Basketball On The Internet.

BROCK Motum making his debut, Penny Taylor making her return, Josh Childress back and Abby Bishop being disrespected (again) ... it's all happening this week in the NBL/WNBL.

Motum (pictured) will run onto the Sydney Entertainment Centre floor on Sunday - two weeks after having his last run with the NBA's Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City - as a member of the Adelaide 36ers.

The 208cm Boomers forward gives the Sixers arguably an improved version of reigning club MVP Daniel Johnson who now is eating borscht and shooting buckets in Poland.

Opals Bronze Medal-winning World Championship captain Penny Taylor will lead Dandenong out against undefeated Townsville for her first WNBL run since about 2002.

The triple and reigning WNBA champion's return is a massive boost for the WNBL and having her on courts around Australia is something every club should loudly be touting.

 

JOSH Childress was apologetic and took his lump for the Jesse Wagstaff incident. But if I am Wollongong, I am concerned at how much he will want to tangibly show his teammates how sorry he is he let them down.

I don't see too many Hawks who can contain him, though Wollongong coach Gordie McLeod is the master of the winning strategy. So long as his men can execute it.

 

WNBL PotW

IN complete disagreement this week with the WNBL's selection of Tess Madgen as its Player of the Week.

With no disrespect intended toward Madgen who is a terrific player bound for greatness - and who has no say in determing PotW status anyway - her 22 points at 63%, seven boards and five assists in a 68-53 road rampage over West Coast for Melbourne were exemplary.

But Abby Bishop's 20-point first quarter set up Canberra's 101-72 rout of Dandenong. Bishop only needed to play 25 minutes to finish with 28 points at 69%, 12 rebounds, three assists and a steal in what was the stand-out performance of the WNBL round.

We had the chance to see it, too, with the game on ABC-TV so yes, it is tough to make a direct comparison with what Madgen did in Perth, my "WNBL.TV" subscription out of order and Basketball Australia so severely actively discouraging clubs from running their own live-streaming services.

That said, you almost have to draw the "conspiracy theory" conclusion BA and the WNBL are in kahoots to keep Abby from winning too many accolades and drawing too much attention to her Opals omission this year. I am sure regular readers will recall Abby gave motherhood priority by adopting her ill sister's newborn daughter and BA completely bungling the PR exercise.

Even Opals coach Brendan Joyce was reticent to overtly praise Abby during his TV interview, drawing comparisons with players' WNBL roles and international roles fluctuating greatly.

Seriously now Brendan. In any comparison between Nat Burton and Abby Bishop, Natty comes off second best. To talk of "needing a perimeter game" on a day when Bish has gone 3-of-4 from the three-point line is slight cause for head-scratching.

But slights where Bishop is concerned is nothing new, sadly. And this week's league-endorsed PotW award only reinforces that.

 

NBL Rankings

This Wk-Prev

8 (8) HAWKS - The traditional rival becomes a "must win" because the last win on Oct.10 is a memory.

7 (7) KINGS - Regaining Childress will help immensely but a split is the best scenario.

6 (6) UNITED - Beating the Hawks at home is not the same as beating Perth in Perth.

5 (3) BREAKERS - The Mango Mauling awaits and if NZ can grab a split, it should be happy.

4 (5) CROCODILES - Not doing much wrong and get NZ on the second-leg of its trip. Grinning.

3 (2) WILDCATS - Some chinks in the armour have been exposed and need a statement game.

2 (4) 36ERS - Jump on them now while some betting markets still have them at $13.

1 (1) TAIPANS - Survived a scare last week and start favourites for good reason.

 

WNBL Rankings

This Wk-Prev

8 (6) WAVES - Have the champs at home and run into Abby and the Caps in Canberra. Tough.

7 (8) BOOMERS - Beating the Waves in Perth was head-turning but now host Penny & Cappie.

6 (7) RANGERS - Just adding Penny makes them better and can split this weekend, or better.

5 (5) CAPITALS - Had them at #3 until the loss to Sydney. Look out West Coast.

4 (3) FLAMES - Not going away and win over Canberra makes them 2-0 on the Caps.

3 (4) LIGHTNING - Yes, a work-in-progress but the progress is noticeable. Bendigo a test.

2 (2) SPIRIT - Going 2-0 on the Doomsday Double will allay any fears of "slippage".

1 (1) FIRE - Just the test of Penny & Cappie at Dandenong, which has been a happy hunting ground.

 

This Week's Tips

SYDNEY will be buoyed by the return of Josh Childress and also by the better aspects of last week's loss to Cairns - such as everything but its 8-31 last quarter. But this is almost the season-on-the-line for Wollongong if it loses again at home. Sadly, the Hawks currently are better singers than finals threats.

BEATING the Breakers in NZ was the litmus test for Cairns and the Taipans did it. You'd automatically expect them to win at home then, right? New Zealand has plenty to prove after looking very ordinary in Adelaide. Winning form is good form though few would say Cairns was good last round. A tough one and potential upset.

BROCK Motum will make his much-anticipated debut for the 36ers in Sydney, adding extra ratings potential to the TV game. Adelaide still will be down Jamar Wilson (hamstring) but if Adam Gibson reproduces anywhere near what he did last week, the Kings will have a heck of a fight on their hands. Adelaide, just.

AT one stage - of the preseason - many pundits would have had Melbourne at Perth as the preview of the Grand Final series but it is clear both clubs have a lot of work to do. It still has merit as the game-of-the-round but Perth needs DeAndre Daniels to start getting a move along while United is seeking consistency. Perth, at home.

TOWNSVILLE is quietly (because so few turn up) turning its home into a swamp-trap for visiting teams and after dropping to the Breakers on the road, will be happy to welcome them to north Queensland. There's a lot to like about the way the Crocs are travelling on-court and they have the tools to match and beat New Zealand.

BENDIGO will continue to make the Spring Shield success a distant memory for West Coast in Perth, the champs starting to roll now, the Waves having to bounce back from a fairly severe splashdown. Hosting the WNBL's best-credentialled team right now is hardly ideal, although an upset would restart the Waves season. I wouldn't bet on it.

PENNY Taylor will make her WNBL return against unbeaten Townsville which gets out of north Queensland for the first time this season. That means everyone around Penny will lift and produce an out-of-the-box performance. With Lauren Scherf also back in, if Cappie, Tegan, Kathleen and Annalise all fire, it will be hellfire for the Fire.

TRAVELLING after hosting Bendigo, and going to Canberra where the Caps still will be smarting from last night's loss to Sydney again is not the best recipe for success at West Coast. Finding some way to curtail Abby Bishop is the Waves' challenge. Getting more support for her is Canberra's challenge.

DANDENONG beat Melbourne at Dandenong to launch its season and travelling to the Boomers should not change the result. The Rangers will have one game with Penny under their belts and while that initial euphoria will be quietened, the team should be better for having her and Alice Kunek in tow.

WHILE former Bendigo assistant and longtime club administrator Jeremi Moule is plotting his old club's downfall in Adelaide, again his Lightning may run into the same problem they experienced in Townsville. And that is simply that at this stage, the Spirit are just further along as a group and therefore have the familiarity to survive a close challenge.

 

Online

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/brock-motum-ready-to-wreak-wwestyle-havoc-on-nbl-after-signing-with-adelaide-36ers/story-fnii09ki-1227113697920 http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/lightning-coach-jeremi-moule-now-plotting-to-blow-up-the-bendigo-house-he-and-bernie-harrower-helped-build/story-fnii09ki-1227113703779 http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/sport/basketball/adam-gibson-produces-a-super-game-to-wreck-the-breakers-and-picks-up-the-nbls-player-of-the-week-award/story-fnii09ki-1227113620152

 

WHY did the chicken cross the road?

To slap Brock Motum's NBA agent for confusing a contract with the Sixers with a contract with the Sixers.