Cheatham raises the bar for 15–4 36ers

At 15 wins and four losses, the Adelaide 36ers have already matched their highest win tally since 2018, but those inside the group insist they are far from content.

Fresh off inking a new two-year deal, star import Zylan Cheatham believes the 36ers are only scratching the surface of their potential.

“I think I kind of expected it to go better,” he said on Tuesday.

“It's a couple games I feel like we lost that we shouldn't have. So for me, I’ve got pretty high expectations for myself and my group, but I know it's only the start. We haven't played our best basketball yet, and it's still a long season.”

Cheatham said second halves have become a clear focus for the 36ers after they managed just nine points in the third quarter of last week’s loss to Sydney, finishing with only 29 points for the half. Fourth quarters have been Adelaide’s lowest-scoring period across the season.

“Yeah, I think we've done a lot of talking about it,” he said. “But for me, our execution offensively and defensively kind of starts to lack in that third quarter. We kind of get stagnant. There's too many possessions where we don't know where we're in and guys are just trying to improvise, and we end up getting a bad shot. I think those shots lead to momentum for the other team. So for us, just trying to minimise those.

“Defensively, we just have to stick to our principles. Sometimes we miscommunicate. There are going to be mistakes and stuff, but in that third quarter, in that fourth quarter especially, we have to be pretty solid.”

The 30-year-old has been productive in all areas of the game this year, averaging 12.3 points. 10.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists a game.

“I think the sky's the limit. For me personally, I know I haven't played my best basketball at all,” Cheatham continued.

“I've shown spurts, but I know me being a catalyst on this team and me not playing well is something that, once I get going and really figure it out, could take us to the next level.

“As a team, we're still not gelling the way we need to, and we still haven't reached the point we want to reach. So the ceiling is very high, and to have the success that we've had at this point in the season is a blessing for sure.”

Sustained the success is the ultimate goal for Cheatham.

“Obviously starting with this season and trying to control what I can control this year. But I wouldn't sign back if I didn't feel like we had a chance to be successful for the next couple years,” he added.

“Keeping our nucleus, keeping our core together, and being able to build relationships is only going to take us to the next level.”