Adelaide 36ers’ finals hopes officially gone with 99-80 loss to Cairns and did coach Joey Wright leave the building with them?

If that was the last time the Adelaide crowd saw Joey Wright as coach then that’s not how most will remember the man who led them to two grand finals in seven seasons. Our report from the 99-80 loss to Cairns here.

Adelaide 36ers coach Joey Wright enters the Adelaide Entertainment Centre arena on Saturday night. Picture: Kelly Barnes (AAP).

AFTER seven seasons, two grand finals and passion and emotion you cannot measure, if that was the last time the Adelaide crowd saw Joey Wright as 36ers coach then it won’t be the way most will remember him.

Last night’s 99-80 loss to finals-bound Cairns exposed the gulf between the two teams and officially ended any remote hope Adelaide had of joining them in the play-offs.

Next week’s game against Perth on the road will be Adelaide’s last this season and it could well be game number 500 and out for Wright as well.

The third-most experienced coach in NBL history, Wright remained as animated as ever pacing the sideline in front of the Sixers’ bench and told the pre-game broadcast he intended on seeing out the remaining two years of his contract “until they (the club) say no”.

Owner Grant Kelley wasn’t as committal. The man who gave Wright the five-year deal in 2017 described him as a “great guy and a great coach” but said no decision would be made until the completion of a post-season review.

But the review will need to go deeper than whether Wright keeps his job. He can only do so much in a suit and tie on game day although not even he would argue that ultimately he is responsible for their 12-15 record.

Opening the game 0-7, they didn’t look up for the fight and were 2/10 from the field while Cairns were 4/8 and dominated the offensive glass.

Adelaide trailed by as many as 12 in the first quarter but did well to claw its way back to within two in the second, but right on cue one of Cairns’ big three - Cam Oliver, Scott Machado and DJ Newbill responded. They took control either from beyond the arc or inside the paint like Oliver’s stunning 360-degree slam in the third quarter.

It was like no matter how hard Adelaide played, Cairns always had another gear and their three imports who combined for 73 points against the Sixers last month dominated again with 60.

Eric Griffin rises to the basket against Cairns. Picture: Kelly Barnes (AAP).

Adelaide - which has played most of the season one import down with Ramone Moore injured - had no answer for Cairns’ size and strength.

It’s hard to grade Eric Griffin’s first season in a Sixers’ uniform. He has looked better off the bench but Adelaide needs its imports starting and starring from the get-go.

Griffin was breathing fire early last night with two attempts at a monster jam denied but still drove to the basket with purpose. However he only had 11 points and Jerome Randle had nine.

Joey Wright looks around the Entertainment Centre possibly for the final time as Adelaide 36ers coach. Picture: Kelly Barnes (AAP).

No one could question Anthony Drmic’s workrate and he copped a barrage of physical punishment but he had a horror shooting night going 1/11 as Jack McVeigh continued his late-season surge with three-threes and added serious hustle on the defensive end.

Perhaps the biggest cheer for the night was when Wright cleared the bench with two minutes remaining and injected development players Bijan Johnson, Ben Ayre and Alex Mudronja into the game.

In some ways that was fitting. If that was Wright’s last home game in charge then the scoreboard might not have looked upon him favourably but those last two minutes will remind 36ers fans of how many young players have thrived under his tutelage.

Originally published as Adelaide 36ers’ finals hopes officially gone with 99-80 loss to Cairns and did coach Joey Wright leave the building with them?