Adelaide 36ers to play Sydney in Andrew Bogut’s Kings debut
ADELAIDE 36ers star forward Majok Deng is excited about playing against Australian NBA star Andrew Bogut and the Sydney Kings in the NBL’s blockbuster opening round.
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AUSTRALIAN NBA star Andrew Bogut will make his Sydney Kings debut against the Adelaide 36ers in a blockbuster opening round of the NBL season on October 13.
The 36ers will open their season at home on Thursday, October 11 against Perth Wildcats before travelling to Sydney to play the Bogut-led Kings on the Saturday night.
The Kings then return to Adelaide to play the Sixers at Titanium Security Arena on Friday, October 19.
Adelaide only has to wait until Round 2 for a grand final re-match against Melbourne United when it travels to the scene of game five at Hisense Arena to play the reigning champions on October 21.
The 36ers are also in Melbourne on Boxing Day to play United at Hisense Arena in a planned open-air game which replaces Adelaide’s Christmas Eve clash with Cairns from last year.
The start of the season has been pushed back a week this year to accommodate the NBL teams travelling to America to play NBA pre-season games including Adelaide which plays Joe Ingles’ Utah Jazz on October 5.
Other features of next season’s fixture include:
The first Melbourne Cup eve clash between Sydneya nd Melbourne on Monday, November 5.
Two games on New Year’s Eve between Illawarra and Brisbane and Cairns and Perth.
Eight games across the Australia Day weekend including Adelaide hosting Melbourne on January 28.
The number of Sunday games has increased from 32 to 35 in a move the league hopes will favour families.
Adelaide star forward Majok Deng said the Perth/Sydney double was a great test for the 36ers first up and he was excited about playing against Bogut in his first game as a King.
“We know Sydney will have new faces this season so it’s going to be a great challenge,” he said.
“Everyone will be looking forward to playing against him (Bogut), he’s an NBA player and could still be playing there, so it’s going to be a great match.”
Deng said it would be up to the entire Adelaide team to step up to help replace MVP Mitch Creek who is playing in Germany next season.
“It’s not a one-man job,” he said.
“You have to be in the system for a long time to understand what he meant to the team and what he brought to the table.
“One person can’t cover for him, we will all have to step up.”
Deng spent a month in the off-season in the US where he was in a training camp with NBA teams Dallas and Portland.
“Training was good, it was different to here,” he said.
“When you come in as a free agent you’ve got to do all the little things really well because they’ve already got their main guys on the roster.
“But I enjoyed it, I got some good feedback and I still need a bit more work to be really considered.
“I know what I need to do and that’s why this season is going to be really important for me to try to get better.”
ADELAIDE 36ERS’ 2018-19 NBL FIXTURE
Round 1
Thursday, October 11 v Perth (home)
Saturday, October 13 v Sydney (away)
Round 2
Friday, October 19 v Sydney (home)
Sunday, October 21 v Melbourne (away)
Round 3
Friday, October 26 v Cairns (away)
Sunday, October 28 v New Zealand (away)
Round 4
Thursday, November 1 v Brisbane (away)
Sunday, November 4 v Brisbane (home)
Round 5
Saturday, November 10 v Sydney (home)
Round 6
Saturday, November 17 v Illawarra (home)
Round 7
Friday, November 23 v Cairns (home)
Sunday, November 25 v Illawarra (away)
Round 8
Sunday, December 9 v Illawarra (home)
Round 9
Saturday, December 15 v Brisbane (away)
Round 10
Saturday, December 22 v Cairns (home)
Round 11
Wednesday, December 26 v Melbourne (away)
Sunday, December 30 v New Zealand (home)
Round 12
Friday, January 4 v New Zealand (home)
Round 13
Thursday, January 10 v Illawarra (away)
Saturday, January 12 v Brisbane (home)
Round 14
Thursday, January 17 v Perth (home)
Saturday, January 19 v Sydney (away)
Round 15
Friday, January 25 v Perth (away)
Monday, January 28 v Melbourne (home)
Round 16
Saturday, February 2 v Cairns (away)
Round 17
Thursday, February 7 v New Zealand (away)
Sunday, February 10 v Melbourne (home)
Round 18
Friday, February 15 v Perth (away)
reece.homfray@news.com.au