Basketball On The Internet.

AFTER Cairns negotiates New Zealand today, will there still be only one unbeaten NBL team at the end of just Round 3?

Can Wollongong halt its mini-slide on the road?

Can United play any better than last Sunday, or Melbourne's Boomers any worse?

Can I go another sentence without posing a rhetorical question?

Well, um, yes, now that I mention it. (Is this how schizophrenia starts? ... Damn. Another rhetorical question just got past me! If not schizophrenia, then insanity.)

The WNBL launched with its customary lack of fanfare which is a shame really, because there were some super games.

And when Melbourne United - do you recall last year's righteous indignation from Tigers people when Bulleen changed its WNBL name to Melbourne Boomers? Time flies - nailed the Breakers, every team had registered in the Wins column. By Round 2.

Now only Cairns remains with an egg in the Loss column as New Zealand awaits to poach top place.

The Hawks need to scalp the 36ers in Adelaide and with Mitch Creek going down with an injury this week and The Fortress holding no great fears for Wollongong, this could be another road win.

It will be all the "ongs" for Adelaide tonight too, first with Danden-ong, then Wollong-ong, but two road wins would just be wr-ong.

Still, with Alex Bunton nursing an ankle impingement, the Lightning are vulnerable.

Who'd be a tipster this season?

(It's rhetorical. Don't send me an email with your tipster list.)

THE WNBL nailed it with Townsville Fire's Cayla Francis winning its Player of the Week accolade.

She was the stand-out, for sure.

Stevie Weigh winning the NBL's PotW shows the potential flaw in a fan-vote system.

No offence to Stephen, who is playing upto his potential and showing a quality he has lacked in the past - consistency - but it's debatable his two solid performances for Cairns were better than Brian Conklin's tour de force for Townsville in Sydney

When I watched the NBL website's highlights from the Taipans-United game for example, Weigh didn't feature. OK. That's not a great barometer but for the PotW, you might have thought one or two moments... Oh well.

As Weigh himself tweeted: "Without sounding too much like a contestant on The Voice, I'd sincerely like to thank everyone who voted for me as this weeks @NBL POW"

Fair call.

CONGRATULATIONS to the WNBL for correctly posting its standings at its website at its first attempt.

Sure, it's a wee bit sad we should need to get excited about such things but then the NBL only got its ladder right sometime last Thursday afternoon after four days of confusion for anyone new to the site.

And while I hate to nit-pick, it's still not 100% correct! When you go from the ladder on the site's front page to the "Full Ladder" you discover that although the table has Townsville in fifth spot and Adelaide in sixth (both on 1-2 records), the Crocs' points percentage - which splits teams on the same win-loss ratio - is 93.33.

Adelaide's is 93.95. So which team should be higher?

Sigh.

Avid B.O.T.I. reader Chris Murphy has been in touch to mention the NBL's maths also is questionable on the leading scorer chart.

Townsville's Brian Conklin scored 15 against Wollongong, 23 against Adelaide and 30 against Sydney. Now unless my maths is faulty, that = 68 points. In three matches, that means he is averaging 22.67 points per game, right?

No, apparently not, the league's official website having Brian leading the scoring averages with 26.50ppg!

Jordan McRae, who is "second" on the table, is averaging 22.67 having also scored 68 in three games.

So is it that they need a calculator at at NBL HQ? Or was that just the league's way of apologising to Conklin for dissing him on Player of the Week?

Good thing it's only the NBL's official website....

BEEN experiencing a recurring pre-game daymare all week in which Luke Schenscher and Luke Nevill are sitting on a see-saw ... and nothing happens.

NBL Rankings

This Wk - Prev

8 (5) KINGS – Lost at home to Crocs and now face the Wildcats at The Jungle. Hardly ideal.

7 (6) HAWKS – Lost a tough road/home double and face same prospect again this round.

6 (4) 36ERS – Needed to show more in Auckland and without Creek, staring at 0-2 at home.

5 (8) CROCODILES – Gave Sydney hell after halftime and will be confident at home this time.

4 (3) WILDCATS - Won ugly at home and should repeat against Sydney, but not rolling yet.

3 (7) UNITED – Don’t howl. They’ve lost two to the top team, then smashed NZ. Look out.

2 (1) BREAKERS – Road stumble but now it’s old rival Cairns, then off to Wollongong. Under scrutiny.

1 (2) TAIPANS – Got out of the Sandpit unscathed and three road wins so far is priceless.


WNBL Rankings

This Wk – Prev

8 (5) LIGHTNING – It doesn’t get any easier and with Bunton unlikely, Rangers will be tough.

7 (4) BOOMERS – Rough start and now here come the slightly miffed champs!

6 (3) CAPITALS – Won’t linger down here long but bad time to visit Bendigo.

5 (7) WAVES – Strong home win but here comes a real test with the Fire in Townsville.

4 (8) FLAMES – Good road win to open, and catch Dandy on second game of a road/home double.

3 (6) RANGERS – Cappie exudes confidence but on the road, then back for Sydney will challenge.

2 (2) SPIRIT – No shame in losing at Townsville and should go 2-0 this weekend.

1 (1) FIRE – As expected, started with a home win and this round should make it 2-0.

Online

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This Week's Tips

AT the risk of raising the ire of the OrangeArmy, this is Cairns' first genuine test in my mind. Being brutal - a trait I'm revisiting after recently being told "you have mellowed" ... huh, eff that - the Taipans caught Adelaide at just the right time, ditto for United, then got Melbourne again while it was in transition. It squeaked past the Hawks so this is the game. If they beat New Zealand in New Zealand, I'll stop waiting for the bottom to fall out and concede they are legit.

THERE's no real homecourt advantage for Adelaide when about half of the visitors have lived in their venue. Gary Ervin helped the 36ers to a Grand Final last season, Adam Ballinger won a bunch of club MVPs, Oscar Forman's formative years - when he first was told the "Legend of the Virus in the Offensive Keyway" - and Brad Hill's long climb up the hill all occurred at Adelaide Arena. It makes this a gettable game for Wollongong, though I will back Adelaide narrowly.

LAST year, then-Kings coach Shane Heal boasted he didn't want anyone to beat Perth in Perth until Sydney got there. Be careful what you wish for - that ended in tears. This has the potential to go the same way unless a few more Kings step up to the contest. The Wildcats still didn't get into full-on running gear last round and there are a few chinks Sydney could exploit. But they better be quick because the beating-Perth-in-Perth window doesn't stay ajar long. Oops. Too late.

YES, we all know preseason form means squat when the real season starts. That established, have no doubt Townsville beating Melbourne at the Blitz after trailing by 19 at halftime will give Shawn Dennis' men the inherent belief they have United's number. That number is #1 at the moment, not as in No.1 team but in No.1 win. It was a beaut too, Daniel Kickert, Mark Worthington (pictured below) and Jordan McRae all impressive against NZ. Coin toss and it's Crocs, in overtime.

I'M guessing the reason the NBL scheduled an absurd Thursday night fixture in Adelaide - fingers crossed more than friends, relatives and Coca-Cola deliverymen turn up - was so Wollongong and New Zealand would meet on sort of equal terms on Sunday. The Breakers host Cairns tonight you see, a night which works in their market. Thursday is "late night shopping" in Adelaide so you know folks will be out buying gas lanterns, kerosene fridges, candles and coal. That said, the Breakers appear more advanced at this stage than the Hawks, though again, Thursday's results have the potential to influence this.

THE WNBL opens with Dandenong and the Cappie Pondexter Show, rolling into Adelaide for a 5pm game. I'm pretty sure it will be faster to introduce the crowd than the players at that point in the evening. I know I'm going to feel very alone in the stadium, come tip-off. With Alex Bunton questionable, Adelaide really will need to dig deep but it is the Rangers who are ahead in their preparation and so should quiet the sound of crickets at Adelaide Arena.

CANBERRA will burst into Bendigo with a flurry of activity, led by Abby Bishop, Steph Talbot and Carly Wilson. But if the Caps are digging for gold, I can't see it panning out, the Spirit anxious to bounce back from last week's opening round blip on the radar and possibly having just a bit more run in their legs.

WHO created Sydney's draw? They got Canberra on the rebound last week and now have Dandenong coming home after already playing. That's sure how I'd like my road trips to line up too. That edge might make all the difference, although if the Rangers come home and are 2-0, they are unlikely to let this homer slip. But the odds certainly favour the Flames.

THE Spirit's first trip to Townsville didn't end well but driving in to play the Boomers in Melbourne is a much easier ride. I like Melbourne's team but they shot so dismally in the TV game it seemed the burden of expectation - remember, there was very little pressure on them last season - might have brought them back to the pack. Beating the champs in Round Two is too big an ask.

THREE wins for the Spring Shield Trophy, a 24-point win over Lightning to start the season - West Coast can be forgiven for expecting a parade in Perth after already exceeding expectations. Except their own, of course. Beating Townsville in the preseason is not the same as stamping out the Fire in Townsville in a fixture that matters. That said, expect a far more competitive showing than the Waves managed last season during their 23-loss streak.

WHY did the chicken cross the road?
To cast another Player of the Week vote for anyone at Cairns.