NBL25: Bullish 36ers put the stacked Kings lineup to the test
Montrezl Harrell lit up the NBL court for the first time as his new team the 36ers pushed a stacked Kings roster and title favourites in their opening game. Full Round 1 wrap inside.
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Sydney Kings coach Brian Goojian said the round 1 performance highlighted that he needs get more from his bench.
The Kings kicked off their season, one with high expectations, with a tough 102-94 win over the Adelaide 36ers in Perth to close out Hoops Fest.
While Jaylen Adams top scored with 25 points and Xavier Cooks recorded a double double, Goorjian said he would have liked to have seen more from players not in the starting five.
“I thought that group of five that started played a great game all the way through,” he said.
“That five got us the lead, and then in the fourth quarter, I virtually didn’t sub. I just sat with it and grinded it out to get the win.
“The negative is the strength of the team, with our pace and the style we play, is our depth and our continuity and rotation,” he said.
“And if you look at the plus-minus, if you look at the group, we didn’t get good contribution from the bench.
“Maybe it’s just sitting, coming in, sitting, it’s something that you got to get used to on a team with this depth.”
Izayah Le’Afa, Jaylin Galloway, Shaun Bruce, Kouat Noi and Mekuach Meluach didn’t see one second of court time in the fourth term. Bui Kuol, Adams, Cooks and Alex Toohey didn’t get a rest.
Toohey had a terrific final term, dropping 10 points, as did Cam Oliver.
The Kings outscored the 36ers 32-19 in the term to win the game.
While the talent on the floor would have made the Kings favoured to run out the game, Goorjian was relieved they could do it.
In the pre-season, they lost a game to South East Melbourne Phoenix in the Blitz playing catch-up in the final term.
The Phoenix turned a one-point three-quarter-time lead into an 11-point win.
“In the pre-season, we were a bit of front running. We hopped on teams and had some big wins early,” Goorjian said.
“Then we got in a contest with Phoenix, and they took a little bit of a lead, and we fell apart.
“So, I was pleased with how we won the game with the grind.”
The Kings next game is in Perth, against the Wildcats on Friday night.
Goorjian said they’ll stay in the west and take the opportunity to bring the group closer.
“We’re getting closer, eating together, training together, hanging out,” he said.
“We’ve got five guys tonight that have never played in an NBL game, never been to this venue, never been on the road.
“So, this is good for us.”
HE’S HERE TO IMPACT
Montrezl Harrell took no time to show his attentions and abilities to the NBL.
The Adelaide 36ers high profile import couldn’t prevent his side’s season opening 102-94 loss to the Sydney Kings, but he proved he still has plenty of basketball left in him.
And he’s entertaining.
Harrell produced it all on Sunday against the Kings.
In 20 minutes of court time, he produced a double double, dropping 13 points and collecting 12 rebounds.
He gave plenty of advice to his teammates, whether they wanted to hear it not. And was warned by the referee for being a bit mouthy.
Late in the third term, when he blocked a Xavier Cooks, he was clearly impressed with his efforts and let the Fox Sports cameraman know it.
He was able to play only two minutes in the final term, and that’s when the Kings ran away with the game.
During that time, Cam Oliver and Alex Toohey were too much for the 36ers to handle.
Harrell is keen to use the NBL as a pathway back to the NBA, where he’s already played more than 500 games.
Early indications are that he might.
Sydney jumped out to 16 points lead early in the first term on Sunday, but Adelaide led by one point at the first break.
.@monstatrezz is making his presence known ‼ï¸
— NBL (@NBL) September 22, 2024
Live & free on ESPN via Kayo | 10 & 10 Play 📺 pic.twitter.com/O7fJkspcp5
The Kings jumped back to a 15-point lead midway through the second term, but held only a three-point advantage at half-time. At half-time, the stats sheet showed the 36ers outscored the Kings by 19 points when Harrell was on the court.
That stat finished at 23 points.
READY AND RARING
Sydney’s Jaylen Adams had a limited pre-season due to an ankle injury. But he’s clearly okay.
Adams dropped the first eight points of the game, forcing Adelaide to call a time out 73 seconds into the game.
The Kings led 19-3 early, with Adams already accumulating 11.
Scoring dried up for him though. He had just 13 at half-time and led all scorers by game’s end, with 25. He was helped with seven points from the free-throw line.
Adams isn’t the only NBL MVP on the Kings roster though.
Xavier Cooks’ return the NBL was a successful one. He also scored a double double (19 points and 13 rebounds), but looked a bit frustrated at times.
REMEMBER ME, MATES
Dejan Vasiljevic may have played in Sydney’s recent back-to-back championship team, but on Sunday, he was a thorn in the Kings side.
He had 13 points at half-time. He and Lat Mayen had dropped three three-point shots.
The pair each finished with 23 points, Vasiljevic dropping five from seven attempts from long range.
Kendric Davis showed in pre-season he can be dangerous in offense, but managed just 11 points, at 30 per cent.
Unlikely hero as Breakers hold off fast-finishing Bullets
For 35 minutes of New Zealand Breakers 91-87 win over the Brisbane Bullets in their round 1 NBL in Perth on Saturday, it was a one-sided affair.
The Breakers had led by 20 points with less than five minutes left in the game.
That was before Keandre Cook led a late charge for the Bullets.
The game needed it.
Cook dropped 13 points in the final term to give the Bullets a sniff, getting them to within two points. It was a sniff they probably didn’t deserve and one they couldn’t take.
Welcome to the NBL, new Breakers coach Petteri Koponen.
His team didn’t win a game in the pre-season blitz and were without big import Freddie Gillespie, due to suspension.
His side shot better than 60 per cent for most of the game, something they didn’t manage to do all of last season.
SAM I AM
Former Cairns Taipan centre Sam Mennenga was elevated to the Breakers starting roster, with Gillespie suspended for the season opener after landing a head butt on Sydney Kings Shaun Bruce in the Blitz.
Mennenga, the 2m tall New Zealand local, was supposed to have his hands full with Brisbane’s towering pair, Tyrell Harrison and teenage Next Star Rocco Zikarsky.
And while he looked confident early, he did miss some chances to impact the scoreboard.
That changed after half-time though.
While the Breakers were in control, Mennenga made sure there would be no incredible comeback from Brisbane.
He top-scored for New Zealand with 22 points and seven rebounds.
QUIET START
The Bullets, who averaged 95 points across their three pre-season game on the Gold Coast, only reached the half-century in the minute before three-quarter-time.
Over pre-season, Brisbane showed a heap of scoring power.
Cook, Casey Prather, Tyrell Harrison, Deng Adel and James Batemon loomed as a potent offense for the Bullets.
But for most of Saturday’s game, that didn’t eventuate.
Cook was the only consistent scorer throughout and finished with a game-high 25 points.
Tohi Smith-Milner and Casey Prather both limped to double figures in the dying minutes.
ANOTHER HANDY PERFORMANCE
There have been some big performances from some of the top NBL stars in round 1.
Wildcats pair Bryce Cotton dopped 26 points and Keanu Pinder 29 on Friday night. Tasmania’s Milton Doyle hit 23 on Thursday night, in a loss.
Parker Jackson-Cartwright contribution on the scoreboard wasn’t as big as that trio.
He was more than handy though, with 20 points and 11 assists.
He led all scorers at half-time with 11 points, and was just two assists from the double double he ended up reaching.
COTTON CATCHES FIRE FOR CATS
Perth Wildcats champion Bryce Cotton is showing no signs of slowing down.
The four-times league MVP caught fire from beyond the three-point line dropping eight shots from long range in the Wildcats 106-98 win over South East Melbourne in game 2 of Hoops Fest in Perth.
The entire Phoenix side managed just 10 three-pointers. Perth dropped 19.
Cotton’s best return from long range last season was ‘just’ seven, also hit against South East Melbourne, on his way to 34 points.
He managed 26 points on Friday night, topped only by teammate Keanu Pinder’s 29.
The Wildcats carried impressive form into round 1, unbeaten in eight games in the pre-season, including in the Blitz and games in Japan.
NOT THE ROAD AGAIN
So, the Phoenix start the new season with a loss on the road, something that was an all too familiar story last season.
They had a 3-11 record away from home.
They were smashed by injury in the second half of last season, and averaged just 80 points per games in the second half of the season.
Their tally of 98 against Perth was a bit flattering. They were 18 down late in the game, but went on a 15-5 run in the last three minutes to even the scoreline a little.
Jordan Hunter led that scoring with 19 points and five of his teammates made it to double figures. Matt Hunt produced a double double, with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
BIG CATS NIGHT OUT
Perth looked like they had the game in hand early, but the Phoenix managed to pull back a nine-point half-time margin to be just one point, in less than four minutes into the second half.
Then Keanu Pinder took over.
He rolled off 10 consecutive points in just over a minute, blow the margin back to double figures.
He ended up outscoring Phoenix 14-4 over the space of three minutes to give the Cats control.
Kristian Doolittle was enormous on the boards, with 13 rebounds. He was one point away from also recording a double double.
COTTON PROVIDED EARLY SPARK
Cotton was used sparingly in those Blitz games and in Japan, although two of his appearances netted better than 30 points.
On Friday night, he turned the game in just 50 seconds.
With scores locked at 10 apiece, Cotton lit the game up with three successful long bombs in less than a minute.
The Cats led by seven points and dragged that out to 12 at the opening break.
Perth went 6-13 from beyond the three-point line in the first term, compared to Phoenix’s 1-8.
Delly’s revenge as United beat JackJumpers
Melbourne United’s Matthew Dellavedova has not shied away from how much losing last year’s championship series to the Tasmania JackJumpers hurt.
Remember, he had the chance to clinch the title for his side, on his home crowd, with a long shot on the buzzer, but missed.
Dellavedova took the first massive step to make amends on Thursday night in the NBL’s season opener – a rematch of the grand final.
His 21 points led Melbourne United a season-opener 88-79 victory against the JackJumpers in Perth to kick off Hoopsfest.
He was especially devastating in the third term, when he dropped 12 points, at 100% shooting, to give United a 72-59 lead at the main break.
NO TROUBLE WITH TRAVEL
It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks for the reigning champions. The travel burden looked like taking its toll during the third term, but the JackJumpers kicked again to push the game to final buzzer.
Scott Roth’s team played two games in the pre-season Blitz on the Gold Coast, then three more in the International Cup in Singapore.
They rushed to Perth to play in the opener.
They trailed by just two points at half-time, 45-43. Anthony Drmic led all scorers with at that stage and Jordon Crawford had 10.
They were struggling at the final change, trailing 72-59.
Milton Doyle managed to get to within six points with three minutes left on the clock.
Late points from Chris Goulding and Jack White sealed the result.
Doyle led Tasmania’s scoring with 23 points.
NOT THIS TIME
Drmic finished with those 14 points.
Crawford didn’t improve on his 10, with United’s Shea Ili and Ian Clark sharing the defensive duties.
The Tassie import was heroic in the title decider last season, dropping 32 points in game 5.
It was one of only four five games he dropped more than 25 points and he’d averaged 12 points over previous four champions series games.
With Jack McVeigh now at the Houston Rockets and Sean Macdonald (ankle) and import Craig Sword (concussion) missing through injury, the JackJumpers needed someone else to step up.
HAVE THESE FOR FREE
It was more than six minutes into the second term before Tasmania dropped its first free-throw point.
Anthony Drmic hit both attempts after being fouled by Chris Goulding.
To be fair, Jordon Crawford had the only other bonus chance for the JackJumpers at that stage, his missed it, midway through the first term.
Drmic’s success took the scores to 39-34, in favour of United, whose score included 12 points from the free-throw line.
Tasmania was in early foul trouble. It had 12 fouls to United’s six.
By half-time, Reuben Te Rangi already had three, with Will Magnay, Majok Deng and Clint Steindl all sitting on two.
Returning champion reveals United’s ‘super power’ for NBL25
by Jessica Robinson
White, 27, rejoins a core group led by long time server Chris Goulding (who is entering his 10th season with United) for the first time since 2021, as United plan for redemption after their NBL finals series loss last season.
“It’s going to be huge for us, chemistry is going to be our super power,” White told Code Sports.
“Everyone who is playing for this team has played here before and understands the system and how we want to play, understands each other, so we’ve just been fine tuning a bunch of things as we head into the season.”
“We have a great culture, a great group, guys have those existing relationships and everyone’s excited to come into work.”
The star forward returns to his home court with his NBA dream achieved, a championship ring in hand - part of the Denver Nuggets title - and also a new-found maturity and leadership to his game.
“I think I’m a little more polished and confident and building on from different experiences makes me ready to deal with different things,” White said.
“The places it’s (basketball) taken me around the world, the people I’ve been able to meet, it’s taught me how to develop not only as a player but as a person and how to work in teams and communicate.”
And for White, coming back to the Australian league means stripping back the noise and purely playing the game he loves with his mates.
“It’s (NBL) like a super close knit locker room. You rely on each other a lot more, you have each other’s back and I feel it’s a lot more genuine,” White said of the NBL in comparison to the NBA.
“There’s less distractions over here when building up together.”
An NBL champion already, White was sidelined with an achilles injury when his team achieved the ultimate success in 2021, and says missing out is his extra motivation to be holding up the trophy when the final buzzer of the season sounds.
“It doesn’t sit right with me,” White shared.
“I want to be on the floor when we win and I think we’ve got the group to do that this year.”
“Last year I was watching from afar and felt that pain too, but that’s going to fuel us and motivate us to be better.
“I’m hoping to be a big piece of it.”
Jack White back in action, you love to see it.
— Melbourne United (@MelbUnited) September 7, 2024
📺 Live on Kayo | @5jackwhitepic.twitter.com/AT7B7YWKVp
“We have a great deal of versatility out on the floor, the guys are really easy to play with so we’ll be able to put out a range of line-ups that’ll help us tackle our opponents in the best way possible.”
After “living out of a suitcase” while playing across Denver, Oklahoma, LA and Memphis over two years, the Traralgon-born White is happy to be back on home soil for the next part of his career.
“I’ve been all over the place over the past couple of years so I’m excited to be back, be around friends and family, be a part of an organisation I’m really familiar with, with a lot of teammates who are friends too.”
United take on the JackJumpers in a finals series rematch to launch the NBL25 season tonight in Perth.
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