36ers have 'ace up their sleeve'

Much has been written about Adelaide’s indifferent form over the past few rounds, which has seen the 36ers lose four of their past six games.

While many have been quick to question the championship credentials of Mike Wells’ side, one former MVP has zagged, suggesting the 36ers have been ‘foxing’ the past few games.

“When you lock in a top spot on a ladder, you certainly don't want to go and show opposition coaches every card you've got in your deck before the Playoffs,” said Chris Anstey on Thursday’s episode of NBL Now.

“You want to hold and work on strategies that you will be able to surprise teams with when Playoffs roll around.

“Adelaide have been in the fortunate and envious position now for quite a while where they know that they'll make Playoffs.

“I would want some aces up my sleeve and I would not want to seem predictable for teams coming in [to play against].

“We did it while I was at the Melbourne Tigers. The closer we got to the end of the season, the less variation we ran and the more basic stuff we ran, so that by the time we started running counters in the Playoffs, no one could scout for them and no one could prepare for them.

“I would hazard a guess that if Adelaide are going to win it, that's what they're doing.”

As such, the dual Olympian encouraged the team from the City of Churches to block out the outside noise and just concentrate on playing Sixers basketball.

“[They need to] put aside external distractions and play basketball in a manner that they were playing when they catapulted themselves to the top of the ladder,” Anstey said.

“Because they do have a chance to take away two wins this weekend and go very close to locking up the top spot.”

The 36ers return to the hardwood on Thursday night, playing reigning champions Illawarra from 7.30pm AEDT at the WIN Entertainment Centre, live on ESPN.