Boti Fires Shots At His 36ers

Adelaide Advertiser's Boti Nagy has only gone a few rounds into the NBL's 2009/10 season before he has unleased on his Adelaide 36ers.

Read below to see his exact words, but the one player that really comes under some scrutiny from the scribe is import Jonh Gilchrist.

Gilchrist who has had a feature story in heavy rotation on Fox Sports makes comment about how he will play anywhere as long as he "feels the love" from the fans.

I hope John did not read this article becasuse there is no love to be found in Adelaide right now.

"ADELAIDE'S NBL season already is in freefall and in danger of sinking beyond trace in the next week.

Everything from its import choices, team balance, injury record and coaching is under the microscope after consecutive discouraging, dismal, debilitating failures.

In the off-season, SOS (Save Our Sixers) formed to save the club.

Now someone needs to step forward and save this team.

Five matches into a 28-game regular season may seem premature to have red flags waving but alarm bells are ringing too loudly to ignore after an indolent, whopping 80-110 road crash in Perth was followed by a pathetic 70-81 home capitulation to a one-man Melbourne team.

This was a Tigers team with no Chris Anstey, no David Barlow, no Ebi Ere, no fit Sam Mackinnon, no experience at centre but with guys such as Nathan Crosswell, Tommy Greer and Neville Nobody making the Sixers look silly.

Mark Worthington positively dominated after half-time as Adelaide watched the game steadily and assuredly slip away, defenceless.

A 2-3 record heading into Cairns tomorrow night - the 36ers already have lost there this season, followed by a trek on Thursday to Auckland where New Zealand will hand the 36ers another shallacking - leaves little doubt Adelaide will not only be in red but its record deep into the red before its next home game.

It starts with the coach and Ninnis was slow off the mark with his decision-making as the tide turned.

But to start a small line-up of John Gilchrist, Cortez Groves, Nathan Herbert, Jacob Holmes and Adam Ballinger, then play slow, walk-the-ball-up basketball was suicide.

Townsville has "Homicide", the 36ers have "Suicide" because Gilchrist's slow tempo played right into the Tigers' claws. As if that 36er quintet could beat you down in a slow halfcourt game.

Sure, the line-up was forced on Ninnis with centre Matt Burston (hand) now out for at least two weeks. The question of why Neil Mottram wasn't brought in as back-up insurance - like Perth did with Luke Schenscher insurance for Paul Rogers . . . that turned out to be pretty handy - now leaves Adelaide light on and extremely vulnerable.

Ballinger, Holmes and Herbert consistently have to defend players they're not suited to and in Ballinger's case, that contributes to his (lack of) offensive output.

So does the fact the 36ers' offence appears such a convoluted mess that selfishness and hanging onto the ball seem its most prevalent attributes. Can it get Ballinger one open look?

Gilchrist won his first duel with CJ Bruton - and he'll find the Breakers' superstar ready to square the ledger in Auckland next week - but had his colours lowered by Corey Williams. He still hit the game-winner but it didn't help much in Perth where he was almost irrelevant. Against Melbourne, he was just embarrassing.
Whining to referees, whingeing at team-mates, rolling excessively on the floor after a bump - in this country that stuff falls under one broad heading: "crap".

It's also the first step on the fast track to premature evacuation of your professional contract.

Groves appears to have lost belief in his jumpshot and three-pointer but was effective against the Tigers taking the ball to the basket.

He also shut out Kirk Penney when the 36ers beat New Zealand and when he was running the team in the second period - Gilchrist off and mentally visiting Funky Town - the unlikely combination of Darren Ng, Brad Hill, Holmes and David Cooper was the one which pushed Adelaide to its double-digit lead.

The two-guard import scenario was always risky with Hill, Herbert and Ng also really guards, but when it is not performing, it becomes a luxury even a pauper can't afford.

Ninnis last week said good teams don't get beaten by 30 so we know this team isn't that good.

But what does it take to show some grit, passion and heart?

The Tigers had the formula.

They also had the pride."