Big day for NBL trio
TweetIT'S a huge day for three NBL teams - Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide - leading the race to grab top-four spots behind New Zealand and Cairns.
The 36ers have quietly gotten past their seven-in-a-row losing skid to move to a 10-11 win-loss record in fifth spot behind the Wildcats (12-7) and United (10-10).
Three-time club MVP and 2013-14 NBL All Star Five selection Daniel Johnson, today rejoins the Sixers after being released on Sunday by his Polish club Stelmet Gora.
DJ replaces Tall Blacks World Cup forward BJ Anthony whose season ended earlier this month against the Breakers when he snapped the Achilles tendon of his left leg.
ABOVE: How the 36ers told their fans today.
The 36ers had points cap and salary space with which to operate and pounced on Johnson who left the club as a free agent after last year's Grand Final series to pursue pro opportunities in Puerto Rico and Poland.
He will need to play all seven of the 36ers' remaining games to qualify for finals, if the club can make the final four.
Some of that may hinge on tonight's result in Perth where the Wildcats will host Melbourne.
The result is a win-win for the 36ers. If United gets up, Perth will move to 12-8 and become more vulnerable than at any time in recent memory.
If the Wildcats win - which is what I'm tipping - Melbourne's record would drop to 10-11, identical to the 36ers.
Melbourne would retain its place in the top four on points percentage though, at season's end, points percentage is irrelevant and all that matters is the head-to-head results.
Even in that case, Melbourne should hold the higher position as it won the 2-2 season series over Adelaide on points differential.
Surely at some point soon, the NBL must start looking at a "Games Behind" column on the ladder instead of points percentage.
"Games Behind" is used in the US for NBA, NFL and MLB ladders.
"Games Behind" represents how many times a team has to beat the leader to catch them, or how many times they have to beat any team ahead of them to equal them.
It is calculated by every win more than your team has is half a game behind and every loss your team has more is another half a game behind.
As an example here is the current ladder with "Games Behind" added. It makes more sense than winning percentage.
Rank Team P W L GB
1 NZ Breakers 22 17 5 -
2 Cairns 22 16 6 1
3 Perth 19 12 7 3.5
4 Melbourne 20 10 10 6
5 Adelaide 21 10 11 6.5
6 Sydney 20 8 12 8
7 Townsville 21 7 14 9.5
8 Wollongong 21 3 18 11.5
(Thanks to Pat Whalen for the assist on that.)
But I digress.
Underlying interest in Johnson returning for Adelaide will be how quickly he settles back into the lineup, given the 36ers went on a seven-game skid when Brock Motum was first added.
Of course Motum still had to learn the Sixers system while DJ already is familiar with it so it's a slightly different scenario.
But it's certainly one Wollongong will try to exploit, as will Sydney on Sunday, the Kings also keen to reassert they, too, are in the hunt for a spot in the post-season.
Perth-Melbourne at Perth Arena. Get along if you're in Perth. This is a very meaningful game.
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