Cheatham: Sixers not even scratching the surface

Adelaide 36ers excitement machine Zylan Cheatham says his side has barely scratched the surface of what it is capable of after opening the season with a win over Brisbane on Sunday.

In his first NBL game in the team’s colours, Cheatham was amongst his side’s best with eight points and five assists to go with a game-high 14 rebounds.

After personally seeking the move to Adelaide following a season in Japan, Cheatham loved his first Adelaide Entertainment Centre experience.

“The crowd was electric,” Cheatham said from an Adelaide 36ers School Holiday Clinic at Wayville on Tuesday afternoon.

“We executed pretty well. (There’s) a lot of work to do, but obviously anytime you could get a win is a good sign, so I'm very happy about it and very excited about my decision.”

The Sixers had got up by 16 points with around five minutes remaining before the Bullets clambered back to make it a five-point game heading into the last minute.

Cheatham said the boisterous home crowd played its part in getting the side over the line.

“100%. As a competitor, that's what you want to play for,” he said.

“Having a crowd that supports you, I mean, even around the town, going to restaurants and just hearing the excitement around the team is obviously something that you play for, for sure.  

“And it's kind of an advantage, honestly. It feels like a sixth man at some points.”

While there were plenty of promising signs, Cheatham admitted there was also plenty of work to be done.

“I don't even think we're scratching the surface, to be honest,” he said.

“I mean that was really our first outing other than Panathinaikos. We’ve had a couple of workouts, but we haven't really had a chance to really get all the guys on the floor, so for us to play that well and execute enough to get a win is credit to us, for sure.”

A big talking point to emerge from the game was fellow new recruit Bryce Cotton’s 39 points on debut, the highest score on debut by any player in the NBL’s 40 minute era.

Cheatham said he found himself watching in awe at times as Cotton sank important shots.

“I've played against him so I know what he's capable of, but it's a lot different when, you know, you're on the same team as him,” Cheatham smiled.

“It got to a point where I almost became a fan as the game was going on, some of the shots he makes, and some of just the confidence and the aura he brings to a team.

“I mean, it's second to none, so I was very impressed.

“You kind of see how he goes about his training every day. I mean, we play a lot in practice, so you kind of see spurts of it, but, you know, once the bright lights come on, you kind of never know what a guy's going to do.

“To see the lights be so bright and obviously coming in as his first game with a lot of expectations, there was a lot on him and to see him kind of perform like that, man, it's like the season's gonna be scary, for sure.”

Cheatham himself had the crowd on its feet when he nailed a huge windmill dunk in the third period.

He said his goal is always to do whatever it takes to get his side the win, but he admitted he had “a lot” in his bag of tricks.

Sixers fans will be hoping to see more from the big American on Thursday night when the side comes up against the Taipans in Cairns, and for the side to begin with an unblemished start to the season after two games.

“That's obviously the goal,” Cheatham said. “But, I mean, I'm just focussed on the day to day.

“We got a good practice today, had a good workout, and I got a good lift in (the gym), and that's pretty much all I can control.”