Gleeson: “Our starts have got to improve”

The Adelaide 36ers Head Coach Trevor Gleeson is looking for a strong start and a more consistent effort both in game and from game to game, starting with Saturday evening’s clash with Illawarra.

The 36ers will take on the Hawks from 5pm at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, looking to make up for a loss when the sides last met in Wollongong last month.

They’re coming off a weekend with split results – a strong win in New Zealand last Friday night was followed by a poor loss to Brisbane less than two days later.

The Sixers have found themselves behind early in all but three of their opening quarters, and Gleeson says he wants his side showing more urgency from the off.

“We’ve won three (opening) quarters (and) we’ve won the game,” he said.

“(We) drew with Sydney, finished up winning. The only game that we lost in the first quarter and won was in Tassie.

“It's an area that we’ve got - our start - it’s got to improve.

"We're a little bit more complacent. We've got to (have) a little bit more urgency in that first quarter.”

He is also unhappy with the side's home form, having dropped three and only won one game at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre this season.

"We want this place to be a fortress," he said.

"We've got to be a lot more aggressive at home."

Having had a tight turnaround between games last week and a lot of travel in the opening 10 games, Gleeson’s outfit has enjoyed being home this week for back-to-back games, allowing for more practice and preparation.

The five-time Championship winning coach is expecting that to lead to a better showing on Saturday night.

“We've just got to be consistent,” Gleeson said.

“We had a great game in New Zealand, and then really didn't transfer that back over to home.

“So, we find out a few kinks in our armour this week at practice, and (we’ve got) no excuses going into the game.”

Gleeson has confirmed recent recruit Mangok Mathiang will be absent for personal reasons from the Hawks clash, but he stopped short of explaining how that would alter his rotation.

“I don't know how the game's going to pan out,” he smiled.

“They're a little bit more five-out this weekend, so, a smaller outfit. They go small, all the four guards and (Makur) Maker out there, so just depends on the matchup.”

The Sixers will start the round in seventh position on the NBL ladder with five wins and six losses so far, but they remain just one win behind third placed Melbourne United, such is the closeness of the competition this season.

Asked to reflect on the first third of the season, Gleeson had reason for optimism, particularly with Flynn Cameron nearing a return from an ankle injury that has sidelined him since the opening game of the season, and Bul Kuol also nearing full fitness.

“I think we probably gave away two or three games,” Gleeson reflected. “You know, and we'd be sitting high (on the ladder).”

“Obviously, not having a full deck of cards to play with has been an issue. We can't wait for Flynn (Cameron) to get back. You know only playing 20 minutes for the whole season and then the (other) adjustment we had to make was Isaac (Humphries’ injury and subsequent retirement).

“We knew it was going to be tough up to the FIBA break (in late November), so we've got to get through these next three games, hopefully in very fine form, and then we'll be better in December.”

The last of the tickets to Saturday night’s game are available through Ticketek.

The Sixers will then host Melbourne United at home gain on Thursday night.

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