The Adelaide 36ers have been dealt another blow to their championship aspirations after falling to the Brisbane Bullets at home, with head coach Trevor Gleeson demanding more from his players, while import Nick Rakocevic took aim at the officials following a frustrating night.
All this and more on NBL Wrap.
The Bullets’ 96-89 victory moves them to 5-5 (. 500) for the season, with three wins from their last five games despite continuing to battle injuries.
For the 36ers, who entered the season as championship favourites in the eyes of many pundits, the loss leaves them sitting at 5-6. While they remain in a reasonable position, another defeat at home has raised further questions about their consistency and ability to compete with the league’s best.
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‘I’M DISAPPOINTED’
36ers head coach Trevor Gleeson made his frustrations clear during the post-match press conference, expressing his disappointment with the performance and demanding more from his players.
“I’m disappointed for the club,” he said.
“It was a big week for us for 40 years of ‘86, so it would have been nice to get a win.”
A victory during the club’s celebrations of the 40th anniversary of its 1986 championship-winning ‘Invincibles’ would have provided a timely boost for the players and fans.
Instead, Gleeson was left frustrated by another slow start, admitting his side had given itself too much work to do after falling behind early.
“The first quarter again, it cost us, you know,” he said.
“I think we went 5-20 from the field, 1-8 from the three point line and then they were scoring pretty much at will.
“We dug ourselves a too big of a hole. You get down 15 early in the game and we fought back. I thought we got it to two just before the half. And then they pushed it out to a little bit last minute or so.
“We’re kind of our own worst enemy sometimes, you know, to get too big of a hole to dig ourselves out of.”
The 36ers found themselves trailing 30-17 early in the contest, with the Bullets finding plenty of success inside, led by big man Tyrell Harrison, who dominated the game with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
While Adelaide managed to fight its way back into the contest, its shooting struggles continued to prove costly.
Gleeson was particularly critical of his side’s inability to convert open looks, with import John Jenkins among those struggling to find consistency from beyond the arc.
Jenkins has connected on just 23-83 three-point attempts this season, shooting 27.7% from deep.
“We had wide open looks, you know, we got to knock him down,” he said.
“If the offence or Bryce’s [Cotton] ability to give you open looks, your job as a professional athlete is to knock those down. So I thought we had wide open looks and we couldn’t knock them down.
“John’s not shooting a real high clip and we’ve to get back in the gym and get him shooting a high clip.
“He is such an explosive scorer that you can hit four threes in a row, but we’ve got to get him back shooting, you know, shooting over 40% during the competition.
“I’m not sure what he’s shooting, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near that.”
The frustrations weren’t limited to Gleeson, with import Nick Rakocevic taking aim at the officiating following an incident involving Bullets guard Nate Hinton in the final moments.
Rakocevic, who continued his impressive individual season with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists, was struck in the head by Hinton with 25 seconds remaining.
The Serbian big man believed the contact warranted a more serious punishment and didn’t hold back in his assessment of the officials.
“I don’t know what the boys in green were doing today, but that wasn’t it,” Rakocevic told Aaron Bryans from the ABC.
“If that would have been me, I would have got a game suspension or a flagrant foul or a flagrant two.
“He [Nate Hinton] hit me above the head and you look at any rule book ever, that’s a flagrant foul. So I don’t know what they were doing today.”
With frustrations beginning to mount, the 36ers now find themselves in an uncomfortable position, with questions surrounding whether changes are needed to get their season back on track.
Veteran Corey Webster, who joined the club last month, is yet to score across his first six appearances, although limited playing time has seen him attempt just three shots during that stretch.
Adelaide is also awaiting the return of young guard Flynn Cameron, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury since Round 1. Sources have told Fox Sports Australia that Cameron is expected to return in mid-November.
For now, the focus shifts to hosting the Illawarra Hawks in what is shaping as a must-win contest for Gleeson’s side, with another defeat threatening to send the 36ers further down the standings.
‘I’M VERY PROUD’
While the 36ers were left searching for answers, the Brisbane Bullets continued to show signs of improvement, overcoming the odds to secure an impressive road victory in a hostile environment.
The result also added to a remarkable trend across the round, with all eight games played so far won by the visiting teams.
For head coach Will Weaver, the victory was another example of the standards and attention to detail he has been working to establish within the organisation.
Despite the Bullets’ difficult start to the season and ongoing injury concerns, Weaver insisted his focus remains firmly on the present rather than previous results.
“Super proud of our guys and no one was distracted on our side. And I’m very proud of them,” he said.
“I don’t have any wasted energy on things that happened in the past. That’s part of me getting lost in my details.”
Another positive for Brisbane was the continued emergence of NBA veteran Raul Neto, who produced his best performance since joining the NBL.
Now four games into his stint with the Bullets, Neto finished with 14 points and provided another steady presence for a team still working towards consistency.
However, the Brazilian guard made it clear that his contribution goes well beyond the scoreboard, with his experience and leadership just as important as his offensive production.
“I’ve said from the beginning, I’m not out there to score points, make numbers or anything like that. I’m here to help the team however is needed,” he said.
“and I think not only in offence but also in defence, understanding or defence way to play with different coverages and staying focused and making sure everybody’s focused if we have a you know, a little moments where one guy is not locked in.
“I think all of those things, it’s important and I think it’s something with my experience I can bring for the team and I think that was the biggest part of my game tonight.”
Neto also opened up about his arrival in Australia and the challenges of adjusting to a new league, country and group of teammates in such a short period.
Having joined the Bullets just weeks ago, the veteran was immediately thrown into the demands of NBL basketball, but credited the club’s culture for making the transition easier than expected.
“Will first called me, one of the things he said was ‘this is a great group of guy’ and he wasn’t a liar about it,” he said.
“I got to Brisbane, we travelled the next day on a road trip and you’re sharing a room with somebody that you’ve never been with and everybody on that team has really helped me adapt to on and off the court.
“I feel really comfortable playing with those guys and I feel like I’ve played with them before.”
While the Bullets are still searching for consistency, their effort, energy and growing chemistry have become difficult to ignore.
Despite the injuries and challenges they have faced, Weaver’s side has shown it can compete with some of the league’s more fancied opponents, with its entertaining style making Brisbane one of the more intriguing teams to watch this season.
The Bullets now turn their attention to Round 8, where they will host the Perth Wildcats before travelling to Melbourne to face United, with another opportunity to build momentum.