NBL Cup Preview v SE Melbourne Phoenix

The Adelaide 36ers have the chance to record their first win as part of the NBL Cup in Melbourne against a familiar opponent in the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Tuesday night.

The 36ers lost their first game at the NBL Cup on Sunday against the Sydney Kings as part of the tournament within a season that will see every team play one another once with an overall winner to be determined while the results count towards the overall NBL season at the same time.

Sunday didn’t quite go to plan against the Kings but the beauty of the NBL Cup is that there is a short turnaround from game to game with the 36ers now having the chance to hit back against the Phoenix on Sunday at John Cain Arena.

The two teams have already met twice during #NBL21 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre with the 36ers winning the first encounter 116-108 in double overtime before the Phoenix bounced back three days later to win 89-83.

Adelaide now holds a 5-5 record on the season following Sunday's loss to the Kings while the Phoenix improved to 5-4 with a second straight win also on Sunday against the Brisbane Bullets.

Sixers fall to Kings in opening NBL Cup appearance 

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NBL Cup Preview v Sydney Kings 

Adelaide comes into the game having lost their past two games and three of the last four so will be determined to bounce while South East Melbourne has won two straight and three of its past four.

It might not be close by the final buzzer either way, though, with the last eight games combined that the 36ers and Phoenix have played have ended up with final margins of 15 points or more.

Daniel Johnson has enjoyed playing against the Phoenix so far this season averaging 26 points across those first two meetings while shooting at 62 per cent from the field. 

He had a season-low six points on Sunday so will be keen to bounce back while Isaac Humphries is averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds against South East Melbourne too so will look to at least replicate that on Tuesday.

Sixers coach Conner Henry just felt his team didn’t execute the way they wanted to against the Kings on Sunday so fixing that will now be a focus against the Phoenix on Tuesday night.

"Sydney played good defence but I think it was more our offence candidly that stopped us getting the ball where we wanted it," Henry said.

"There were times we got Isaac the ball in the right spots and there were other times it was congested in there, and Sydney did some nice things. 

"But at the end of the day if we move the ball and have proper spacing then Isaac is going to be open at the rim or somebody else will be. We just have to get better offensively which sure will help our defence."

Adelaide co-captain Brendan Teys is looking forward to the quick turnaround to try and bounce back against the Phoenix on Tuesday from Sunday's loss to the Kings.

"We are basketball players and we want to play basketball so the sooner we can get out there to play on Tuesday the sooner we can forget about this game. We're definitely looking forward to Tuesday night," Teys said.

"Sunday was a bit of a tale of two halves. We were pretty solid in the first half for the most part and we competed really well, but then in the second half that's something we've got to look at on film. 

"We have to look at the guy in the mirror to see what we can improve on individually, but it seems like our third quarters have been a bit of an issue for us so we'll try to clean that up for Tuesday. We just have to make sure we bring the energy for the whole night long."

2020/21 Hungry Jack's NBL Season – Round 6
NBL Cup Week 1

Adelaide 36ers v South East Melbourne Phoenix
John Cain Arena, Tuesday 7.00pm ACDT

Broadcast – ESPN, SBS on Demand, NBL TV, Twitch