Bruton thrilled with Marshall's bench impact

Adelaide 36ers head coach CJ Bruton has praised Nick Marshall for his resilience after Saturday night’s loss to Tasmania JackJumpers at the Entertainment Centre.

Marshall, who has been given limited minutes so far during the NBL24 season, played a majority of the second half as the home side fell 82-72 to the JackJumpers in front of a sold out crowd.

“With the depth of our group, someone had to take a hit, and it’s unfortunate especially where he has been at the past couple of years and how he has played,” Bruton said post-match.

“The past few weeks, he has been amazing.”

Marshall made an instant impact after checking into the game, scoring straight away on a tough drive against Tasmania’s marquee big man Will Magnay, and finished with four points, four assists and three rebounds.

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“He brings the right energy, the right mindset,” Bruton said.

“But you need to keep building that confidence, and it was hard for him not hitting the floor early on.”

The 198cm swingman got his chance after the 36ers were dealt with the late omission of import Trey Kell, who is battling a calf complaint.

“The late change that came about and we had to figure it out with rotations and what we are delivering and what we are trying to get to,” Bruton said.

“We got a little stagnant, then we played with a little bit more pace, but we turned the ball over early, so that hurt us and put us in a bad spot.

“We have had our problems valuing the ball and getting good shots.

“But we had energy off the bench, I think this guy (Alex Starling) came in and lifted the tempo.”

Starling came in and also sparked the home side, finishing with seven points and six rebounds, while NBL Next Star Trentyn Flowers also had his moments with eight points.

“We have a rotation, but for guys that come in and get the job done, and when you’re delivering, I got to give you every chance to continue to do that,” Bruton said.

“When you are on, we keep you out there.”

Bruton said shooting was the key difference in the game, especially from the three-point line, where Adelaide connected on just 20 per cent, compared to the JackJumpers’ 40 per cent.

“They were able to make shots and they were made comfortable taking those shots,” Bruton said.

“It was just a case of us just missing shots.

“This morning at shootaround, everyone was on point.

“Pre-game I asked my staff how is everyone shooting, and they said ‘everyone is on fire’, and during the week I said it would be nice if we shot like that during a game,

“But unfortunately we were not able to do that.

“When we keep teams to 82 points and you’re busting your butt chasing from behind, you don’t quite have the legs and you can panic a little bit when you have the open shots.”

Adelaide will be back at home on Brett Maher Court next Friday night when the 36ers host South East Melbourne Phoenix from 7pm.