Deep impact: Adelaide looks to strength in numbers

Star power and depth. The Adelaide 36ers boast a mix of talent like not many other teams in the league, and coach Mike Wells is confident it will hold his side in good stead at the pointy end of the season.

The 36ers have rotated Isaac White, Matt Kenyon and Dejan Vasiljevic in the starting five in recent weeks, alongside the mainstays in Bryce Cotton, Zylan Cheatham, Isaac Humphries and Flynn Cameron.

Wells believes that ability to call on different skillsets for different opponents is key to success.

“I think I've got nine guys that potentially could start,” he said ahead of the 36ers’ clash against Brisbane on Friday night.

“I think I've got a really deep roster of 11 that I really like. It's hard to play 11. I think we'll see different lineups throughout the year, to be honest with you.

“There are different ways to go about it and for me it's about continuing to move the group forward and grow the group. Whether we start, whether we come off the bench, part of the bridge group, part of the closing group, part of the starting group, there are a lot of different combinations. I will definitely experiment with different lineups and different combinations through this whole middle third of the year.”

One player key to the 36ers’ Finals aspirations is Dejan Vasiljevic.

The sharpshooter knocked down six threes in the final quarter alone a fortnight ago, silencing his critics and reminding the league just how dangerous he can be.

At 11 and 3 on the season, Adelaide takes on Brisbane in a vital home clash. They have the chance to close the gap on Melbourne to just one game and give themselves a handy buffer over the chasing pack.

While Bryce Cotton’s big return to Perth on Sunday is sure to be in the back of the mind, all eyes are on a Bullets team who have shown they can take it up to the best, and welcome new import Terry Taylor into the lineup.

“We’re just totally focused on Brisbane and what we need to do first. I think the whole group is, to be honest with you,” Wells added.

“Those are things you guys can talk about and debate, and there’ll be different debates if we don't play well on Friday night. With a week or 10 days off, the focus is totally on us and trying to get our offensive and defensive rhythm back and playing well at home.

“You see some teams come out of the break and really have a rhythm, and some teams it takes a little while. We want to make sure we're not one of the teams trying to play catch up. We want to hit the game with the right rhythm and the right pace and the right focus, and handle our business on Friday night. Then we'll think about the next one.”

Adelaide hosts Brisbane from 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.