Our five observations from the Adelaide 36ers’ win over Brisbane Bullets to officially open their new home at the Entertainment Centre
Adelaide threw one hell of a housewarming party at the Entertainment Centre with a six-point win over Brisbane. Eric Griffin played smart, Daniel Johnson got angry and Jack McVeigh brought the energy. Here’s our five key take-outs from the game.
36ers
Don't miss out on the headlines from 36ers. Followed categories will be added to My News.
WAY to throw a housewarming party.
The Adelaide 36ers officially began life at their new home the Entertainment Centre with a 104-98 win over Brisbane on a night that honoured their past while providing a glimpse into the future.
The final crowd of 7515 was 600 short of the record for an NBL game in Adelaide but those who came still got a show.
Adelaide trailed by two at quarter-time but led for the remainder of the game and when it got tight late, import Eric Griffin and reliable big-man Daniel Johnson took over.
After being called for a flop when he was pushed off balance by Mike Vukona, Johnson got angry and moments later grabbed a big defensive rebound and dribbled coast-to-coast to regain momentum.
Here’s our key take-outs from the win:
1. WELCOME HOME
New season, new home, Adelaide simply had to start well and they did.
After honouring their championship banners and retired jerseys hanging from the roof, they got to work.
Unlike last week when they fell asleep against Sydney and the game was over at quarter-time, Adelaide was on from the start. Ramone Moore was screaming in his opponent’s face, Jerome Randle got a steal and Griffin and Obi Kyei both landed big blocks to go with their baskets.
The noise reached fever pitch when Matt Hodgson air-balled his second free throw to give the crowd free dinner which was icing on the cake of opening night.
They also got a contest. Brisbane came from 14 down to draw level with Adelaide early in the last quarter when Jason Cadee and EJ Singer drained threes, but Griffin, Johnson, Ramone Moore and Anthony Drmic - who played beyond his size to haul in three big o-boards - made sure this one didn’t slip.
2. GRIFFIN ARRIVES
Eric Griffin finally played smart basketball. In his first 11 appearances in a 36ers jersey, Griffin had fouled out twice and had either three or four fouls eight times which restricted his minutes.
Last week he fouled out in just nine minutes against the Kings, but last night he was careful to avoid getting into trouble again.
He played straight-up defence that resulted in Lamar Patterson travelling on the drive and his second block on Patterson in the second quarter was nasty.
He also rejected Nathan Sobey who went to the ring and floored his own teammate in Johnson when they went for a defensive rebound.
Griffin didn’t register his first foul until mid-way through the second quarter but it took nothing away from his aggression and he went bang, bang to open the third quarter with an alley-oop from Moore and jump shot from the top of the key.
The US import had a game-high 22 points in a very impressive performance.
“I thought he did a good job of playing physical but not going over the top,” coach Joey Wright said.
“If he’s out there on the court, good things are going to happen.
“Tonight I thought he showed a presence and was physical, but didn’t get himself in foul trouble.”
3. RANDLE V SOBEY
The Jerome Randle v Nathan Sobey head-to-head battle went ahead as predicted and 40 minutes of game time later they broke even, both finishing with 13 points.
Randle didn’t score in the first quarter, but at least kept Sobey to only two points.
But Randle then exploded in the second hitting a two and then back-to-back threes with a hand in his face before Sobey had his turn and led Brisbane on a 5-0 run just when the margin stretched to beyond double figures.
Randle got his hands dirty as well, forcing a turnover with his hustle under the ring in the second quarter and denied Hodgson a clear runway to the basket despite his size.
His final basket of the night - an all-the-way drive for an under-arm lay-up - helped clinch victory.
Randle’s influence was measured, so measured that it took until the final question of Joey Wright’s press conference for his name to be mentioned. But that will be music to the Sixers’ ears if they can win games without their superstar point guard dominating.
Another former Sixer Matt Hodgson caused Adelaide some headaches with 16 points in the paint but he fouled out with five minutes to play.
4. KYEI A GENUINE FIND
Obi Kyei is the early-season find for the Sixers’ so far. Last week he stepped up with Griffin in foul trouble and last night he got minutes alongside the US import.
His energy coming off the bench was big, blocking EJ Singer on the drive, and he dunked in Will Magnay’s face after driving from beyond the arc.
With his next move he side-stepped Sobey for his third basket that had owner Grant Kelley even out of his seat.
Although he only played eight minutes, his six points and five rebounds showed Adelaide has another big-man in its rotation alongside Harry Froling who was huge in the second quarter with back-to-back offensive boards and baskets.
“He’s definitely going to be a regular part (of the rotation). DJ got going pretty good and that probably cost him a few minutes but he came in, sparked us with some great plays and made a play that we’d been working on in training for a while. He’s going to be a big part of what we do.”
5. MAKE NOISE MCVEIGH
The most vocal player on Adelaide’s team, Jack McVeigh urged the crowd to get loud at a time-out in the first quarter then backed it up by draining a three-pointer in Hodgson’s face in the second.
His offensive rebound from a Froling missed three saw him come from nowhere to grab the ball and put it back in which gave his team an 11-point lead.
He then drained his second three at a crucial time in the third quarter when Wright had all his starters sitting down and his bench helped re-establish their lead to 10 after Brisbane cut it to seven.
McVeigh finished with 16 points on 7/9 shooting in what was his best game for the club.