NBL 2021-22 scouting report: Where will your team finish?
Andrew Bogut and Chris Anstey predict a host of exciting new stars and coaches will shake up 2021-22 NBL season — and they agree on the team to beat.
Basketball
Don't miss out on the headlines from Basketball. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Ahead of the 2021-2022 NBL season, our experts analyse the rosters and hopes of all 10 teams.
PERTH WILDCATS
Roster: Vic Law, Jack Purchase, Kevin White, Mitch Norton, Kyle Zunic, Bryce Cotton, Todd Blanchfield, Majok Majok, Luke Travers, Jesse Wagstaff, Corey Shervill
Coach: Scott Morrison
Game plan: Execute at both ends, then give the ball to Bryce Cotton when it’s close! Expect Luke Travers to take another big step as a secondary ball carrier in his final year before heading to the NBA.
Offence: Interesting to see if coach Scott Morrison retains an emphasis on the Wildcats flex motion which was hugely successful for coach Gleeson. Expect some carry-over for the returning Wildcats but interested to see what they add.
Defence: Man and zone full court pressure, lots of switching in their man, and plenty of disruption in their zones.
Prediction: First
— CA
SYDNEY KINGS
Roster: Jordan Hunter, Jaylen Adams, Dejan Vasiljevic, Makur Maker, Angus Glover, Shaun Bruce, Matur Maker, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, Xavier Cooks, RJ Hunter, Jarell Martin, Tom Vodanovich, Biwali Bayles, Jaylin Galloway
Coach: Chase Buford
Game plan: The Kings are long, athletic, and deep and plan to play a high tempo game running the floor in a return to Showtime hoops.
Offence: Balanced and spread, the Kings can open up the floor for their playmakers and find many attacking avenues to the basket. Expect a steady diet of pick and roll and aggressive drives over long play calling early days.
Defence: If the G League is anything to go by, the Kings will emphasise pressure and disruption. Expect them to add nuances as Buford familiarises himself with the NBL.
Prediction: Second
— CA
Illawarra Hawks:
Roster: Antonius Cleveland, Tyler Harvey, Isaac White, Emmett Naar, Andrew Ogilvy, Lachlan Dent, Justinian Jessup, Daniel Grida, Sam Froling, Tim Coenraad, Duop Reath, Harry Froling, Akoldah Gak
Coach: Brian Goorjian
Game plan: Goorj Ball. You will have to beat them, they will ever rarely beat themselves.
Good team culture, tough, physical, good mix of youth. Upgraded their roster with some small tweaks. Can Goorj revitalise Harry Froling’s career?
Offence: Spread the floor open pick and rolls for the most part. Some horns action will pop up from time to time. When all else fails Tyler Harvey is the guy that gets them a bucket.
They had stretches last season where if Harvey was not scoring, they struggled to make a shot. Justinian Jessup coming back is HUGE for the Hawks.
Defence: Physical. You will feel them. Look for adjustments on the fly. Who replaces Justin Simon as their defensive stopper — Antonius Cleveland? How do they hide Tyler Harvey at that end? Duop Reath could become an elite shot blocker in a Goorj system.
Prediction: Top four
— AB
MELBOURNE UNITED
Roster: Jo Lual-Acuil, Zac Triplett, Brad Newley, Will Hickey, Caleb Agada, Matthew Dellavedova, Callum Dalton, Dion Prewster, Jack White, Ariel Hukporti, David Barlow, Mason Peatling, David Okwera, Chris Goulding, Shea Ili
Coach: Dean Vickerman
Game plan: United will look to be organised and control the tempo of each game with their veteran roster. High percentage choices at both ends.
Offence: Execution is key for Vickerman, perhaps even more so with Matthew Dellavedova behind the wheel. High IQ and great decision-making in the half court.
Defence: Fundamentally sound, looking to reduce opposition shooting percentages more than create disruption out in passing lanes. Lots of switch-ups to keep opponents guessing.
Prediction: Fourth
— CA
NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS
Roster: Peyton Siva, Jeremiah Martin, Finn Delany, Yanni Wetzell, Kyrin Galloway, William McDowell-White, Thomas Abercrombie, Ousmane Dieng, Isaac Davidson, Robert Loe, Rasmus Bach, Hugo Besson, Sam Timmins
Coach: Dan Shamir
Game plan: Grind out half court sets, they will get the shot they want most possessions.
Talented roster with a good mix of youth and veterans. A lot of fresh faces in the NBL mixed with some veterans make me have my eye on NZ early. This has to be a win now year for coach Dan Shamir. Once again, they will be away from home for most of the season due to Covid.
Offence: Ball movement to some sort of PNR action. Excited to see Finn Delaney further develop, along with Kyrin Galloway. Any given night they could have a different guy top score.
Defence: Different line-ups, but mostly will switch a fair bit defensively. Have some effort guys at this end, but none of the bigs scare me if I’m attacking the paint.
Prediction: Out of the top four
— AB
SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX
Roster: Cameron Gliddon, Kyle Adnam, Xavier Munford, Reuben Te Rangi, Izayah Mauriohooho-Le’afa, Tohi Smith-Milner, Dane Pineau, Zhou Qi, Ryan Broekhoff, Mitch Creek
Coach: Simon Mitchell
Game plan: Fluid offensively and solid defensively, the Phoenix will require consistent contributions at both ends from eight players each night.
Offence: Constant player and ball movement keyed off early transition looks. Although they are an equal opportunity team, expect the Phoenix to highlight Ryan Broekhoff more in his second NBL season back.
Defence: Like their cross-town rivals, limited by foot speed in their front court, expect early ball pick up to burn some seconds before falling back into man or zone with their bigs anchoring their half court at the rim.
Prediction: 6th
— CA
BRISBANE BULLETS
Roster: Tamuri Wigness, Robert Franks, Taane Samuel, Anthony Drmic, Isaiah Moss, Jason Cadee, Max Mackinnon, Tom Digbeu, Lamar Patterson, Tanner Krebs, Nathan Sobey, Liu Chuanxing, Tyrell Harrison, Deng Deng, Jack Salt
Coach: James Duncan
Game plan: Another NBL head coaching debutant who will look to get his team into the open floor where Nathan Sobey is at his best. Potentially the best import trio the club has had in years.
Offence: Under Andrej Lemanis, the Bullets were primarily a half court execution team. Expect coach Duncan to speed them up and play with a higher level of risk versus reward.
Defence: Veteran Bullets players will be able to fine tune their full court and half court man and zone rules early on. Expect a balanced mix.
Prediction: Seventh
— CA
ADELAIDE 36ERS
Roster: Tad Dufelmeier, Emmanuel Malou, Dusty Hannahs, Mojave King, Isaac Humphries, Mitch McCarron, Kai Sotto, Daniel Johnson, Todd Withers, Sunday Dech
Coach: CJ Bruton
Game plan: Last season Adelaide were developing Giddey whilst still trying to move the ball and win games. Strange mix that didn’t work. Interested to see what style CJ imposes in his rookie year as a head coach. He was a big-time scorer when he played, will he be more offence, or defence based? CJ will give confidence to the younger players on this squad, and I believe they will all have chances to prove themselves at different times throughout the season.
Offence: They will be exciting to watch in patches, but I think they could just as easily dry up in patches. Daniel Johnson is one of the best shooting bigs in the NBL and savvy at drawing fouls. Will he fit next to Isaac Humphries full time? Can you play both together for long stretches on the defensive end with the way the game is going with small mobile line-ups?
Excited to see if Mojave King has developed further. Mitch McCarron has been paid to be the franchise local, will he be? Kai Sotto, is the hype real? I am looking forward to seeing what Dusty Hannahs can do.
Defence: McCarron is definitely an upgrade at the defensive end, and it is a huge luxury to have an elite shot blocker in Humphries behind you to clean up the mess. How will Adelaide try and hide Daniel Johnson at the defensive end?
This roster is big heavy and a lot on the defensive end is on McCarron’s shoulders as he will get the best guard every night.
Prediction: Out of the top four
— AB
CAIRNS TAIPANS
Roster: Scott Machado, Mirko Deric, Jarrod Kenny, Jordan Ngatai, Kouat Noi, Majok Deng, Nathan Jawai, Tahjere McCall, Keanu Pinder, Stephen Zimmerman, Bul Kuol
Coach: Adam Forde
Game plan: Think Perth Wildcats under Trevor Gleeson – light. Forde is big on physicality, loose balls and winning the rebound count. Can this team respond to that? Their star players will log big minutes as Forde likes to play his veterans and star players. Look for short rotations early on.
Offence: I think Forde will try and feature Nathan Jawai a little more when he is in the game, whether off the bench or starting. Ball movement, hard screens and trying to find a shot within their offence most possessions. If all else fails the burden will fall on guard Scott Machado to create something.
Defence: Physical, hold and grab, make you feel them. Hard shows on screen, never really a pack mentality defensively. Could have games where they are in foul trouble very early and put teams in the bonus early in quarters, especially on the road.
Prediction: Out of the top four
— AB
TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS
Roster: MiKyle McIntosh, Matt Kenyon, Josh Magette, Sejr Deans, Jack McVeigh, Nikita Mikhailovskii, Sean MacDonald, Josh Adams, Jock Perry, Fabijan Krslovic, Jarred Bairstow, Will Magnay, Sam McDaniel, Clint Steindl, Jarrad Weeks
Coach: Scott Roth
Game plan: No idea. Will Scott Roth take some of Trevor to Tasmania or rely on his years in the NBA? They tried to splash cash on numerous FA’s and struck out on most.
Offence: This roster screams different rotations on the fly as Scott Roth figures things out.
We are hearing Maggette will be their gunner to get points. An older roster which seems a strange fit, which is what you expect from an expansion team.
Defence: Not a lot of defence on this roster, although Magnay is =elite at the rim, and Sam McDaniel their best permitter defender. This team will have to defend by committee as they figure out who they are. I’d guess a lot of zone throughout the season.
Prediction: It’s going to be a rough one. Dead. Last.
— AB
NBL Late Mail: Good news on top trade Delly
Matthew Dellavedova is the sixth most purchased SuperCoach NBL player this week and he has received positive news on an ankle injury, plus the latest on Bryce Cotton.
United coach fires back at Phoenix owner’s ‘weak’ Goulding attack
Melbourne United coach Dean Vickerman has issued a warning to South East Melbourne, hitting back at Phoenix owner Romie Chaudhari after he slammed star Chris Goulding as ‘weak’.