing him.  It’s worth noting that only one player in the top five is from a top four team, showing that elite teams have great depth and the poorer squads only rely on a few bodies.

Zike Award

Round Twenty Three Zike Award Winner

Brad Hill, Cairns Taipans – 19:35 minutes, 6 points (3/9 FG, 0/2 3P, 0/4 FT), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 5 turnovers.  ER: -2

I could put the entire Cairns team (again) as they stunk it up against Perth, only accumulating a measly 39 ER while getting outscored ER wise by nearly 70 but Hill is the scapegoat.  I was on the Hill bandwagon when he shot out of the gate at the start of the season but has disappointed me for the last time.  Not only did he shoot poorly and turn the ball over an unforgivable number, but he missed all of his four free throws.  C’mon!  They are free!  It’s in the name for crying out loud.  Consider me jumping off the Brad Hill bandwagon and he will need to do a hell of a lot to get me back onto it.