"It's over in two": Lowery's controversial Playoffs prediction

All season long, the Adelaide 36ers and NBL champion Damon Lowery have been taking jabs at one another.

NBL commentator Lowery took the first shot, saying he “didn’t think the Adelaide 36ers had enough offensive firepower” to win the Hungry Jack’s NBL26 championship.

In response to that, 36ers star and newly crowned six-time MVP Bryce Cotton hit back, telling 10 News, “He (Lowery) hasn’t done enough as a basketball player for me to respect his opinion. I don’t usually listen to anybody, especially not him”.

Now, on the eve of Adelaide's Playoff Series with the South East Melbourne Phoenix, Lowery has weighed in on the 36ers' Finals prospects.

“My prediction is, and as much as I’d like to see it go the distance, I think it’s over in two games [to the Phoenix],” Lowery said on SEN SA.

“I just think South East Melbourne has a style of play, and they’ve got the horses that can run all day. They can get nine or 10 guys in double-figures. They’re not relying on one particular guy. They’re going to wear you down.

“[Not to mention] the Phoenix beat the living daylights out of them the last two times by over 20 points.”

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The Phoenix have in fact won the past two matchups with Adelaide, but the season series stands at two-all ahead of Game 1 of the Playoffs Series on Tuesday night.

But the former champion is far from sold on Mike Wells' team.

“They’re small as well. And the way they defend is very ordinary,” Lowery said.

“Even though I felt they needed more firepower, they went and got John Jenkins – another guard. The backcourt was already crowded with Bryce, Flynn Cameron, DJ Vasiljevic and Isaac White.

“Bryce is going to play 40 minutes a game, and now you add Jenkins. I feel like there’s too much, and he (Mike Wells) has a propensity to play small ball – four guards and one big.

“Zylan Cheatham is only averaging 12 points a game – he needs to bump that up significantly. And between (Nick) Rakocevic and Isaac Humphries, those two need to give you 25.

“Isaac Humphries – I don’t know if he’s carrying an injury, not that anybody cares – but he’s been down in form for the last month.”

Lowery said the 36ers were too reliant on Cotton.

“I just feel like Adelaide are still very Bryce-centric, and that was enough to get them second on the ladder. That’s fine in the regular season,” he continued.

“In the post-season, when teams can attack you in a multitude of ways in a series, it turns into a chess match.

“I feel Adelaide are going to need more than just Bryce – especially against the Phoenix.

“If it was Perth, no problem. If it was Melbourne United, no problem. But against South East Melbourne, it can’t just be Bryce.”

The 36ers will have the chance to prove the doubters wrong in front of a home crowd at Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Tuesday, with Game 2 scheduled for Saturday, March 14 at John Cain Arena.

The winner in the best-of-three matchup will advance to the Championship Series.

Both Playoff fixtures will be live on ESPN.