It was a short turnaround this week with the annual New Years Eve games falling on Wednesday night.

It all began over in Wollongong where the Hawks fell short of what would’ve been one of the upsets of the season against the Perth Wildcats.

The battle of the backcourts was entertaining with Damian Martin (38) and Gary Ervin (36) top scoring for their respective teams.

Matt Knight (30) was exceptional early but it was his bench counterpart Tom Jervis (36) who got all the kudos after his double-double in only 17 minutes.

Jermaine Beal (30) had 22 points and began to show signs of the form that he produced earlier this season. His price is rock bottom and he should be on your list of trade-in targets.

Jahii Carson (28) provided a spark off the bench for Wollongong knocking down 17 points on 50% shooting from the field.

The second game was in Cairns were the Taipans played the final game of their season series against the 36ers.

It was no surprise to anyone that Torrey Craig (42) brought his A-Game for the 36ers. He put up 16 points on 7-9 shooting.

Brock Motum (62) battled early foul trouble and spent most of the first quarter on the bench. That time spent on the bench rested him for eventual overtime dominance.

Adam Gibson (28) thought he was a waiter for the night serving up 14 dimes, his assist work was first rate, unfortunately the same couldn’t be said about his shooting.

Cam Tragardh (6) and Cam Gliddon (-6) couldn’t get anything going on the offensive end combining for only seven points on 3-15 from the field.

It was Luke Schenscher’s birthday and he certainly came to the party, scoring 46 DT points on the back of 16 points and five rebounds.

A massive game from Mitch Creek (26) turned sour in the fourth quarter with the forward popping his shoulder out.

Cairns fired up through Shaun Bruce (22) who hit a couple of key triples. Bruce was supported by Scottie Wilbekin (22) who hit a bank shot which sent the game into overtime.

In overtime Stephen Weigh (16) hit a big three to give Cairns the advantage, but it was Motum who took over to give Adelaide a huge victory.

The final game of New Years Eve was between Townsville and Sydney. Josh Childress sat out his third game with a hamstring strain. Jason Cadee (38) was the big winner, playing nearly 30-minutes of game time.

Despite the Childress injury, Kendrick Perry (28) still came off the bench for Sydney, with coach Cotter preferring Kevin White in the starting lineup.

Ben Madgen (38) stepped into the small forward position and provided plenty on the offensive end with 23 points on 9-15 shooting.

Angus Brandt was good early (26), the big man serving it up to Mickell Gladness (36). Unfortunately for Brandt, he picked up a knee injury that looks like it might keep him out for a few weeks.

Both teams shot the ball at a good clip meaning there wasn’t many rebounds on offer. Leon Henry (18) had the most on the court with six. Oddly, big man Brian Conklin (32) only had one.

Mitch Norton (46) had career best numbers hitting 21 points on 70% shooting. The young point guard is certainly playing at another level this year.

Steve Markovic (30) played an excellent game finishing with 16 points and five assists and was one of the reasons that Townsville got the points on the night.

The good news came early on Friday night with Josh Childress (44) cleared to play against Melbourne.

He was rusty early, clearly frustrated by his 5-15 shooting, but the forward got going in the third finishing his return game with a double-double.

Melbourne looked very comfortable on the night with Mark Worthington (66) proving that form is fickle, but class is permanent, as he hit 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.

Jordan McRae (38) showed no signs of the groin injury that kept him out of most of the loss to Perth last weekend, but for me it was Daniel Kickert (30) who was the player of the night. His eight rebounds and 15 points were pivotal as he won his battle with Josh Duinker (8).

Tom Garlepp (38) and Cody Ellis (20) provided offensive relief for the Kings on a night where Madgen (2) and Cadee (0) were well contained.

On Saturday night, Townsville hosted the third Reptile Rumble of the season.

The Crocs came out of the blocks quickly with Conklin (60) just dominating inside the paint. It was an insight into how he would attack the rest of the game with the big man finishing with 33 points and 11 rebounds.

Unfortunately for Townsville he was the only offensive threat. Blanchfield (14) and Steindl (10) were both down on usual output and Markovic (8) couldn’t get anything going.

Cairns charged back into the contest in the second half mainly through their big guys. Alex Loughton (34) and Cam Tragardh (38) combined for 40 points on the night, most of which came in the second half.

A special mention has to go to Stephen Weigh (34) who was the only guy that could put the ball in the hole for Cairns early on.

It was a disaster if you traded in Cam Gliddon (-4) with the guard having a nightmare weekend.

The final game of the round was bitter sweet for Adelaide. The sweet was they were able to celebrate captain Adam Gibson’s 300th game. It was bitter though as not only did they lose to New Zealand at home, but they also lost BJ Anthony (26) to a season ending Achilles injury.

The 36ers regained the services of Jamar Wilson (44) who returned quickly from a hamstring strain.

Early in the game Cedric Jackson (38) was playing at a different level to everyone else. You would’ve been forgiven if you thought you were watching someone play a video game; his handles were far too hot for Adelaide to handle.

Mitch Creek (2) was on limited minutes due to his shoulder injury, and that allowed Peter Crawford (20) to take on a larger role.

Ekene Ibekwe (16) battled foul trouble and had no impact on the game for the first 3 quarters. It was again Tai Wesley (32) who provided the offensive threat. He had a team high 18 points on an efficient 8-11 shooting.

 

Looking Forward:

Lockout for this week is early on Thursday evening; the teams that have doubles this week are New Zealand, Townsville,Cairns and Wollongong.

It’s a risky week to bring in players on the double as all of these teams only have the double this week and not next, so there is a lot of pressure on picking guys who will perform this week.

New Zealand and Wollongong play each other twice this weekend so someone like Ibekwe and Jackson may have big games and might be worth bringing in if you don’t have them.

I suggest it’s better to look an extra week forward. Perth will be playing doubles in the next 3 weeks and therefore are great trade targets.

Matt Knight, Damian Martin, DeAndre Daniels and Jermaine Beal are all at great prices this week with low break evens.

It’s a great idea to get a jump on the competition and bring in those Wildcats.

Log on and make those trades today.