'Effort' key to big comeback: Bruton

Effort was what 36ers head coach CJ Bruton preached at half time of Adelaide’s 84-77 win against Illawarra Hawks at the NBL Blitz on Thursday night.

The 36ers trailed by as many as 19 points in the opening half as Illawarra scored almost at will with Adelaide struggling to keep up with the NBL22 semi-finalists

“It was all about the effort levels for us, we gave them what they wanted and if we want to be a team to compete at the end of the season, we have to play defence,” Bruton said.

“We have a lot of talented guys at the offensive end and that showed, but ultimately, we have to get stops and they were stretching us and making the game at their tempo.

“We changed the game by pushing the pace, but have to committed to the defensive side of the ball.

“We need to get after it, getting deflections and steals, and running back down the floor.”

A game-high 30 points was the breakout game Bruton was hoping to see from star import power forward Robert Franks.

“I’m happy for him (Franks), I’ve seen him catch fire a lot and he can get better,” Bruton said.

“The week he has had up here in trying to progress himself back to be fully healthy has been great.

“Tristan (Chai, head of medical) and Alf (Connolly, strength and condition coach) have done an amazing job and will continue to manage him.

“His form in a couple of our practices up here was better than that performance.”

Bruton was pleased with how his side responded in the third quarter, a 27-13 explosion all but erasing the Hawks’ advantage going into the final stanza.

“We got punched in the mouth in all three games, but to show that response was a positive,” he said.

“We had to show something, but the guys did pick up the defensive intensity.”

Kai Sotto stepped up in the fourth quarter, with Bruton thrilled with how is star big man fought back from his opening half.

“I thought Kai was really amazing, how he bounced back. He got on the rim and finished and became a target for us,” he said.

“His level of activity helped shift the needle for us to know we can play with length and size.”

A Daniel Johnson double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds also pleased Bruton, who knows the seven-time club MVP will be pivotal in success moving forward into the NBL23 campaign.

“DJ has got better each game, he’s finding his groove and his identity in this team,” Bruton said.

“His defensive presence was pivotal down the stretch, grabbing rebounds and getting that transition game going.”