Post Season Review - Sydney

The Season

With huge hype coming into the season after a fairly poor first season, the Kings were a painful disappointment.  They had the best centre in the league in Julian Khazzouh, eventual Rookie of the Year in Anatoly Bose and livewire import Jerai Grant.  How did all this talent only manage an 11-17 record on the season?  For starters the team couldn’t get on any winning streaks, only recording an actual winning streak (of two) four times.  Counter that with a five game losing streak in the middle of the season puts the club in dire straits come playoff time.  In fact, only two of their eleven wins were against playoff teams and six wins were against the two teams below them on the ladder, Adelaide and Wollongong.  Talk about a soft record.

What went right?

Their best players were good, showcased by their five Dabster Award winners and eventual Menga Award recipient.  Anatoly Bose was miles ahead of all other rookies and was rightfully granted the Rookie of the Year crown while Ben Madgen and Aaron Bruce stood up at times.  When Bruce was moved to the shooting guard position and realised that he isn’t a very good point guard he played well which bodes well if the Kings can get a quality import point to run the show.  Jerai Grant was a revelation by bringing some showtime to this Kings team that really needed someone who made the highlight play similar to Leon Trimmingham.

What went wrong?

Quite frankly, they were soft.  No-one wanted to break a nail and other teams feasted on their squishy underbelly.  Aaron Bruce going down with injury halfway through the season didn’t help but they were on the edge even with him suited up.  Kevin Ratzsch had got to be one of the worst imports I have ever seen in this competition, he was so bad that he didn’t even get court time in their last game against Wollongong.  He will not be back.  With so much prestige leading into this season, Martin Iti was invisible and hopefully he can find some minutes next season so he can showcase something, anything.

Most Valuable Player

Even though he had checked out mentally after his return from his NBA tryout, Julian Khazzouh was a cut above the rest.  He won the inaugural Menga Award with a league high 19.9 ER but after his implosion this should be a bittersweet victory for him.

Targets

Shane Heal has stated in a recent interview that neither Khazzouh nor Jerai Grant will be back in the purple and gold which is surprising.  Sure Khazzouh will go onto greener pastures in Europe (or similar) but to flat out say that “I won’t be offering Jerai a contract” is strange.  I was a big fan of Grant and will be sad to see him go.  This means that they will definitely be looking for an import power forward and point guard.  It’s going to be very interesting to see if they can luck out and get someone of Cedric Jackson’s calibre next to a healthy Aaron Bruce.  There was been rumours that Ian Crosswhite will be the replacement for their captain which I see as a downgrade, but not enough to call it a bad move.  I guess anyone would be a downgrade of Kazoo and Crosswhite is a talented player who will give them some added firepower and arguably better defence.  If they cannot find an impact import power forward I would like to see them give Cameron Tragardh a chance as he was dynamite for most of the season and has been cut from the Tigers.

Next Season

This team is in a state of flux and that could backfire on them immensely.  Here’s hoping that with a proper point guard, Ian Crosswhite and a decent power forward, as well as retaining Anatoly Bose this team will look similar to last season.  Big, talented and destined for the stars.  It’s up to the team and the coach to make it happen.

EDIT - Apparently today the Sydney Kings have announced that Anatoly Bose will not be returning to the harbour city next season.  This makes their moves in the off-season much more critical for the team's success.  Link - @thesydneykings on Twitter.

Grade

C-

The 2012 NBL Blog “B” Grade NBL Championship

With the finals series underway and an upset in the making the pointy end of the season has started with a bang.  But what about the teams left out of these festivities, why can’t they have some glory.  The NCAA has the NIT and the NBL Dream Team has a minor championship (which I came runners up to in my league), so why can’t the NBL have a second tier trophy for teams to fight over.  As the NBL Finals MVP award is named after Larry Sengstock who won five championships in his career, the minor championship’s MVP award is named after Simon Dwight who took his West Sydney Razorbacks to one game of winning the championship in both 2002 and 2004, the only times the team made it to the finals.

I will be simulating what would happen to this season’s B Grade championship through very complex algorhythms, processed by a supercomputer that can compare to the best technology that the CIA and FBI combined cannot afford.  Or it would have been if I could be bothered, so here is my take.

 This year the B-Finals is sponsored by The NBL Blog who is contributing massive amounts of funding and advertising space for this tournament, please see www.thenblblog.blogspot.com for more details.

The 2012 NBL Blog “B” Grade NBL Championship

(The team on top have home court advantage)

Game 1 - #4 Wollongong Hawks vs. Adelaide 36ers

After their shellacking by the Hawks in the last game of the season, Adelaide wanted revenge.  The Wollongong crowd wanted to keep this season going to honour their retiring hero and the home side got out to a blinder, getting out to a 27-15 first quarter lead behind Oscar Forman who had 12 points on 4/5 shooting from behind the arc.  Luckily for the 36ers it wouldn’t be a repeat of their last meeting, going on a 14-5 run to bring it to within three points, where both teams battled to a draw and at half time the Hawks led 52-49.  The best players so far on each team were Rhys Martin who had 10 points and a whopping 8 assists, while Diamon Simpson was doing it all by himself, racking up 18 first half points to go with 5 rebounds.

In the second half both teams fought gallantly but Adelaide just couldn’t get in front, tying the game twice but never taking the lead.  Stephen Weigh was having a shocker, going 3-14 from the field through three quarters with 4 turnovers.  The third quarter ended with the home side up by five, 67-62.  Starting the fourth the crow-eaters turned on the jets, breaking out a 10-0 run to silence the home side and take the lead behind Daniel Johnson who had finally broken the shackles of Larry Davidson who was now in foul trouble, with rarely used Daniel Jackson having to be used.  The game wasn’t over yet and with three minutes to go Wollongong went on their own run to wrestle the lead back and from there the home side took the game out and lived to see another battle, winning 85-79.

Notable performance (Wollongong) – Rhys Martin: 13 points (5/13 FG), 3 rebounds, 13 assists, 5 turnovers.

Notable performance (Adelaide) – Diamon Simpson: 26 points (11/18 FG), 12 rebounds, 3 blocks.

Game 2 - #1 Cairns Taipans vs. #4 Wollongong Hawks

Doubling up is always tough but going up against a team that was in the proper finals chase is a massive undertaking.  For the Taipans, they wanted to show the league that they are finals material.  Unfortunately for them, Wollongong still had the hot hand and tore through the home side like they were a dead snake.  The Hawks had a massive 24-6 lead with two minutes remaining in the first quarter with veteran Mat Campbell already going to the line six times, making them all.  Andrew Warren was the main culprit as he missed all of his five shots and receiving a spray in a time out from Dusty Rychart, demanding that Jamar Wilson get the ball more as the Taipans’ top scorer not putting a shot up in the whole quarter.  At the first break Wollongong was leading 26-10.

The home crowd was uneasy and with good reason, as Cairns was renowned for a grinding style of play.  They didn’t disappoint in the second and third quarter, outscoring the Hawks by twenty points while keeping the visitors to only 22 points in those two quarters.  After that the Hawks had run out of luck and were steamrolled in the final term, losing to the Taipans by twelve, 76-64.

Notable performance (Cairns) – Alex Loughton: 15 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals.

Notable performance (Wollongong) – Mat Campbell: 17 points, 5 rebounds.

Game 3 - #2 Melbourne Tigers vs. #3 Sydney Kings

A game between the two biggest cities is always a big deal and with the rambunctious crowd at The Cage it was ramped up to eleven.  The Kings behind Shane Heal were ready to go and showed uncharacteristic ‘mongrel-ness’, winning both the first and second terms to take a fifteen point lead at the half.  Julian Khazzouh was a man among boys, notching up a whopping 12 rebounds to go with his 14 points while Cameron Tragardh was having a stinker, shooting 4-10 while being hamstrung with fouls.  The second half wasn’t much different apart from a small comeback from the Tigers that brought the lead back to single digits but the Kings were just too composed and won the game easily and causing the first upset of the tournament, the final score 80-63.

Notable performance (Melbourne) – Myron Allen: 16 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 7 turnovers.

Notable performance (Sydney) – Julian Khazzouh: 25 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks.

The 2012 NBL Blog “B” Grade NBL Championship – Championship Game

Game 4 - #1 Cairns Taipans vs. #3 Sydney Kings

Here it is the massive game that over 10 people will see.  Obviously it is not being telecast on One HD, they would rather show a repeat of the 2005 movie Aeon Flux, starring Charlize Theron that no one will ever see.

But onto the game, the crowd is packed and the teams are raring to go.  Unfortunately most of the energy was nervousness, with both teams making silly plays and taking bad shots, as the first quarter total shows – 12-10.  Yuck.  They opened up a little in the second, with Jamar Wilson hitting two quick three pointers and was fouled in the space of about a minute and a half, pushing the Taipans’ lead out to ten points at the half time break with the score at 47-37.  Julian Khazzouh was being doubled teamed for most of the half, shown by his 2-6 shooting.  He should have heaps of assists if his perimeter players could shoot as they have missed quite a few easy kick out shots that would have had the Kings closer than the score indicates.

The second half started like the second quarter started, with both teams trading baskets until the Kings went on a run behind Ben Madgen who was finally hitting shots that he was missing in the first half and the score was all knotted up before Kerry Williams made a cameo at the buzzer, hitting a half court shot that set the crowd alight.  It would be his only made basket.  Cairns – 66, Sydney – 63. 

The final quarter of both their season’s was electric, with massive shots, hard fouls and a minor scuffle when Aaron Grabau pushed Anatoly Bose out of bounds, causing the rest of the Kings players to fight for him, but after the players were separated it was shown on the replay that Bose had flopped, causing the Cairns crowd to boo him every time he touched the ball for the remainder of the game.  With thirty second left on the clock the score was tied and after coming out of a time out the ball was given to Jamar Wilson who calmly crossed over Luke Martin and drained a mid range floater over the stretched out arms of Jerai Grant with seven seconds on the clock.  Cairns by two.  Another time out ensues, with Sydney drawing up what could be their final shot of the season.  The ball is inbounded by Ben Madgen to Anatoly Bose who dribbled twice, pumped faked and shot over two defenders.  The ball bounced once, twice and rolled out to the left as Cairns pulled off the win 88-86.  The crowd erupts as Bose crumples to the ground while Julian Khazzouh looks to the scoreboard.  Jamar Wilson and Ian Crosswhite are celebrating at midcourt while Aaron Fearne is calmly shaking Shane Heal’s hand before joining in on the party.

Notable performance (Cairns) – Jamar Wilson: 20 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists.

Notable performance (Sydney) – Ben Madgen: 24 points.

At the podium the Cairns Taipans are awarded their medals while Jamar Wilson was given the Simon Dwight Award for Most Valuable Player.  Congratulations to the Cairns Taipans who have won The 2012 NBL Blog “B” Grade NBL Championship!

NBL Road Trip part One

Last weekend I had the lucky opportunity to attend two NBL games, firstly on Saturday in Sydney and back to Wollongong the next day.  It was a fantastic experience as I don’t get to see many games live as I live about five hours away from the closest team (Wollongong).  So here are my impressions of both the Kings vs. Wollongong game and then the Wollongong vs. Adelaide matchup.

Sydney Kings vs. Wollongong Hawks – 24^th March 2012

In the first quarter the Kings looked fantastic, running the ball and catching the Hawks off guard.  The Harbour City Boys were also rebounding like crazy with Jerai Grant grabbing multiple offensive rebounds and that hard work got them out to a double figure lead in the first term.  Then all of a sudden they decided that the game was over and decided not to play anymore and had to scramble back in the fourth behind Anatoly Bose but that came up short as Ayinde Ubaka blasted them out of the contest.

Kings

-As said before they looked great for a half and then must have thought that the game didn’t matter and wanted to get back to the wannabe celebrities.  Some good news was that Shane Heal looks like he the players’ support and I wouldn’t be surprised if they can’t find a new coach that blows their socks off they will bring back the Hammer for another season.

 

-Anatoly Bose has terrible handles, as in he has a tough time dribbling the ball most times.  He can do one-on-one moves with a decent amount of dribbling but he should not be counted on to bring the ball up the floor when there is pressure defence.

-It was a hard time for Julian Khazzouh and he was very ineffective for the majority of the game.  Sure he had 18 points but he didn’t have any impact on the game and was content on shooting mid/long range shots.  Hopefully this game doesn’t show his immaturity and lack of mongrel, I would rather the best player on the team to really push to win the last game of the season.

-It was interesting to see Kevin Ratzsch get no playing time.  It was so easy to see that he wasn’t going to play in the game he was behind development player Jarrad Weeks on the bench.  I would bet my house that he isn’t coming back next season.

-The Kings’ defence was pretty bad for the majority of the game and their full court press was dismal.  The press was so bad that they didn’t disrupt the Hawks at any stage and all it was doing was taking a maximum of three seconds off the shot clock which just isn’t worth it.  They also gave up a few easy buckets because the defence was out of position.  Sydney’s players were also going under screens way too much which gave the Hawks plenty of time to line up three pointers which they made more than they should have.

Hawks

-I didn’t say much, or anything, about the Hawks in the game recap because they did heaps of great stuff that it needed to be put in their own category.  At the start of the game they missed a lot of shots but they were good enough shots that you knew that eventually the Hawks would start hitting them, which they did.

-What impressed me about the Hawks in this game was their ball movement.  They always had a look out for the extra pass and usually Oscar Forman was on the end of the chain and hit the basket.  During the Kings’ full court press Wollongong constantly looked down the court for the open corner player who would then look to drive or kick it to an open man.

-The guards were also impressive on offense and they made the defenders pay as they used the screens well.  Seeing the defender go under the screen (set well by both Joevan Catron and Larry Davidson) they would stay behind the screen and hit the open jump-shot.

-When Sydney made their late run on the back of Bose Wollongong had some very good shots that rattled out.  If those shots went down then the game would have been decided a long before.  Fortunately for the Hawks Ayinde Ubaka is clutch.  Hitting two quick contested three pointers the newest Hawk put the game out of reach and made the crowd sit down for good.

-The Hawks did shoot too many three pointers and should have been more focused on attacking the paint.  It worked in this game but if they want to play better during the whole season next year then getting easy buckets under the ring should be a priority.

General thoughts

-Sitting next to three wonderful ladies was a delight.  Whoever was sitting next to me was hilarious and made a fantastic point.  When a home team is defending the crowd usually chants “De-Fence” with hand claps.  This was pointed out that it is redundant.  If the crowd is telling the team to play defence then something is very wrong with how the team is playing.  The crowd doesn’t chant “Off-Fence” when the team has the ball so why should it be any different on the other end of the court.  I think basketball crowds need new chants.

-The PA system was WAY too loud and I was cringing every time the announcer was talking.  Please turn down the volume, I know we aren’t sitting next to you but you don’t have to yell, you have a microphone.

The support of Mat Campbell from the Sydney crowd was fantastic as he was given a standing ovation.

-Probably the funniest moment of the game was when the “Kiss Cam” was shown on the big screen, it landed on two very attractive young women, with the crowd roaring with approval.  Luckily for the two girls they camera quickly moved onto another pairing.

All in all it was a decent game, with many of the crowd looking like they were going to be in a photo shoot with expensive clothes and ridiculous haircuts, but I did get to see Larry Emdur so it wasn’t all bad.

What Happened to Martin Iti?

It’s a fairly common story: a promising Australian goes to America to further their basketball prospects by either attending high school or college.  After they graduate from their respective institutions the wiser and more complete player will come back to Australia and play out their career in the NBL.  It happened to Anatoly Bose, Aaron Bruce and Andrew Gaze.  So you would think that would be the plan for Martin Iti right?

Let’s go back a bit, shall we?  Iti’s high school career was illustrious, graduating from the fabled Mount Zion Christian Academy which has notable alumni like Amare Stoudemire, Tracy McGrady and Brandon Rush.  Sounds good so far.  The amazing note is that he was in the stratosphere in the rankings.  So high in fact that ESPN had him as the number eight high school recruit in the nation and the best centre in the whole country as a senior.  In the 2003 high school class that included LeBron James and Chris Paul he was rating higher than many NBA first round picks such as Joakim Noah and Adam Morrison as well as former NBL MVP Gary Ervin.  The respected recruiting website Rivals had him as a four star recruit and the seventh best centre in all of America.  Scout.com said that he “Has the potential to make a lot of money playing this game”.  For someone so highly touted you would think that several major colleges would be knocking on his door.

Not so as he picked by the minnow Charlotte 49ers but made the best of it, being named to the Conference USA all-freshman team as he averaged 6.0 points and 4.7 rebounds in his first year.  Confusingly he put his name in for the NBA draft but after an underwhelming pre-draft camp he decided to withdraw his name from the draft and go back to Charlotte.  Unfortunately his sophomore season was worse than his first and he became frustrated and transferred to the hilariously named Aggies of New Mexico State.  His next season (after sitting out one for the transfer) was better even though he didn’t play as many minutes but regressed in his senior year.  Predictably he wasn’t drafted to an NBA team.

After the draft he played for the Rotterdam Challengers in Holland then came back to New Zealand to play for the Southland Sharks and now onto the Sydney Kings where he is averaging 3.5 minutes a game.  So what went wrong?  My guess is that there were a few factors.

The first factor was that in his high school career he went to six high schools, taking away his chance to gel with a team and really get into a groove for his game to flourish.  Another black mark stemming from all this moving around is that many scouts would be wary of someone who moves around too much, it shows that he runs when things aren’t going his way (there was talk that he changed schools because he wasn’t the focal point of the team).

The biggest factor would be that he probably isn’t very good.  Although he was listed at seven feet tall at college he was measured at only 6’8 ½” at the NBA pre-draft camp, massively hindering his chances as a centre.  His weaknesses would have been overshadowed by the fact that in most high school basketball games any player with height and an ounce of skill would dominate against smaller, weaker opponents.  He had good defensive instincts but that only takes someone so far and he was outed as a poor recruit.  He played reasonably well for Southland but has been glued to the pine playing for the woeful Kings which rings alarm bells straight away.

So what’s next for the fallen one?  In his first real game as a King substituting for the injured Julian Khazzouh he was ineffective, fouling out in only eleven minutes with two rebounds and a block.  He will get his chance again this week with Khazzouh out again in their matchup with Wollongong, so hopefully he takes his opportunity with both hands.  He has the talent and the size, he just needs to prove to the team and more importantly himself that he can become one of the dominant defensive big men in the league and maybe he could live up to his lofty hype from so many years ago.

How to fix the Sydney Kings

After watching Sydney self-implode in their first game live and seeing the Breakers well and truly humiliate them on national television the Kings need to make some changes.  And as a stranger on the internet I have come up with some ideas that can turn this season around.

1)      At this moment Aaron Bruce is not a starting quality point guard.

His numbers speak for themselves – 37% career field goal percentage and a 1.72 assist to turnover ratio.  Sure this season he is shooting 42% but has dropped his A/T ratio to 1.33.  However, basketball is not all about numbers but watching him play shows that he is not fit to run this team.  He is often selfish, bombing threes in transition when other options are open while taking too long to get the ball to Julian Khazzouh.

The solution -

Luke Cooper.  I know it was a small sample size but when a point guard averages 11.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists a game while shooting 59% from the field you give him the benefit of the doubt when he is healthy.  Give Cooper the reins of the team because the Kings need a guy to play general and dictate the offense.

2)      Julian Khazzouh should touch the ball every time down the floor to start the game.

There is no doubt that Khazzouh is the best big man in the National Basketball League.  He reminds me of Pau Gasol with his range, quick feet, stunning post moves, floppy hair and Grizzly Adams beard.  With such an advantage the Kings need to establish him from the get go.  Having the opposition’s best big man in foul trouble causes a flow on effect that affects all aspects of the Kings game.  Will the opposition send a double team?  Kick it to an open shooter.  Do they keep single coverage on him with a bench big?  Let him go to work and get easy buckets.

The solution -

From the opening tip put him in the post and give him space.  But more importantly give him time.  If he doesn’t get a good look the first time he posts up don’t give up on him and pass the ball away.  Let him re-post to a better position and kick it back to him.  Shaquille O’Neal was given multiple post entries to do his work and so should Khazzouh.  This brings me to my next point.

3)      The Kings need more shooters

Having most of the defensive attention on Khazzouh leads to open shots that the Kings are just not making, and making shots is one of the requisites of the game of basketball.  In one stretch in their game against New Zealand the team shot three air balls and one ground shattering brick.  A team could have the best defence in the world (they don’t) and still lose because they don’t know how to put the ball in the ring.  Anatoly Bose and Ben Madgen are good shooters that have low confidence while Kevin Ratzsch needs to do something before he is sent packing.

The solution -

I think it’s fairly obvious that the team needs to practice shooting in game situations.  The only player above 43% from the field is Jerai Grant which is unacceptable.  More made shots equals less rebounds for the opposition which leads to a better chance of winning.

4)      Work out the guard hierarchy

At the moment they have Aaron Bruce, Luke Cooper and Luke Martin as point guards with Anatoly Bose, Ben Madgen and maybe Kevin Ratzsch as the two guards.  Seems pretty set on paper but in reality it is as chaotic as Charles Barkley’s golf swing.  Rotations are out of kilter with no consistency to the substitutions.

The solution -

If Aaron Bruce won’t be a distributor then let him be an undersized shooting guard.  Have Cooper start at PG with Bose moved to the three with Ratzsch coming off the bench as a super-sub.  There may be some stigma in having an import in a bench role but there have been past instances where a foreigner has given the team a spark off the pine.  Donta Smith was one example for the championship winning South Dragons in the 2008-09 season.

5)      Ratzsch REALLY needs to step up his game

Historically, the Sydney Kings have been very short on patience when it comes to imports so when Kevin Ratzsch scores a total of 11 points on 13 shots in his first two games there would no doubt be murmurs about his future with the team.  He has been all but invisible in the two games and it took me to nearly half time of the Tigers game to realise that he was out there.  With Jerai Grant filling up highlight reels the pressure is well and truly on to be a quality second import.

The solution -

Simple, he needs to play better or he is out.  No ifs, ands or buts.  Does Julius Hodge or Homicide Williams need a job?

6)      Jerai Grant should be advertised as much as possible

With two thunderous dunks in the Melbourne game as well as two crowd lifting blocks in the New Zealand game, Grant is a genuine highlight reel stuffer.  Sure Khazzouh is the leader and is rightly in the public eye but Grant is the key to getting the fair weather fans.  Just look at what Donta Smith did for the Dragons; he was big, black and exciting which is what every casual fan wants to see.

The solution -

Before the game have his monster dunks on the preview.  Get him for interviews and talk about something other than his father and uncle.  He seems to love it here in Australia and if the team plays its cards right then they may just have a keeper.

7)      Learn the proper way to play basketball

This is the biggest concern I have about this team, they have zero discipline.  Why not jack up a transition three with no rebounders Mr. Aaron Bruce?  I missed, oh well.  How about I leave sharp shooter Gary Wilkinson wide open for a mid range jump shot Mr. Julian Khazzouh?  It went in, how about that.  There is much more to basketball than talent and size.  It takes discipline and basketball smarts.  The beat down given to them by New Zealand was a wakeup call to their terrible IQ.  Cedric Jackson drains a half contested three pointer and on the next possession his defender goes behind the screen giving him a wide open three pointer which he nails.  This stuff should be taught in high school, especially to someone who has already hit one.

Another example is their passing.  The Kings pass the ball, a lot.  But it doesn’t go anywhere.  They were passing for the sake of passing instead of passing to advantage.  This is where a proper game plan comes into effect instead of free styling.  The Breakers game in particular showed that the Kings would pass the ball around until one player took it upon themselves to force a shot and predictably miss.

The solution -

Watch the New Zealand Breakers.  It won’t be hard because the Kings would need to watch the tape to see the many things that they didn’t do properly.  The Breakers were patient and passed the ball to advantage.  They would run through numerous sets and if one didn’t work the ball was reset and another route was sought.  The Kings have the talent but are missing the right stuff between the ears to be a contender.  

The season is early and the next game may be a blowout win and all will have been forgotten.  But as of right now the Kings need to get smarter and not try and coast on raw talent or else they will be stuck on the bottom of the ladder and wondering where it all went wrong.