Coach Joey Wright vows no more Mr Nice Guys - again. Do the Adelaide 36ers have an identity crisis?

A YEAR after saying his players would mind each other’s kids but weren’t prepared to have a tough conversation with each other, Adelaide coach Joey Wright has again accused the 36ers of being too nice and laid down a new challenge.

Joey Wright says Adelaide needs to impose itself on games. Picture: David Mariuz (AAP).

• Bullets sink 36ers in dying seconds

IT WAS this time last year when Adelaide 36ers coach Joey Wright said his players would wash each other’s cars and mind each other’s kids but weren’t prepared to have a tough conversation with each other in the locker room.

Adelaide was 4-5 and had just lost three games on the trot when Wright put it on them to stop being so nice.

Fast forward 12 months and it’s happening again.

The 36ers have just dropped games to New Zealand and Brisbane (twice) and are 3-5 to sit sixth on the ladder heading into Saturday’s home game against championship-contender Sydney.

And again, they’ve been accused of being too nice.

Joey Wright says Adelaide needs to impose itself on games. Picture: David Mariuz (AAP)

“It’s not going to change overnight but we’ve definitely talked to the guys and expressed what some of our concerns are,” Wright said at practice on Tuesday.

“These guys have come around before, it seems like every year we have to go through the same thing.

“Athletes now days and I think it’s a lot to do with social media, they’re so aware of everything around them, they don’t want to be critiqued any more than they have to.

“Some of the best lessons I ever learnt were from my teammates and some of the most courageous conversations I ever had were with my teammates.

“The reality is if you want to be successful you have to have those courageous conversations.”

So when the 36ers sat down for a lengthy video review at training on Monday, players did speak up and take responsibility for costly lapses in back-to-back losses to the Bullets on the weekend.

But there is frustration emanating from the camp as well, stemming from a series of unsportsmanlike fouls including on Bijan Johnson for reaching at the ball, Brendan Teys who was cited for pushing Cameron Gliddon after being bumped off the ball, and on Nathan Sobey for protesting against a referee’s call only to be grabbed around the throat by Mika Vukona.

Anthony Drmic puts his jersey over his face after Cameron Gliddon hit the game-winner for Brisbane on Sunday. Picture: Sarah Reed.

Wright’s message is simple. If you’re going to be called for a foul, make it count.

“Once we see it with a resting heart-rate, we watch video after video, even our games that we won, we’re not really imposing will on players,” Wright said.

“We’ve just got to say ‘you know what, if all 10-11 of us get kicked out of a game, so be it’, but we can’t continue to be beat up, pushed, abused, and not respond.

“We’re getting unsportsmanlike fouls anyway, so get something for them. If you’re going to get unsportsmanlike, get unsportsmanlike, if the next guy comes off the bench let him get one as well.

“We’d be leading the league in unsportsmanlike fouls, and I’m telling you, I haven’t seen a good, hard foul by us yet.”

As the team tries to snap out of a form slump, Wright says too much is being left to too few and he needs more from guys coming off the bench.

Ramone Moore is back running & a chance to return v Sydney at home on Saturday after missing the last four #NBL19 games ⁦@TheTiserSport⁩ pic.twitter.com/jT2inqlYt9

— Reece Homfray (@reecehomfray) November 6, 2018

Sobey is averaging 33.9 minutes (up from 27.2 per game last year), Daniel Johnson 31.7 (up from 29.4), while Anthony Drmic (26.7), Ramone Moore (26.5) and Jacob Wiley (24.4) are others averaging 20 minutes plus.

“I don’t think we have depth, that’s one of our issues right now. Sobey is playing way too many minutes to play the way we want to play, DJ, Drmic are playing too many minutes and that’s affecting us down the stretch and in the second half,” Wright said.

“One of my challenges to the guys is ‘come off the bench and have an impact’.

“They’re new guys and I get it, Harry (Froling) hasn’t played a lot of minutes, (Adam) Doyle hasn’t played a lot of minutes, but Teysy is probably the only one giving us an impact.”

Moore did some light running on Tuesday after missing the past four games with a calf injury. He will attempt to train with the main group on Thursday but a call on whether he plays against Sydney won’t be made until game-day on Saturday.

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Originally published as Coach Joey Wright vows no more Mr Nice Guys - again. Do the Adelaide 36ers have an identity crisis?