NBL Cup Preview v Sydney Kings

After nine games in five weeks with eight of those at home for the Adelaide 36ers, they now begin their NBL Cup journey in Melbourne on Sunday against a familiar opponent already this season, the Sydney Kings.

The 36ers and Kings have already met twice this season with both meetings taking place at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, but Sunday is going to be a whole new experience as both teams get their NBL Cup campaigns underway.

The NBL Cup will take place in Melbourne over the next month with every NBL team playing one another once with prizemoney and a trophy up for grabs, but with the wins and losses counting towards the overall 2021 season as well.

The 36ers come into the NBL Cup with a 5-4 record from their opening nine matches across the first five rounds of the season. Eight of those nine games were all held at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

Two of those were against the Kings with mixed results. Adelaide won the first meeting 85-80 but then Sydney bounced back seven days later with a 94-75 victory.

The two teams now get their NBL Cup campaigns underway on Sunday at Melbourne's John Cain Arena at 5pm Adelaide time.

Over the course of the next four weeks, all nine NBL clubs will play one another once in Melbourne with each game day featuring double-header matches.

In an intriguing twist, not only will the nine teams be competing to win the NBL Cup but the wins and losses recorded during the tournament will count towards the overall season standings.

In terms of the NBL Cup, the winning team following the 36 games in a month will receive $150,000 while the runner-up team gets $100,000 and the third placed team $50,000.

But how the winners will be determined won't quite be as simple as the win-loss record accumulated across the eight games each team will play.

A points system will be used throughout the NBL Cup and quite simply the teams with the most points racked up, will finish higher on the final table.

The team that wins each game will receive three points but then one point is available to be won each and every quarter that is played. The team that outscores the other in any quarter receives a point while if a quarter is tied the point is split in half.

So each game has seven points available to be won with the three given to the winning team and one point on the line each and every quarter.

That should make for some fascinating viewing because even if a game is ever out of reach in the second half, the team behind can still come out of the game with a couple of points which could end up crucial in where they finish for the NBL Cup.

Now having already won their only road game in Brisbane of the season so far, the 36ers look to become road warriors in Melbourne over the next month starting Sunday against the Kings.

There has been a lot to like so far this season about the Sixers but without question the combination of big men Isaac Humphries and Daniel Johnson has been the highlight.

Humphries has had an immediate impact in his first season in Adelaide and is delivering 22.5 points, 11.3 rebounds and 4.5 blocks a game while shooting at 62 per cent from the field.

Johnson is already a five-time 36ers MVP and he's having another standout season delivering 21.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists while also shooting the ball tremendously at 49.6 per cent from the floor, 44.4 per cent from downtown and 81.8 per cent from the foul line.

But you look at the backcourt with Josh Giddey and Sunday Dech, and they are delivering plenty for the 36ers too while Tony Crocker, Jack McVeigh, Keanu Pinder, Brendan Teys, Daniel Dillon and Alex Mudronja have all had their moments.

Jeremy Kendle is the short-term replacement for Donald Sloan too and showed some encouraging signs with five points and three assists in 10 minutes in his first game for Adelaide on Monday against the Brisbane Bullets.

Speaking of Giddey, playing in the NBL Cup presents the Next Star with the first chance to play a professional game in Melbourne where he grew up and where his father Warwick played 14 seasons and won two championships with the Tigers.

"I'm very excited. It's the first time the league's done it and for me I've been in the NBL for a month now and haven’t played a game in Melbourne yet," Giddey said.

"That's what I was most looking forward to so I can be in front of my friends and family. So to be here for four weeks and for them to come watch us play, and all the other teams for that matter is really exciting. 

"It has never been done before so all the guys are looking forward to it and we're really excited for it. It's a god chance to play back-to-back games without a lot of training. I'm really looking forward to it and I'm sure the other guys are as well."

While the 36ers are focused on a positive start to the NBL Cup, it won't be easy against the Sydney Kings. They will be without import centre Jarell Martin but welcome back veteran Daniel Kickert for the first time this season.

Casper Ware is in terrific form and that included 27 points last up against Adelaide while Shaun Bruce is averaging a career-best 4.9 assists and rookie DJ Vasiljevic averaged 23 points a game in the two previous match ups with the 36ers in Adelaide.

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

Adelaide 36ers v Sydney Kings
John Cain Arena, Sunday 5.00pm ACDT

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