Luke Schenscher returned to the starting 5 for the Perth Wildcats last night after starting off the bench earlier in the week against Wollongong. The result was far from encouraging as Luke picked up 1 rebound and 4 points. Maybe there is more to be read in the fact that Jesse Wagstaff, Luke's brief replacement in the starting 5, ended up playing more minutes than Luke. Whilst Wagstaff is visually never going to be as intimidating as a 7 footer the cats seem to gel far better when he is out there.
But just how intimidated are opposition players by the former NBA player. Well based on most performances Schenscher has not hurt opponents enough for them to be worried. Schenscher didn't play a single minute in the fourth quarter, new import Galen Young did and played almost twice as many minutes over the entire game. At one stage, Schenscher had the ball in the low post with New Zealand shooting guard Kirk Penney as his only defender and yet he spent what felt like an eternity looking for a team mate to pass to before attacking the basket.
Benchings are the sort of thing that coaches spruik as a chance to get the hunger back or rebound from adversity but in reality Schenscher has been struggling for some time now. The Wildcats big man stocks of Schenscher, Rogers and Redhage were sold as the key to the side during the pre-season. Redhage's season has been reasonable and it's a nice luxury to not have to rely on him as a go-to but in reality most games have been won due to superior long range firepower from the guards. Schenscher's season so far could be graded as a C at best.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
NBL Betting is Tough
I don't envy the online betting agencies such as Sportsbet and Centrebet when it comes to setting the odds for the NBL this season. Underdogs are coming away with wins, the assumed safe home teams are capitulating at times and we are often seeing quarters where teams struggle to score double figures. Betting on the underdogs seem to be a reasonable bet in most cases and that was my take on New Years Eve.
The Cairns Taipans hosted the Melbourne Tigers and were given underdog status despite having a 8-2 record on their home court which included a 15 point win over Melbourne just a few weeks earlier. Melbourne have Chris Anstey back in their side and managed to pick up an uninspiring win versus a McKee-less Wollongong but to put Melbourne in as the favourites was a massive slap in the face for a Cairns team with a 80% home record. The fact they came away with a 7 point win was no surprise and I think Melbourne still have a lot to do before the sportswriters can talk any further about their finals hopes.
The Townsville Crocodiles hosted the Perth Wildcats with the latter being given odds of $2.95 for a win. I couldn't help but get on this one and at 3 quarter time the cats held an 11 point lead and victory was all but mine. However, the final quarter saw the Crocs run away with it as they outscored the Wildcats 28-8 in the final stanza. The cats have shown they can go missing for a quarter here and there but after convincingly winning the first 3 quarters that's an impossible one to predict.
The final underdog within the group was the New Zealand Breakers as they took on the Gold Coast Blaze. After losing their opening home game, the Blaze have been undefeated at home and extended their record to 9 straight wins at home. An interesting point going in tot he match was that the Breakers had lost their last 3 home games whilst winning their last 3 away matches. Despite the pre-season tag of "Championship favourites" the Breakers continue to disappoint and with the normally reliable Kirk Penney and Rick Rickert combining for 7-27 from the field NZ just didn't have enough.
I'll be honest and admit to putting a multi-bet on all 3 underdogs to win by 2.5 points or more. At one stage, Cairns had won, the Wildcats were up by 11 and the Breakers were only down by 5 and I was in with a reasonable chance despite the 1/36.5 odds. Alas as its been all season, the NBL is pretty hard to tips, hats off to Centrebet for getting 2 out of 3 on New Years Eve.
The Cairns Taipans hosted the Melbourne Tigers and were given underdog status despite having a 8-2 record on their home court which included a 15 point win over Melbourne just a few weeks earlier. Melbourne have Chris Anstey back in their side and managed to pick up an uninspiring win versus a McKee-less Wollongong but to put Melbourne in as the favourites was a massive slap in the face for a Cairns team with a 80% home record. The fact they came away with a 7 point win was no surprise and I think Melbourne still have a lot to do before the sportswriters can talk any further about their finals hopes.
The Townsville Crocodiles hosted the Perth Wildcats with the latter being given odds of $2.95 for a win. I couldn't help but get on this one and at 3 quarter time the cats held an 11 point lead and victory was all but mine. However, the final quarter saw the Crocs run away with it as they outscored the Wildcats 28-8 in the final stanza. The cats have shown they can go missing for a quarter here and there but after convincingly winning the first 3 quarters that's an impossible one to predict.
The final underdog within the group was the New Zealand Breakers as they took on the Gold Coast Blaze. After losing their opening home game, the Blaze have been undefeated at home and extended their record to 9 straight wins at home. An interesting point going in tot he match was that the Breakers had lost their last 3 home games whilst winning their last 3 away matches. Despite the pre-season tag of "Championship favourites" the Breakers continue to disappoint and with the normally reliable Kirk Penney and Rick Rickert combining for 7-27 from the field NZ just didn't have enough.
I'll be honest and admit to putting a multi-bet on all 3 underdogs to win by 2.5 points or more. At one stage, Cairns had won, the Wildcats were up by 11 and the Breakers were only down by 5 and I was in with a reasonable chance despite the 1/36.5 odds. Alas as its been all season, the NBL is pretty hard to tips, hats off to Centrebet for getting 2 out of 3 on New Years Eve.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Fade Away or Fake Away: The new 3 Point Insurance
Recently in my local basketball league I perfected the 5 point play. I scored a 2 whilst drawing a foul and went to the line. I missed the free throw, grabbed the board, scored another 2 with a foul and made the foul shot. OK so it was 2 plays and it was only possible because I missed the free throw but I'm claiming it all the same.
But back to reality, the 4 point play, the holy grail of a one possession play. When two players combine for the greater good, one to nail a three the other to foul in a way to still let them do so. Teamwork in harmony! But these days the shooter seems to not be playing fair. If you don't foul him, he's going to make you foul him. He's gonna kick his legs out, try and lock arms or generally flail to the ground like Shaquille O'Neal just ran through him. The natural reaction of the umpire is to follow the ball which on occassion leads to hearing a thud, seeing tangled bodies on the floor and adding 1 and 1 together to make 3 (free throws that is). Heaven forbid the player makes the shot and just gets the one bonus.
Is this a big problem? Does it happen a lot? No and No. So whats my problem with it? Well its really the fact that it is becoming acceptable and even expected. Talented athletes are falling over like fat men that are trying to sit down to fast. Basketball already cops enough flack for being a soft, non-contact sport and now we have this providing more ammo. Could you imagine if centres and power forwards started this? Big 6'8"+ guys falling over like its something to do. I've spoken to a few soccer supporters, a game that has its fair share of acting, and the response is a bit along the lines of "its part of the game". I'd hate to see that part of the game becoming regulation.
Is there a solution to this problem? I can't see one bar giving some of our premier shooters some acting classes so I stop spotting the fakes. Lets just hope the trend doesn't get any worse!
But back to reality, the 4 point play, the holy grail of a one possession play. When two players combine for the greater good, one to nail a three the other to foul in a way to still let them do so. Teamwork in harmony! But these days the shooter seems to not be playing fair. If you don't foul him, he's going to make you foul him. He's gonna kick his legs out, try and lock arms or generally flail to the ground like Shaquille O'Neal just ran through him. The natural reaction of the umpire is to follow the ball which on occassion leads to hearing a thud, seeing tangled bodies on the floor and adding 1 and 1 together to make 3 (free throws that is). Heaven forbid the player makes the shot and just gets the one bonus.
Is this a big problem? Does it happen a lot? No and No. So whats my problem with it? Well its really the fact that it is becoming acceptable and even expected. Talented athletes are falling over like fat men that are trying to sit down to fast. Basketball already cops enough flack for being a soft, non-contact sport and now we have this providing more ammo. Could you imagine if centres and power forwards started this? Big 6'8"+ guys falling over like its something to do. I've spoken to a few soccer supporters, a game that has its fair share of acting, and the response is a bit along the lines of "its part of the game". I'd hate to see that part of the game becoming regulation.
Is there a solution to this problem? I can't see one bar giving some of our premier shooters some acting classes so I stop spotting the fakes. Lets just hope the trend doesn't get any worse!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
New Format for NBL 2010 Season
Just six months ago many in the media were claiming the end of the NBL as teams like the Brisbane Bullets, Sydney Kings/Spirit, South Melbourne Dragons and the Melbourne Tigers appeared unable or uninterested in playing ball. The NBL managed to convince the Tigers to play and launched a "new" NBL with a reduced 8 teams. Soon after came a new logo and claims of a new format that would change the league. The NBL launching a new league is as common as a new coach announcing his team would be playing "an up-tempo brand of basketball that would be exciting to watch" so I was not a believer.
However this season it appears I was wrong. Along came reduced quarters, changes to the travelling rule interpretation, reduced personal foul count and new Foxtel commentators. The game has changed and as a result I think the league hasn't looked this good since its heyday in the 90's.
From 11 teams to 8 Teams
Say goodbye to the Brisbane Bullets, the Sydney Kings/West Sydney Razorbacks/Sydney Spirit and the South Melbourne Dragons. Now losing teams in major cities isn't a good thing but with less roster spots the talent on each team has increased dramatically. No longer are the 8th and 9th players just for garbage time, they're playing night in and night out and expecting to have an impact. The end result is that the old cliche that "any team can win on any given night" is a reality. I've made money in my online betting account this season just by betting on the proposed "underdog" for most games.
From 48 Minutes to 40 Minutes
Taking a measly 2 minutes off each quarter to fit in with FIBA rules doesn't sound like much of a change but this change coupled with the increased talent has changed the game dramatically. Welcome to a new "NBA Jam" style of basketball where the full court press is ever more prevalent and there are as many substitutions as an NFL match. If you're the 9th guy on the team and you only get 5 minutes of court time, you better come to play and play at a frantic pace. I was at the Perth Wildcats Vs Adelaide 36ers game on October 17 and saw the cats put up 110 points in just 40 minutes, they struggled to do that in 48 minutes last season.
From 6 Personal Fouls to 5
The NBL also implemented another FIBA rule and reduced the personal foul limit from 6 to 5 which was logical given the quarter change. The fact was you had to have grown up with Melvin Thomas as your childhood hero to be getting fouled out last season. This season there are a few more players fouling out but generally it's just resulting in more bench rotations. If you get 2 fouls in the first quarter, you will be benched.
Footy Boofheads Commentating?
The second biggest surprise for me was the exodus of John Casey and Steve Carfino and the addition of AFL commentators Dwayne Russell and Brian Taylor. OK, lets be honest, surely this was just a cost cutting move to to save some money by having BT and Russell commentate in the AFL off-season. The biggest surprise? It works and works well. BT and Russell actually have basketball backgrounds and run the show well with Andrew Gaze and Shane Heal pointing out the things that only seasoned veterans would notice. The diehard fans would be appalled by some of the "basic" questions BT asks of Gaze but I'll let you in on a secret, he already knows the answer.
Prognosis Positive
The new format for the NBL for 09/10 is looking good. Although going forward you need interest in the big smoke of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne the reduced league is looking like a better product. The old cliche of "any team can win" is actually true with the 2nd last Cairns Taipans knocking off the 1st placed Wollongong Hawks just last week. Have the crowds been better this year? Marginally but I feel the NBL has a much stronger, more exciting product to market after this years changes
However this season it appears I was wrong. Along came reduced quarters, changes to the travelling rule interpretation, reduced personal foul count and new Foxtel commentators. The game has changed and as a result I think the league hasn't looked this good since its heyday in the 90's.
From 11 teams to 8 Teams
Say goodbye to the Brisbane Bullets, the Sydney Kings/West Sydney Razorbacks/Sydney Spirit and the South Melbourne Dragons. Now losing teams in major cities isn't a good thing but with less roster spots the talent on each team has increased dramatically. No longer are the 8th and 9th players just for garbage time, they're playing night in and night out and expecting to have an impact. The end result is that the old cliche that "any team can win on any given night" is a reality. I've made money in my online betting account this season just by betting on the proposed "underdog" for most games.
From 48 Minutes to 40 Minutes
Taking a measly 2 minutes off each quarter to fit in with FIBA rules doesn't sound like much of a change but this change coupled with the increased talent has changed the game dramatically. Welcome to a new "NBA Jam" style of basketball where the full court press is ever more prevalent and there are as many substitutions as an NFL match. If you're the 9th guy on the team and you only get 5 minutes of court time, you better come to play and play at a frantic pace. I was at the Perth Wildcats Vs Adelaide 36ers game on October 17 and saw the cats put up 110 points in just 40 minutes, they struggled to do that in 48 minutes last season.
From 6 Personal Fouls to 5
The NBL also implemented another FIBA rule and reduced the personal foul limit from 6 to 5 which was logical given the quarter change. The fact was you had to have grown up with Melvin Thomas as your childhood hero to be getting fouled out last season. This season there are a few more players fouling out but generally it's just resulting in more bench rotations. If you get 2 fouls in the first quarter, you will be benched.
Footy Boofheads Commentating?
The second biggest surprise for me was the exodus of John Casey and Steve Carfino and the addition of AFL commentators Dwayne Russell and Brian Taylor. OK, lets be honest, surely this was just a cost cutting move to to save some money by having BT and Russell commentate in the AFL off-season. The biggest surprise? It works and works well. BT and Russell actually have basketball backgrounds and run the show well with Andrew Gaze and Shane Heal pointing out the things that only seasoned veterans would notice. The diehard fans would be appalled by some of the "basic" questions BT asks of Gaze but I'll let you in on a secret, he already knows the answer.
Prognosis Positive
The new format for the NBL for 09/10 is looking good. Although going forward you need interest in the big smoke of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne the reduced league is looking like a better product. The old cliche of "any team can win" is actually true with the 2nd last Cairns Taipans knocking off the 1st placed Wollongong Hawks just last week. Have the crowds been better this year? Marginally but I feel the NBL has a much stronger, more exciting product to market after this years changes
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)