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There’s rumblings about expansion around the traps in the NBL and normally it’s great when the league is proactive and looking to build.
But now is not the time to add more franchises.
The 10-team competition is about right and the last thing the NBL needs is to dilute the talent, further divide the sponsorship dollars and potentially devalue the overall product by putting in an extra side or two over the next few years.
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The Gold Coast, Darwin and Canberra are the most likely “new” locations for franchises while there has been talk of adding another team in Perth, Melbourne or Sydney.
Speculation suggesting the Hawks should move from Wollongong to become a second side in Sydney should be rebuked with extreme prejudice. Any thought of a second team in the Harbour City should be treated with caution – there would need to be a super-strong ownership structure in place for that to work.
History tells us Sydney has struggled to sustain a second NBL team – it’s already a saturated sporting market with NRL, A-League, AFL, BBL men’s and women’s franchises all over town.
Melbourne surely doesn’t need a third team – there’s a rivalry already established in a short space of time between the Phoenix and United, three’s a crowd.
Perth would be an intriguing option for an expansion bid. There is clearly a huge demand for basketball in the West as evidenced by the fanatical support and attendances for Wildcats games, the city is not flooded with other sports and a second team would make it much easier for the schedule makers to reduce the travel burden.
A two-game western swing would reduce the ludicrously high instances where teams fly to Perth early in a round and then are expected to back up less than 48 hours later on the other side of the country.
Unless there is a sound business case for additional teams, the NBL should be happy to consolidate the recent gains of the Phoenix (2019-20) and JackJumpers last season. Down the track it would be great to move to a 12-team competition but it shouldn’t be high on the agenda right now.
Here’s all the pre-game talking points for the Round 9 fixtures, the annual Indigenous Round.
The Prime Minister has saved some special praise for the NBL after today’s Indigenous Round launch, congratulating the league on its prioritising of giving First Nations athletes the platform to thrive.
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NZ Breakers (10-3) vs South East Melbourne (7-5) at Christchurch Arena, 5.30pm AEDT
Top of the ladder after snuffing out the Taipans in Cairns and blasting the Bullets in Auckland, the Breakers thoroughly deserve to be out in front. Jarrell Brantley (15.2 points and 6.5 rebounds) and Barry Brown jnr (19.9 points per game) are two of the best imports in the league while Phoenix star Mitch Creek is nearly back to his best form – his 27-point demolition of the Hawks last week was men against boys stuff.
Brisbane (3-7) vs Perth (5-6) at Nissan Arena, 5.30pm AEDT
The change in coach mid-season from James Duncan to Sam Mackinnon didn’t stem the bleeding for the Bullets, getting pummelled by 37 away to the Breakers last weekend. With Aron Baynes (back), Tyrell Harrison (knee), Kody Stattmann (ankle) and DJ Mitchell (personal reasons) not suiting up against Perth, another flogging could be on the cards.
John Rillie spoke to the media ahead of our road trip double-header.
Game Preview: https://t.co/CGR9qnbOUd
Full Presser: https://t.co/FQQ1Re99wy pic.twitter.com/z2L5wvmvjl
Adelaide (5-5) vs Cairns (7-4) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre, 7.30pm AEDT
The Sixers still haven’t replaced Craig Randall II despite punting him three weeks ago but after winning two of their last three matches, coach CJ Bruton says they’re not in a rush despite having around 60 possible recruits under consideration.
NZ Breakers (10-3) vs Perth (5-6) at Spark Arena, 5.30pm AEDT
The Wildcats complete one of the longest round trips in any professional sports league in the world when they cross the Tasman after Thursday’s assignment in Brisbane. Two wins from their past three games have Perth kinda back on track but still well short of expectations.
South East Melbourne (7-5) vs Melbourne (5-8) at Spark Arena, 8pm AEDT
United and the Phoenix throw down for the third time in the space of four weeks after splitting the first two meetings. Melbourne struggled to get past the Phoenix defence in the 84-69 loss a fortnight ago and after losing at home to the JackJumpers last week, will be trying to avoid a four-game losing skid.
Sydney (8-3) vs Adelaide (5-5) at Qudos Bank Arena, 2pm AEDT
The Kings seem to have a bit of the old mid-season boredom about them at the moment. After getting up for tight wins over the Breakers and Taipans, they nearly slipped up against the Hawks and last Monday’s loss in Cairns was a result of them not being in top gear.
There’s nothing for coach Chase Buford to worry about as yet but they dropped a home game to Adelaide early in the season so there can be no complacency this time around.
Brisbane (3-7) vs Tasmania (6-6) at Nissan Arena, 4pm AEDT
Tassie fought hard to overcome Melbourne late last weekend but have lost three of their past five so they are no sure things to account for the struggling Bullets.
The story behind the #NBL23 Indigenous Jersey#hawknation pic.twitter.com/CuAcFhSDk9
Illawarra (1-10) vs Melbourne (5-8) at WIN Entertainment Centre, 8pm AEDT
The addition of mid-season signing Michael Frazier II (17 points on 7/13 shooting, three rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes) was the only bright spot for the Hawks last weekend as their porous defence was again exposed by South East Melbourne in the 112-78 rout. Deng Deng (+8) was the only player in the positive in the plus-minus of the 12 Hawks used yet he was only given 17 minutes of court time.
