How Good is the 36ers NBL25 Team?

Hey everyone, today I want to give my thoughts on the 36ers roster for NBL25 and go through what I think the strengths and weaknesses are.

To start with they have 4 of the best players in the league with Dejan Vasiljevic, Isaac Humphries, Kendric Davis and Jarell Martin. Two of the best locals and two of the best imports in my opinion. The final spot in the starting 5 is between Lat Mayen, Nick Marshall and Sunday Dech. It will be interesting to see who gets the start initially as any one of them could. I think I personally would lean towards Mayen right now because of the extra height and shot making as well as his versatility defensively. However Marshall also spaces the floor well and is great defensively. Finally you have one of if not the best defensive players in the league in Sunday Dech. Not quite as consistent at shooting the ball but he would take the starting 5 to another level defensively.

Then I think they have a solid 3-4 guys off the bench who have been kept as a core and are proven. Jason Cadee is a proven vet who can come in to give Davis a break. Alex Starling keeps the intensity at the max coming off the bench for short bursts which helps Isaac a lot. Then you have two of Dech, Marshall or Mayen all of which are great defensively and provide a spark off the bench. I definitely think Marshall is set for a break out season as well.

So that is the main 8-9 man rotation but I think there are definitely spot minutes for Ben Griscti to help Isaac. Hard to get a read on how good he will be right away but I can see some sort of role for him regardless. He’s another big that can shoot it alongside Martin so that provides something different from Isaac (who is capable of shooting it but doesn't shoot many) and also spaces the floor.

Great things about this team is that the shooting is good. 4 of your 5 starters are shooters and the other doesn’t need to be. 4 of your 5 main guys off the bench are at least decent shooters. Great for spacing and three is obviously more than two. The other is how solid this team is defensively. There is no let up in that starting 5, even Vasiljevic holds his own. Then off the bench Dech, Marshall and Starling are all great defensively and Cadee is no slouch.

Also having so many long, athletic, quick guys makes the defense even better and allows you to be able to switch a lot. Mayen, Dech, Marshall, Starling and Martin all able to guard multiple positions. They have great their vets in Cadee, Starling and Martin. They have 4 main scorers and then off the bench hopefully Marshall or Dech as that spark. Because outside of that bench scoring can look a little tough but you’re always going to have at least two of those four on the court I would think.

Finally 3 solid DPs, especially Rasmussen who is a star on the rise. Overall I think this is our best team since the season they made the grand final. Defense and shooting is at a high. Two of the best locals in the league. The best local big in the league and best local shooter in the league to go along with two of the best imports in the league. They have really solid role players outside of that and have a core group kept together. DJ, Ice, Cadee, Dech, Marshall, Starling and Rigoni all having multiple years together. They also brought in young South Australians to build a core and then also have two high quality imports. Oh and by the way PnR with Davis and Isaac/Jarell is gonna be crazy. Especially Issac with Jarell, Vasiljevic and Mayen/Marshall spacing.

Negatives:

A bit shallow in the big department but Martin helps a lot being able to give back up minutes at the 5 for Isaac.

The other concerns I had going into this offseason were only 2 imports but honestly when they are that quality it’s fine. I would prefer 2 high quality imports than 3 ok imports. I thought losing Trey Kell could easily be a bad move but bringing in a guy like Kendric Davis is a game changer.

The only other slight negative was losing Kyrin Galloway but they immediately brought in an amazing replacment in Lat Mayen who has similar qualities to Kyrin. I personally thought Lat would be a great pick up for this team beforehand so I'm glad they thought so as well.

Finally losing Scott Ninnis as coach definitely hurts especially so close to the start of the season. Not saying Mike Wells isn't a great coach but what Scott built and the connection he had with the players was strong so it definitely hurts.

36ers ROSTER

C. Mike Wells, Snr Assistant. Marko Marinovic

AC. Michael Lake, Igor Cvjetkovic

1. Davis | Cadee | Rasmussen (DP)

2. Vasiljevic | Dech | Ipassou (DP)

3. Mayen | Marshall | D’Arcy (DP)

4. Martin | Starling | Rigoni

5. Humphries | Griscti

Photo via: nbl.com.au