Adelaide 36ers coach Joey Wright says trip to Utah a chance for his team to bond ahead of NBL season
Adelaide 36ers coach Joey Wright says the trip to Utah this week to play NBA team the Jazz is more about bonding as a team than fine tuning its plays and rotations.
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Adelaide 36ers coach Joey Wright says this week’s trip to Utah to play the Jazz in an NBA pre-season game is more about his team bonding than practising plays or finalising rotations for the start of the NBL season.
The Sixers are due to fly out of Adelaide on Monday morning, bound for Salt Lake City, where they will face off against Joe Ingles’ Utah Jazz at Vivint Smart Home Arena at 12.30pm on Sunday, October 6 (SA time).
But Sixers’ reigning NBL rookie of the year Harry Froling is expected to arrive in the US later in the week after meeting with the American embassy in Sydney regarding his visa.
Froling travelled to Iran with the Boomers in February and must obtain clearance before entering the US.
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Adelaide has a 4-5 win/loss record this pre-season after a 100-91 loss to Melbourne United on Friday night but Wright said that would have no bearing on how his team prepared for the Jazz next weekend.
“Utah is totally different, it’s its own monster,” Wright said.
“This game or any pre-season game won’t reflect too much of what we do in Utah, likewise when we come back it won’t reflect too much what we do in the NBL.
“It’s a trip for us to come together, keep bonding, and it’s for them to enjoy for all the hard work they put in.”
In addition to the new-look team building on its connection off the court, the Sixers are expected to finalise their captain while in Salt Lake City.
Experienced signing Kevin White is considered the front-runner for the role while Brendan Teys, Ramone Moore and Daniel Dillon are other names floated to take over from Daniel Johnson this season.
In the same game last year, the Sixers inexplicably led the Jazz by three at quarter-time before the home side got serious in the second half and won 129-99.
But Adelaide won plenty of admirers for making Utah at least earn it as Nathan Sobey had a game-high 25 points.
Wright said Friday night’s loss to Melbourne was due to too many missed shots and turnovers.
“Melbourne is going to be one of the better teams, their guards with (Chris) Goulding, Melo (Trimble), (Casey) Prather - who didn’t even play tonight - and (Mitch) McCarron, those are four of the best guards in the league period all on the one team, so their perimeter will be awesome,” Wright said.
“Obviously down on the block is extremely good as well but that will be one of the better teams.”
Wright said he was impressed with the Sixers’ new venue at the Entertainment Centre and the 6300-strong crowd that turned out on Friday night.
“For a pre-season game to get that many people here, I saw them starting to get some chants going,” he said.
“It was a good exciting game, 191 points out there so they got to see some good stuff.”
reece.homfray@news.com.au