Triple-double star crowns 'life of the 36ers'

Zylan Cheatham grabbed the headlines with the first triple-double of NBL27, but the bigger story in Adelaide was a front court partnership that could be the 36ers’ answer to life after Isaac Humphries’ retirement.

Cheatham and Nick Rakocevic combined for 41 points, 28 rebounds and 17 assists on Saturday night, overpowering Illawarra’s Sam Froling and Makur Maker in a 106-78 win at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

Cheatham finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, while Rakocevic posted 20 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists.

It was a big test for the pair, and they passed it emphatically. Their work inside had the Sixers 12 points clear at half-time, even with six-time MVP Bryce Cotton held to 4 points on 1/9 shooting.

For Cheatham, the performance came from a more aggressive mindset, something coach Trevor Gleeson has been pushing him towards all season.

“Something we keyed in on a little bit, and Trevor told me before the game that we just need you to be aggressive and be yourself,” Cheatham said.

“I broke down a lot of film this week, and obviously I’m pretty critical of myself and how I’ve been playing, and some of the areas where I could be a little bit more aggressive.

“So I just took all that into account, and my teammates did a really good job playing off me and stuff. So it was a good win.”

Rakocevic has a knack for getting under opponents’ skin, and that was on show again late in the game when he clashed with Maker and Davo Hickey. But his teammates clearly love playing alongside him, and Cheatham wouldn’t want anyone else sharing the Sixers’ starting front court.

“Nick is the life of the team, I mean he’s the spark to the team so it’s a joy to have a big that has hands like that and is as skilled as he is,” Cheatham said.

“He bails us out of a lot of situations where we’re able to just throw him the ball, and he gets to a bucket or gets fouled.

“He is a very critical piece to what we do; he slows the game down when we need it, and then the way he’s rebounding the ball is just a joy to have.

“I definitely want to up the standard with him, and I don’t want him to get comfortable at all, so I’m proud of him, but we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Adelaide next hosts Melbourne on Thursday from 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.