Round 7 is done and we have our first international break. The report has been delayed this week as we reached the milestone. We found out Jerome Randle still has what it takes for the NBL and Jeremy Tyler maybe doesn’t. We saw Isaac Humphries produce some of his best games yet along with this revelation. We lost Chris Goulding and Casper Ware somewhere against Perth and will have to anxiously wait to see if United can show any consistency when we come back. Perin Buford didn’t skip a beat with two double-double games in the round and Cairns continued with the improved individual performances in Michael Carrera’s absence.
This week the game reports are here to help with making any selections in the middle of our mini break. No special section this week as by the time the round starts the information might not be useful. Watch out before the next round for a preview of the coming week’s schedule. Happy selecting this week and good luck.
THE AUSSIE HOOPLA NBL OPEN STANDINGS
Ranking in the Aussie Hoopla NBL Open Standings from Round 8
The commentators may claim Shawn Redhage as the number one in fantasy, however the Aussie Hoopla NBL open claims differently. HUGH JORGANS, led by Alex Smit, takes the lead over everyone in the biggest fantasy league that commenced from round 1 (unlike the rankings).
This is an open league and still free to join. Enter the league code LC32MXAH and join in now.
GAME REPORTS
The official team of the week for Round 8
Illawarra 97 (Ogilvy 45, Clarke 43, Conger 41)
Sydney 93 (Randle 61, Ellis 60, Cadee 36)
An encounter that was almost indescribable. Jerome Randle returned with a bang, getting 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. For him, you could almost have not asked for more. Perry Ellis after a down week bounced back and recorded a double-double as he continued to be asked to do a lot. Jason Cadee flourished off the bench also to show he is still valuable. Jeremy Tyler was in foul trouble most the game and although he recorded 6 points and 6 rebounds he had little positive impact on the overall result. Sydney gave it everything and dominated rebounding in the first half. It’s unclear if some of this will continue. Tyler’s attitude was poor at times which impacted the level he played at and that will not carry him far in this league.
Illawara mounted a historic comeback and it was led by the usual suspects. Additionally, though Delvon Johnson had a season-high fantasy total of 38 points to help kick-start the team in this one. Ogilvy, Clarke and Conger took over and dragged Illawarra back in it over the course of the last quarter and a half. Overtime pushed the scores a little higher. An exciting game to watch but Illawarra are a little less of a concern these coming weeks as they settle into a lighter schedule.
Brisbane 85 (Buford 64, Trice 36, Jervis 30)
Perth 90 (Cotton 49, Martin 40, Walker 39)
Perin Buford in the first of what would be two double-doubles in this round. He led the team in many ways in this one and was also a contributor to Tokoto not having as big an impact. Trice remained consistent and Jervis is beginning to score more like what could be expected.
Bryce Cotton and Damian Martin scored well again for Perth. Martin built his score with an above average amount of rebounds. He finds ways to build a score in any game and this is a testament to him wanting to be involved wherever he can. Lucas Walker was excellent value this week and remains the story of the season in fantasy as he has now gained $600k in value. Read on to the Melbourne game to see just how big he was this week.
Adelaide 108 (Shorter 43, Childress 37, Johnson 39)
Sydney 93 (Humphries 66, Ellis 45, Newley 43)
Isaac Humphries first trip to the summit here. He was excellent in this game on his way to a double-double after early foul trouble again to Jeremy Tyler continued to cast doubt on his ability to play in the NBL. Perry Ellis continued to thrive in his more traditional PF spot and Brad Newley continued to remain reliable. Jerome Randle ground out a 32 but most of this came in the fourth quarter. Jason Cadee also contributed a little with 23 fantasy points racked up. Importantly Tyler does not look like the answer he was billed as. Too many fouls and turnovers hampering his ability to even be in the game. Randle has landed with a splash. Illawarra has been weak defending the backcourt all season and his score took a sharp drop to the average in this game. If he can maintain scores similar to his first game maybe he will maintain the $1.8 million price tag, otherwise expect this to drop. Even with that, he is going to keep a big role on this side going forward.
Josh Childress seems to be getting settled back in. Assists, rebounds, and points all serviceable, leading to a strong fantasy score. Johnson and Shorter are the top fantasy scorers on this team and continued this. Their prices now seem stable and there are a few solid blocks of Adelaide doubles to consider later in the season.
Cairns 87 (Gliddon 52, McCarron 49, Loughton 48)
Illawarra 66 (Kay 54, Ogilvy 28, Johnson 22, Conger 22)
Cairns have turned the home court back into a fortress. They also seem to have adjusted to not having Jawai or Carrera. Gliddon and McCarron are much more involved these last 2 rounds and have they shown they were always up to the task. Both are safe with the ball and scoring points, rebounds and assists nightly. The past 3 games for Gliddon and McCarron are huge scores. It is unclear if this will continues against Sydney in the next round but both are around the $1.3 million mark.
Alex Loughton continues to have some big games as well as quiet ones and not nearly as consistent. Scoochie Smith was also great with 45 points. If this is how they score without Carrera the next four weeks could be big for Cairns players as they play two double rounds in the next 3 rounds.
Illawarra seemed to disappear in this game. Nicholas Kay scored well in fantasy but other than him the team was ineffective in this game. Not a night to remember as they were beaten everywhere much like Melbourne a few rounds ago.
New Zealand 90 (Abercrombie 57, Newbill 41, Loe 40)
Brisbane 82 (Buford 48, Kickert 49, Trice 47)
When Daniel Kickert goes for rebounds this is the kind of score he can make. Perin Buford could be the best player in the NBL right now. Randle has a higher average but a much lower sample size. Buford was at it again with another double-double.
Tom Jervis scored ok with 34 fantasy points also with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Brisbane have been the worse rebounding side for most the season so far but the performance today shoved them past Cairns, just. Rebounds make for good fantasy scores and Brisbane and Cairns have both jumped their rebounds this round and this has reflected in the scores for the players.
New Zealand continued there strong winning streak with Abercrombie taking centre stage but Newbill maintained a strong run of form.
Melbourne 59 (Boone 53, Prather 34, Moller 10)
Perth 91 (Walker 61, Cooke Jr 43, Cotton 36)
Melbourne was hardly worth mentioning in this game. Yes, Boone and Prather scored well in fantasy but Moller being the 3rd best with 10 points tells you everything you need to know about how well they played. Chris Goulding scored -5 with what was one of the worse performances of the season.
Lucas Walker was everywhere today and deserves every one of his fantasy points. He has not been slowing down with 14 points and 12 rebounds he was a huge influence on this game. Cooke Jr has also been strong this round and had an excellent game on the boards. Angus Brandt has disappeared this week and this trend is a good indicator for Cooke Jr. 15 rebounds in this game and one point shy of a double-double. He has really settled into his role with Perth and could be becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Join us in the game by our open to anyone with no limit traditional fantasy league. League code is LC32MXAH.
That’s it for now. Good luck with Round 8.
Disclaimer: All of the news in this article are at the time of writing and from publically available material.
Jonathan Prestwich is a Melbourne United fan introduced to the game by his children. He missed a half-court shot but they gave him the prize anyway...... maybe they felt sorry for him. Follow him on twitter @johnoprestwich
