36ers feeling "sting" as Finals close in

06 Feb 2026

Mike Wells fronts growing pressure after a late collapse, as the 36ers look to reset quickly ahead of a Finals-shaping clash.

Mike Wells understands the pressure that comes with Adelaide’s recent slide and knows it will only intensify if the 36ers fail to arrest their form heading into the Finals.

Having dropped five of their past seven games, they’ve slipped to second on the ladder, and with an unfavourable run of results in the final three games could finish as low as fifth.

Despite that, the coach says his belief in the playing group has not wavered.

"I don’t know if it's a psychological blow," Wells said after a last-gasp loss to Illawarra.

"To be honest with you, this is our adversity. We’ve had a heck of a season where we’ve been fortunate to play well for long stretches and avoid injuries.

"Everybody has adversity in a hard-playing league like this. You’re going to have your ups and downs. It seems like ours is coming here at the end while some teams are trying to extend their season. We’re all jockeying for playoff positioning and home court.

"I’m super proud of my group. They’ve been a hell of a group to coach. We stayed in the fight. We were communicating the right way and were organised.”

Despite Wells’ optimism, surrendering a 16-point lead was far from ideal for the star-studded 36ers, who were left stunned when Bryce Cotton’s potential game-winner rimmed out at the buzzer in enemy territory.

"It will probably get louder," Wells admitted, speaking of the recent questions being posed of the team’s form.

"That’s part of it. As the head coach, you have to shoulder that. That’s leadership. You try to get the guys focused on what’s next. That one stings.

"There’s no other way to put it. We led for a long time and just wanted to get it over the line. You have to make one more play. We had two really good looks right there, and the ball didn’t bounce our way.

"We have to move on, and we have to move on quickly. We have to crunch this up and use it as fuel. As Coach (Gregg) Popovich used to say in San Antonio, we have to use the sting of this as fuel to drive us into Saturday night.”

The 36ers won’t have long to dwell, with a blockbuster road clash against Melbourne United looming at John Cain Arena on Saturday night, live on ESPN from 8pm AEDT.

United sit fourth with 18 wins, three behind Adelaide in second, in a matchup that shapes as a key marker heading into the Finals.