Round 3 Preview v Sydney Kings

The Adelaide 36ers look to make it three wins on the trot at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Saturday night with Isaac Humphries having the first chance to play against his former team the Sydney Kings.

The 36ers best two performances of the 2021 NBL season to date have been their last two beginning last Friday night with the 94-91 overtime victory against the New Zealand Breakers.

There was so much to like in that performance and then with a bit of time to freshen up after a hectic schedule, the Sixers came out on Wednesday night against the Breakers again and delivered an 88-78 victory.

That gave the 36ers consecutive wins for the first time this season and now they have the chance to make it three in-a-row albeit a significant challenge against the minor premiers and Grand Finalists from a season ago, the Sydney Kings.

The game tips off at 5pm local time and it should be a fascinating contest with the Sixers having the chance to send a message against a team that has been on the road for a long time, and despite being injury riddled have plenty of talent and experience.

Sixers deliver best performance of NBL21 over Breakers

DJ's Corner – Player Column Volume 4

Sloan wants to enjoy basketball again after tough 2020

The Coach Reflects – Round 2

Isaac Humphries is currently in the best form of his professional basketball career early in the season with Adelaide and now Saturday night presents him with the intriguing proposition of playing against his previous NBL cub.

Humphries was very much still a work in progress when he played for the Kings in the 2017/18, but he showed encouraging signs of what was to come and was named the NBL Rookie of the Year as a result.

Since then, he continued to develop his craft in the NBA G-League and then even broke through to make his NBA debut at the Atlanta Hawks in a five-game stint which even included him earning a spot in the starting line-up.

Now the 23-year-old has arrived in Adelaide this season and while his preparation wasn’t ideal with a knee complaint, he has worked his way into things nicely and is now putting together some imposing basketball at both ends of the floor.

He delivered another 21 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots on 9/15 shooting in Wednesday's win over the Breakers as he now prepares to play against the Kings on Saturday for the first time in his NBL career.

Sixers coach Conner Henry couldn’t be happier with what Humphries is providing at both ends of the floor right now but he does credit guards Josh Giddey, Donald Sloan, Sunday Dech and Brendan Teys for finding him in the right spots to be unstoppable offensively.

"Isaac is playing the way he is as a result of his teammates knowing where to find him and his effort levels," Henry said. 

"He's an incredibly hard worker and he's finally 100 per cent healthy, and he said he was feeling smashed at the end of the good. That's good, it means he gave it his all. 

"He is getting great looks at the basket and we are setting him up to be able to seal and get the ball up on the rim quickly without doubling from our opponents. 

"Josh does a fine job and so do the other guards of knowing where he's going to be, and getting him the ball. He's playing at a really high level and he's excited about basketball. That's a pretty good combination."

Adelaide comes into Saturday's game about to play its sixth straight home match Adelaide Entertainment Centre to open the NBL season. 

The 36ers are now 3-2 following Wednesday's win and improving to 4-2 would signal an impressive start with such a new group, new coaching staff and a new system that everyone is becoming accustomed to.

The Kings, meanwhile, are playing their fourth consecutive road match to open the new season and they arrive in Adelaide with a 1-2 record. Sydney split their two games in Cairns to open #NBL21 before then losing by three points to the Bullets in Brisbane on Tuesday.

The 36ers did take on the Kings three times a season ago and were unable to taste victory in any of those encounters with Sydney going on to sit atop the standings the whole season before going on to reach the Grand Final while Adelaide did indeed end up missing the playoffs.

Those three wins for Sydney came by 22, two and 14 points with just one of them played at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and that turned out to be the two-point thriller decided in overtime in front of a massive 8252 crowd.

Adelaide's last win against Sydney came in their final meeting of the 2018/19 season with the 36ers winning 119-99 in Sydney in a stunning performance. But now on Saturday they attempt to beat the Kings for the first ever time at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

The Kings will arrive without the injured Daniel Kickert, Xavier Cooks, Angus Glover and Didi Louzada, and without Andrew Bogut, Kevin Lisch, Jae'Sean Tate and Lucas Walker from last season, but they can't be a team the 36ers take lightly.

The point guard battle is going to be a scintillating one with the league's youngest player Josh Giddey going up against regular MVP contender Casper Ware.

Veteran three men Tony Crocker and Brad Newley will always be fascinating to watch them take on one another while how Isaac Humphries and Daniel Johnson stack up against Jordan Hunter and Jarell Martin will be pivotal in the final result.

With DJ Vasiljevic, Shaun Bruce and Craig Moller too, the Kings aren’t short on talent and experience so it all points to an exciting and enjoyable night inside the Entertainment Centre.

2020/21 Hungry Jack's NBL Season – Round 3

Adelaide 36ers v Sydney Kings
Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Saturday 7.30pm ACDT

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

Tickets available by clicking here

Adelaide 36ers memberships are available for more information click here